Hue is a beautiful city about 90 km south of the DMZ - the "De-Militarized Zone", or the border between the former North and South Vietnam prior to unification, which is at 17 degrees latitude. Hue is steeped in history, and it is amazing that there is anything left there after millennia of battles over control of the area now known as Viet Nam. (Chinese, French, Japanese, French, American ...)
There is a strong French influence here. We even stayed at the Saigon Morin Hotel, a beautiful colonial hotel in the heart of Hue. The picture of one of the founders even reminded Sonya and me of Elphege Morin, a relative of mine, so it was a wee bit like staying at a relative's place!
The food here is a little different from the northern part of the country with more complex spicing, but equally delectible. The freshness of the produce and the fish make for wonderful meals. On our way back from a late lunch, we witnessed one of the more inventive uses of a "cyclo", a three wheeled cycle typically used to ferry tourists around the town. I guess they don't need a Dodge RAM to move a few pieces of plywood!
We started the next day with a lovely boat ride up the Perfume River on a dragon boat similar to this one.
You might imagine why it was given this name - but you would be wrong. The reason it is called the Perfume River is because all along the banks there are fragrant trees and their blossoms fall into the river, providing a lovely aroma.
We next visited the tomb of Tu Duc, the fourth emperor in the Nguyen dynasty. Tu Duc was very short in stature, having reached only 153 cms., 5'0" for old folks who still think in imperial measures. I would
be a giant among them as you can see in the picture below.
The size of the place is quite large for what is essentially a tomb, and it is a bit disturbing for my western mind to think that all this was built for the tomb of one man, but I suppose it is not much different for other monarchies. By the time of Tu Duc's rule, the French controlled Viet Nam, so he was largely a symbolic head with no power. This is also why in part that few other emperors where buried here, as their role was largely inconsequential after the French started ruling the area.
After this, we visited the Imperial Citadel, truly an impressive structure. The circumference of the wall of the citadel is 10 kilometers long and has a moat surrounding the outer wall. The wall is 20 ft. high and up to 65 ft thick at its base. The scale is hard to capture in a picture, but here we are in front of the flag tower, just outside the inner city which also has 20' high walls.
Within the walls is the Imperial Enclosure, and within this was the Forbidden Purple City, designed after the Forbidden City in Beijing. Regrettably, there is not a lot left to see due to the heavy bombing by the Americans when the VC where hiding there. They are rebuilding, so perhaps a few years from now, you may be able to come to Hue to see its grandeur.
On Sunday we left Hue on our way to Hoi An, a beautiful little community just south of Da Nang. If the name Da Nang is familiar, it is where the show "Good Morning Vietnam" was based and home to the well known China Beach, where the American soldiers took their R&R. It is so named because it is on the South China Sea, but also where the Chinese did much of their trade with Viet Nam. When the Americans where digging to set up their military operations a lot of Chinaware (pottery and dishware) was dug up in the process. Not a lot to see really, but it is sort of neat to say that we've been there!
On our way down the main thoroughfare north and south, we had to share the road with a cattle drive. Wow, that was just like the highway to Thailand in Myanmar!
Before reaching Da Nang, we had to go through a very high pass in the mountains. This area proved to be home to a significant amount of conflict between North and South Vietnam and the site of a number of bunkers. There was even a wedding couple having pictures taken on top of one the bunkers. Go figure!
Sonya will keep this in mind as another creative option if she is asked to shoot another wedding!
We finally made it to Hoi An after a quick lunch in Da Nang. Hoi An is known as Lantern City.
We even had the opportunity to make lanterns for ourselves. Based on the frustrated look on the face of the lady that was guiding us, I don't see a career in this area for either of us in the near future!
Still, we did come out with a finished product, such as they were!
On Sunday evening we caught up and had dinner with our new friends that we met in Halong Bay - Olly and Gizelle Wray. Along the way, we also bumped into our train bunk mates from Australia - Phil and Sharon. Clearly we are all on a similar circuit!
On Monday, we did a full tour of the Hoi An area. We started with a tour of the local market, which was much like the other markets that we had toured, but more compact and more interesting because of it.
After that we went to a culturual show that displayed the highlights of the local talent, including Auld Lang Syne (in Vietnamese, no less!) in honour of the New Year and upcoming Lunar New Year on February 19. The music was great, but the players looked sooo serious!
After that, we did a river boat tour, and the driver was daring (or foolish) enough to allow Sonya to drive the boat! Particularly so, as she has never driven a boat before! Luckliy all went well!
Sonya did a bit of shopping locally and even managed to find a kitchen tool in the market. Jeff and Joel Herback, she is bringing one back for each of you, but only if you can figure out what it is- see here.
Lastly a quick trip downtown night market where Hoi An shows that it is the Lantern capital of Viet Nam.
Many wares are for sale, including some beautiful laquerware.
Some young girls and very young boys (who should be at home doing home work or getting ready for bed!) were busy selling candles to float down the river with your wishes.
Tomorrow we are off to Na Trang for two relaxing days at the beach!
Good night and sweet dreams from Hoi An!
