from Saigon to Hue

We've moved from Ho Chi Minh City to Hue, in the central highlands area, moving northward to our final stop in Hanoi.  Hue was the imperial capital until the mid 1940's, with emperors, empresses, queen mothers, and all the assorted personnel and pomp that goes along with it.  They played important roles in the ongoing conflicts with the French and other colonizers throughout their existence.  Hue is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The big To-See's in Hue are the Imperial Citadel ruins, the Royal Tombs, and a couple of iconic Buddhist pagodas and active monasteries. It's a small city that is definitely more "northern" in its style-- the people in the south often say that the folks in the north are cold and unfriendly-- and there are many many layers of personal and political history that make all these characterizations so complicated.  It's a little cooler (just a little...) and much greener.  All the locations are located and describe in relation to the Huong Song (Perfume River), a beautiful river. Hue foods are also unique, and we got a chance to sample some goodies.

But first to the market before heading to the Citadel:

We walked everywhere, although we were
continually assured that everywhere we were
walking to was "TOO FAR!!!"

our last look at dragonfruit as we leave the more
southern part of the country. if you have never
cracked one of these beauties open, you are in for a surprise!
Snow white interior with small black seeds.  Kind of a neutral
taste, but very refreshing.

this is tapioca starch! I was initially thinking lard.

bridge over the Perfume River

dragon boats will also take you to the "TOO FAR" destinations

Our half-day exploration of the Imperial Citadel ruins was beautiful.  There were not too many other visitors there, and while some areas are being actively restored, much of it is in a shambling, romantically ruined state.  Much of the ruining is due to the city having been bombed repeatedly by French, Northern Vietnamese, US, and Viet Cong troops-- this was a hotly contested city in many conflicts. 

bronze urn detail

lotus plants in the moat around the citadel walls

the citadel has some gorgeous water features

this was my favorite building of the day--
the emperor's reading room

back view of reading room

back gate into reading room building

this was where we were planning to hide out if
it started raining-- but we didn't end up with rain, for once!

ongoing restorations

restored doors

reading room, again

reading room landscaping

the citadel is a walled city within a walled city within a walled city

US tanks captured in 1975, displayed near the flag tower

citadel site map

The following morning, we drove around 10 miles along the south leg of the Perfume River to visit "the most majestic" (guidebook) Royal Tomb (Emperor Minh Mang), and to get to the Tu Chien temple and Buddhist monastery.  We were again two of only a few visitors to the sites:

along the trail to the tomb

surrounded by a glassy, crescent shaped man-made lake

moths and dragonflies as big as my hand were all over the place!

the trail away from the tomb, on to the pagoda

The pagoda houses a working monastery, and we made it there in time for 10am chanting from the novice monks. The pagoda is surrounded by pine trees and small ponds-- absolutely beautiful and very very calm. 

I have some video with decent sound from the monks' chanting, but I've been lacking a hearty enough internet connection to get it loaded.  It may have to wait until I get home-- I'll let you know....  Our time at the temple was very moving and was a great chance to remember Stacy's late husband, who practiced Buddhism.

That afternoon, I rented a bicycle-- couldn't bring myself to rent a scooter, even in a smaller and quieter town.  But cyclists were abounding, so I joined in.  It turned out to be a great way to visit another pagoda and more of Hue in action.  Only a few nail-biter intersections, but I slowly figured out the rules, as counter-intuitive as they seemed to me!

Bike rental guy: "New bike old bike?" Me: "New bike!"

He also said, "Careful-motobike!"

got onto the open road very quickly for around 5 miles alongside the river

 

roadside agriculture

roadside water buffalo

roadside aquarium cart!

At the Thien Mu pagoda

this 8-sided pagoda structure is one of the icons of Hue

This Buddhist nun spoke animatedly about
this car and the monk who set himself on fire
in Saigon in 1963.

I stood and listened for a while, then she reached over to me,
squeezed my cheeks and my hand, and said, "Xin cam on. Merci." (Thank you very much. Thank you.)
I was quite moved.

I rode another 4 miles or so in the opposite direction and
saw the most tidy and inviting street food cart. 

Lots of logging and woodworking in the Hue area.



We sampled some of Hue's specialities, including Com Hen and Bun Hen-- rice and noodles, respectively, made with a spicy mix of chopped clams, chilies, starfruit, and the vietnamese equivalent of bugles corn puffs! Yum!

followed by my guilty vietnamese pleasure-- caphe sua da-- strong vietnamese
coffee with a thick layer of condensed milk... I limit myself to one a day, max.

Our final stop is Hanoi to the north.  Will post some photos from there, too!