Hue
Trip Start
Jan 06, 2008
1
31
40
Trip End
Jul 08, 2008
I spent my first day in Hue walking around and seeing the sights. I took a cylco, which is like a bicycle with a small covered seat in the front, to see some temples. My driver Thinh was very interesting and he taught me some Vietnamese. He also told me part of his life story and showed me his favorite temple. His father was killed by Viet Khong when he was 11 years old and so his mother went to live with Buddhist nuns and he went to a monastary in the mountains where he could be safe. The temple he took me too was very small and beautiful. The only other people there were some eldery monks who were very interested to talk to me. They didn't speak english so Thinh translated for me. They told me about the temple and about the significance of almost everything inside. Behind the main temple was a smaller one whose walls were covered with old pictures of people. One wall had all pictures of men and the other was for photos of women. All of these people had been killed in the American war and the people they depicted had no living family to pray for them so the monks pray for them everday and make offerings in their honor. Hue was the scene of some of the most intense fighting in the war because it is located where the north and south meet. The civilian causualties were over 10,000.
