Vietnam: We Return to Hue

We visited Hue in 2002, and I remembered being rather impressed by the IMperial Palace, styled after the Beijing Forbidden City. Though it was dilapidated, I thought it had a lot of potential. We were glad we returned, and John has managed to pronounce the name correctly (Hway), uncorrupted by Walter Cronkite (Way).

The city of Hue seems a lot busier, as expected, and shinier, as it prepares for Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New year Festival. The Nguyen dynasty moved the capital from Hanoi to Hue in the 1800s to be more central, as it controls parts of current day Cambodia and Laos. The Imperial Palace has gone through and is still going through restoration and rebuilding. It was a very pleasant visit, strolling through the massive grounds, while contemplating unpleasant thoughts on unfettered concentration of wealth.

A number of the Nguyen emperors also have tomb complexes in the outskirts of Hue. Factoring in admission, transportation, and dizziness, we chose to visit the Minh Mang and Khai Dinh tombs, built about 100 years apart. While the older Minh Mang tomb is all classical Chinese style, the newer Khai Dinh temple/tomb sought inspiration from the French.

Since There is no public transportation to the tombs, we ended up using the ride hailing app Grab, which we had already used in other cities. There is no negotiation necessary; pay in cash. The drivers are happy to have our business and we are happy for a fair priced ride. All the cars have been super clean and well cared for. For the comparatively low GDP, Vietnam is super functional. There are other competing apps such as Be and Maxim, but since the Vietnam eSIM we are using does not come with a local phone number, we only had success registering with Grab. 

Arriving at the Dong Hoi Station, we spot several other tourists heading south by train. The station crew are a bit "bundled up" in the chilly morning air.




More rice paddies, but being farther south, the plants are more mature.


Tasty dinner in Hue at Lac Tam Vegan Restaurant. One of the dishes was fried mushrooms.


View from the Hue Four Seasons Hotel, a friendly, family-run, snall hotel, not the well known global brand. ;-)


An evening walk along the Perfume River.


Photo session at the Neo Socialist Realism Lenin Monument.


Cyclo drivers waiting for a fare (1st below); and Cafe Culture (2nd).




We set off mid-morning for the Hue Imperial City. Located on the opposite bank of the Perfume River, it's a 3km walk from our hotel. The Flag Tower (below) is huge, and one can see the large red flag from a distance.


The Flag Tower as seen from the Meridian Gate.




The Meridian Gate.






Various buildings.






Residence


Roof Gutter Architecture.


Nine Dynastic Urns.


The Emperor's Reading Room.




The Emperor's Garden.


A group ready for a cyclo tour.


We Order a Vegan Chè Dessert Combo [It comes with 16 different chè(s), a cup of ice, and a bowl. Compose your own chè dessert(s) in the bowl].


On our way to the Imperial Tombs, we passed the still-under-construction dragon for the Tet (Lunar New Year) Festivities.


The Mid-20th-Century Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh sets into a hill, influenced by the Emperor's visits to France, but still following an East Asian layout; feng shui hoa.












His tomb lies 18 meters below his bronze image. Wow!


And as we were leaving the sun came out for the first time in over a week - Woohoo!


We GRAB a ride to the modest (for an emperor), traditional, early 19th-century, Mausoleum of Emperor Minh Mang.








His tomb lies in a small circular hill surrounded by a small lake just beyond the far end of the bridge below..




Bonus short video: Walking across the Perfume River Bridge.