Hue is described as the cultural capital of, and by some the most beautiful destination in, Vietnam. The city is home to universities, an old Citadel, Royal Tombs, stunning pagodas, and beautiful artwork (in particular Hue is known for producing the best traditional conical Vietnamese hats). We spent two full days exploring the World Heritage Sites throughout this lovely (and quite hot! Ant's watch has a thermometer and it reached a record of 111F one afternoon!) city.
On our first day we visited the Citadel and the Imperial Palace within. Further inside the Imperial Palace is the Forbidden Purple City and surrounding the area are a Royal Theatre and various areas that housed the royal family members. We spent quite a few hours enjoying the peace of the site and the magnificent architectural styles and designs of the structures and carvings.
We walked to the Citadel from our hotel and enjoyed a nice stroll along the banks of the Perfume River where we saw several vendors peddling artwork scrolls and conical hats. We also listened to the sounds of "moto/cyclo" along the way! Apparently, walking is strange? Everyone wanted to give us a ride for a "good price/cheap."
When we finished with our tour of the Citadel, we walked to the Dong Ba Market, the biggest market for the area. We were disappointed as primarily we saw cheesy souvenirs likely not made in Vietnam and lots of fabric and handbags and, of course, food. It was very hot and the aisles too narrow, so we promptly left after a lengthy conversation with a woman who tried to convince ginnie to buy cheap clothes at her shop upstairs and who spent a while talking with her about why we don't have children "yet." ginnie skimmed through a Vietnam Travel Do's and Don'ts book when we were walking through Ho Chi Minh and one section mentioned the right answer to the always-asked question of "do you have children?" is "yes" or "not yet." ginnie actually replied by saying "no" and her new friend quickly corrected her to say "oh, not yet." Brings us back to Belize... :)
Our evenings were spent walking through the various alleys and streets around our hotel sampling various Vietnamese dishes.
On our second day, we toured a few other of the World Heritage monuments: Tomb of Tu Duc and a couple pagodas (these particular ones are perhaps not on the list). We rented bikes from our hotel and began the journey through crowded streets to make our way to the outskirts of town and the Royal Tomb. Every bike excursion is a death-defying feat since the rules of the road seem to be that there are no rules, just watch the person in front of you and don't hit them! In fact, the biggest lesson we learned was that there is no delay on the turn signal, so when we get a walk sign, the motos, bikes, and cars turn immediately into the other lanes and we find ourselves in the middle of the road slowly walking as they maneuver around us. On bikes, it's a bit more challenging, but we survived it! We've managed to avoid major incidences aside from a few scratches and bruises and narrow brushes with oncoming motos/cars/people/bikes/etc. These bikes simply do not come close to our Belizean Beach Cruisers.
What should have been a pretty simple 5km ride turned out much longer when a well-meaning Vietnamese woman met us at a crossroads where we were checking the map to take our next turn. ginnie told her where we were heading and evidently she decided we should be going to a further tomb, but that was lost in translation. She pointed out we would take four turns and be there and it was so beautiful and she lived nearby, so just follow along. As we went, it seemed much too far and ginnie repeatedly asked about Tu Duc Tomb and she constantly said, "yes, beautiful temples." hmmm... finally, the heat and the ride were too much and we had to stop and pull out our book and map to ask where we were on the way to Tu Duc. This is when she was much clearer and said "no, Minh Mang is better, go there. only 3 km more." We did not want to have that long ride back, so we thanked her again and turned back. Oy - we can't get anywhere on our own the direct way!! But, these diversions always end up fine.
Back on our way, we discovered we had not been far from our destination when we first met our friend (who also had a lengthy chat with ginnie about the lack of kids and asked about what driving is like where we live) at the corner. The Tomb is another example of beautiful Asian architecture with dragons and lions and elephants carved throughout. Tu Duc was a ruler who was considered mediocre by his people; due to his strong beliefs in Confucius he often blamed himself for his poor leadership and inability to raise his people out of poverty. His elaborate tomb was an area used both for his relaxation and escape from his responsibilities of addressing current problems and also obviously for his final resting place. Though he named his burial space Modesty it is difficult to believe considering the size of the space. It is considered to be the most elaborate of the seven sites within the Hue vicinity. Another interesting tidbit is that he was the second oldest child, but selected over his brother for succession to the throne as his father thought he would do a better job; as it happens he preferred to indulge in the fine arts, enjoying theatre, music, poetry and dance rather than tending to royal duties. There is a Royal Theatre on the premises - in fact, it is the oldest one still existing in Vietnam and is one of the first built.
Our bike tour continued to the Tu Hieu Pagoda, a Buddhist temple hidden in forest just off the main road. It's a simple space and shows its age in certain sections giving a sense of its history. We've enjoyed exploring Buddhist temples after the many, many Christian sites throughout Latin America and the mosques of the Middle east. It was peaceful in the woods and whenever we visit a pagoda there is always a sense of calm and serenity that fills the beautiful, spiritual spaces.
We returned to the main center of Hue, then crossed the Perfume River via a very narrow (fits a moto tightly) metal bridge that had some pretty wide gaps between planks, then headed out another 3km to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a national symbol for the area as one of the oldest pagodas. It's built atop a hill and has a beautiful pink color and seven-story octagonal structure when entering the complex. Inside is the space for worship and areas for the monks to meditate and relax. It overlooks the Perfume River and provides yet another serene stop (well, when all the tour groups leave; it was a bit disappointing that it's been commercialized with several vendors peddling cheap souvenirs right outside).
Clouds were closing in, so we returned to our hotel after the visit and made it in time to avoid a downpour. Our two days in Hue were packed and we felt we got a nice glimpse into the culture and tradition and beauty of the city.
Our time in Hue concluded with a crazy bus ride to Hoi An. We've lived in the developing world for the past 4 years now and we understand well that bus schedules are simply guides, but this was a completely new experience. Our 8am bus arrived promptly at 9:20am. Six travellers sat in a tiny, hot "tour" office waiting and waiting and wondering and wondering. The girls working there simply smiled and apologized saying they tell us 8am "to be safe." Safe? from what? that the bus might come on time? We bought our ticket from a different tour office just down the street (meaning we paid $1 more than those who bought it at this office) and were told it would be a regular bus with seats and would stop at a scenic beach along the way (we didn't really care about the stop, but it was the plan). When the bus arrived, it was an overnight bus from Hanoi that had these awfully uncomfortable reclining seats that require the passenger to sit with her legs straight and does not allow for sitting upright. How a person can sleep on the solid mat is a mystery - our tailbones were in pain from the short trip. Oh, and the scenic beach was instead a dingy rest stop with the most disgusting WC's yet (we think the buses are competing to see who can stop at the most unclean and disgusting bathroom in Southeast Asia! everything in Vietnam seems to run on commissions, so it's likely whoever runs this stop pays the bus line to come there; perhaps they could put some of that money into cleaning supplies. just a thought). Fortunately, the bus time was also incorrect so the 4-hour ride was actually only 3. We are both quite elated that our bus travel is complete for this journey - in four years' time we have really had plenty of bus travel and are quite done with that for long stretches (local buses are still bueno!)! Please, don't get us wrong, we truly love all our experiences and are grateful for the adventure. We even chuckled quite a bit (and still do) about the ride and had quite the eyebrow-raising with the others who were waiting with us since none of us expected this particular service. When you pay $4 for a bus ride, you get what you pay for and have to expect the unexpected! Besides, how can we ever complain when we get to see such amazing and stunning sights as these:
Hòa bình và Tình yêu!
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