June
7, Thursday
At 7 am, Scott comes knocking on our door to advise that the train is running 2 hours late. We have just crossed the DMZ area and have 2 more hours before we reach Hue. No edible breakfast onboard, so we just stay in our berths and read until we reach our destination. We covered 653 km from Ha Noi to Hue.
Scott has arranged for the Thanh Noi Hotel to serve us breakfast when we arrive at 10:30. We have just enough time to freshen up before our tour of Hue begins.
Hue is a small town. “Between 1802 and 1945, it was the imperial capital of the Nguyen dynasty. Huế was the national capital until 1945, when Emperor Bao Dạiabdicated and a communist government was established in Hanoi in the north. In the Vietnam War, Huế’s central position placed it very near the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam; however, the city was located in South Vietnam. In the Tết Offensive of 1968, during the Battle of Huế,the city suffered considerable damage not only to its physical features, but its reputation as well, most of it from American firepower and bombings on the historical buildings as well as the massacre at Huế committed by the communist forces. After the war’s conclusion, many of the historic features of Huế were neglected because they were seen by the victorious regime and some other Vietnamese as "relics from the feudal regime"; the Vietnamese Communist Partydoctrine officially described the Nguyễn Dynasty as "feudal" and "reactionary." There has since been a change of policy however, and many historical areas of the city are currently being restored. Huế is well known for its historic monuments, which have earned it a place in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Today, little of the forbidden city remains, though reconstruction efforts are in progress to maintain it as a historic tourist attraction.“
Our first stop is at the Citadel. “Construction of the citadel began in the early 1800s. Originally the wall was made of earth, then a covering of bricks was added. It took tens of thousands of Vietnamese to do this by hand.”
“TheImperial Enclosure or Forbidden Purple City with walls 6 m high and 2.5 km in length. This functioned largely as a private residence of the emperor, his family and servants. The seat of the Nguyễn emperors was the Citadel, which occupies a large, walled area on the north side of the Perfume River. Inside the citadel was a forbidden citywhere only the emperors, concubines, and those close enough to them were granted access; the punishment for trespassing was death.”
Piercing the outer walls are 10 gates, each reached by a bridge across the moat. Toward the Perfume River is the Yellow Enclosure (Hoang Thanh), with six-meter-high walls about 2.5 kilometers in length. Within this lies the innermost walled section-the former Imperial Palace, or Forbidden Purple City which is undergoing restoration under U.N. auspices as a World Heritage Site. A major restoration effort was mounted in 1995-1996.
Thai Hoa Palace where the emperor held official receptions and ceremonies of state. It is also where he received homage from the mandarins.
The Royal Citadel is composed of three walled enclosures, each within the other-a city within a city. The exterior moated enclosure (Kinh Thanh) encompasses six square kilometers-sufficient for housing the emperor, his family, administrators, bodyguards, and servants.
This is a plan of the complex as it looked when it was inhabited
Some of the buildings are undamaged, but most were completely destroyed
One of the pathways that has not been restored, but the gate was not destroyed.
Part of the rebuilt areas of the inner areas, where the court of the Emperor lived
Across the way is a mirror image building of the one we are in.
The walkways are still there and some of the stairs, but everything else was destroyed.
One of the walkways that was mostly undamaged, the dragon carving has been cleaned, and possibly restored.
Make that "definitely" restored. "Nice dragon!"
Our group, getting ready to leave the grounds of the Forbidden Purple City
Walking out the back gates and over the back moat.
We visit the Thien Mu Pagoda (originally built in 1601) 3 km from the Citadel; it has seven storeys and is the tallest in Vietnam.
Thien Mu Pagoda
The gates at the waterfront
Giant bell, which weighs 3285 kg and is 2.5 meters in height, and was regarded as one of the most prized cultural relics of its time in Vietnam.
There are bonsais throughout the grounds, but this one looks like it was made for a giant to enjoy, either that, or I'm a miniature Aline standing beside the bowl of a bonsai.
On our way back out of the complex, heading to the river for our short cruise on the Huong River, also referred to as the Perfume River. "In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Huế fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma, hence the soubriquet."
An overloaded boat on the river
Boats of all sizes and shapes.
This is what ours looked like when we came back on shore
We drove back to Hue and went to Nam Giao Pagoda & Monastery for a vegetarian lunch
Monks chanting at the Nam Giao Pagoda
Our vegetarian lunch included jackfruit !
This jackfruit tree was growing in the courtyard
A beautiful pond was just beside the area where we ate outdoors
The greenery and tiny decorations (bridge in the middle of this picture) turned the rocks into mountains. Great place to meditate.
We then got back on our minibus and went to visit Tu Duc Tomb. “Emperor Tu Duc enjoyed the longest reign of any monarch of the Nguyen dynasty, ruling from 1848-83. Although he had over a hundred wives and concubines, he was unable to father a son. “ They don’t mention whether he fathered any daughters !
Luu Khiem Lake and Tinh Khiem Island on the grounds surrounding the tomb.
This is a huge complex, with a large forest around it and we have a nice long walk to get to the actual site of his tomb.
A tiny visitor stands under one of the horse sculptures that adorned one of the terraces near the tomb.
The inner sanctum. The entrance gate and the tomb on the right.
Wall Decorations in the "inner sanctum"
Before leaving the site, we stop at a kiosk where local ladies are making incense sticks.
Inscense sticks for sale, made up as a beautiful display
Amazing to see how this is still made by hand, so easily, the same way it has been done for thousands of years. They have a paste in which they add the herbs or spices that will provide the scent, they flatten it out on a large stone and run the top of the stick along it (like a pastry roll) and the paste goes from the rock to the stick. And VOILA, within seconds you have an incense stick. I did not buy any, but I did find some nice Vietnamese drawings (ladies on bikes) that I had been looking for.
We were brought back to the hotel to change and then we left again, walking from the hotel to the main street where we had dinner at a local family run restaurant.
Moving an armoir on a bicycle ! ! !
Lots of traffic on the streets of Hue as we drove to the hotel from Tu Duc's Tomb
The streets of Hue
The owner and his wife are deaf and so are some of their children; but the grand children have no hearing impediment. We get to meet him and three of his 6 daughters (his son is away). Two of the daughters are pregnant and we find out that this is a good year (the Dragon) to give birth. The extended family helps to run the 2 story restaurant; the remainder of the family lives on the 3rd floor.
The owner has invented a type of bottle opener and we each get one to take back home. He proudly shows us a photo album of past customers who have sent back photos of themselves, in their home countries, with their bottle openers. We all promise him that we will send him photos from home. The walk back to the hotel is mostly in the dark, along with the bikes and motorbikes that are still roaming the streets, without any lights !
At 7 am, Scott comes knocking on our door to advise that the train is running 2 hours late. We have just crossed the DMZ area and have 2 more hours before we reach Hue. No edible breakfast onboard, so we just stay in our berths and read until we reach our destination. We covered 653 km from Ha Noi to Hue.
Scott has arranged for the Thanh Noi Hotel to serve us breakfast when we arrive at 10:30. We have just enough time to freshen up before our tour of Hue begins.
Hue is a small town. “Between 1802 and 1945, it was the imperial capital of the Nguyen dynasty. Huế was the national capital until 1945, when Emperor Bao Dạiabdicated and a communist government was established in Hanoi in the north. In the Vietnam War, Huế’s central position placed it very near the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam; however, the city was located in South Vietnam. In the Tết Offensive of 1968, during the Battle of Huế,the city suffered considerable damage not only to its physical features, but its reputation as well, most of it from American firepower and bombings on the historical buildings as well as the massacre at Huế committed by the communist forces. After the war’s conclusion, many of the historic features of Huế were neglected because they were seen by the victorious regime and some other Vietnamese as "relics from the feudal regime"; the Vietnamese Communist Partydoctrine officially described the Nguyễn Dynasty as "feudal" and "reactionary." There has since been a change of policy however, and many historical areas of the city are currently being restored. Huế is well known for its historic monuments, which have earned it a place in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Today, little of the forbidden city remains, though reconstruction efforts are in progress to maintain it as a historic tourist attraction.“
Our first stop is at the Citadel. “Construction of the citadel began in the early 1800s. Originally the wall was made of earth, then a covering of bricks was added. It took tens of thousands of Vietnamese to do this by hand.”
“TheImperial Enclosure or Forbidden Purple City with walls 6 m high and 2.5 km in length. This functioned largely as a private residence of the emperor, his family and servants. The seat of the Nguyễn emperors was the Citadel, which occupies a large, walled area on the north side of the Perfume River. Inside the citadel was a forbidden citywhere only the emperors, concubines, and those close enough to them were granted access; the punishment for trespassing was death.”
Piercing the outer walls are 10 gates, each reached by a bridge across the moat. Toward the Perfume River is the Yellow Enclosure (Hoang Thanh), with six-meter-high walls about 2.5 kilometers in length. Within this lies the innermost walled section-the former Imperial Palace, or Forbidden Purple City which is undergoing restoration under U.N. auspices as a World Heritage Site. A major restoration effort was mounted in 1995-1996.
Thai Hoa Palace where the emperor held official receptions and ceremonies of state. It is also where he received homage from the mandarins.
The Royal Citadel is composed of three walled enclosures, each within the other-a city within a city. The exterior moated enclosure (Kinh Thanh) encompasses six square kilometers-sufficient for housing the emperor, his family, administrators, bodyguards, and servants.
This is a plan of the complex as it looked when it was inhabited
Some of the buildings are undamaged, but most were completely destroyed
One of the pathways that has not been restored, but the gate was not destroyed.
Part of the rebuilt areas of the inner areas, where the court of the Emperor lived
Across the way is a mirror image building of the one we are in.
The walkways are still there and some of the stairs, but everything else was destroyed.
One of the walkways that was mostly undamaged, the dragon carving has been cleaned, and possibly restored.
Make that "definitely" restored. "Nice dragon!"
Our group, getting ready to leave the grounds of the Forbidden Purple City
Walking out the back gates and over the back moat.
We visit the Thien Mu Pagoda (originally built in 1601) 3 km from the Citadel; it has seven storeys and is the tallest in Vietnam.
Thien Mu Pagoda
The gates at the waterfront
Giant bell, which weighs 3285 kg and is 2.5 meters in height, and was regarded as one of the most prized cultural relics of its time in Vietnam.
There are bonsais throughout the grounds, but this one looks like it was made for a giant to enjoy, either that, or I'm a miniature Aline standing beside the bowl of a bonsai.
On our way back out of the complex, heading to the river for our short cruise on the Huong River, also referred to as the Perfume River. "In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Huế fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma, hence the soubriquet."
An overloaded boat on the river
Boats of all sizes and shapes.
We drove back to Hue and went to Nam Giao Pagoda & Monastery for a vegetarian lunch
Monks chanting at the Nam Giao Pagoda
Our vegetarian lunch included jackfruit !
This jackfruit tree was growing in the courtyard
A beautiful pond was just beside the area where we ate outdoors
The greenery and tiny decorations (bridge in the middle of this picture) turned the rocks into mountains. Great place to meditate.
We then got back on our minibus and went to visit Tu Duc Tomb. “Emperor Tu Duc enjoyed the longest reign of any monarch of the Nguyen dynasty, ruling from 1848-83. Although he had over a hundred wives and concubines, he was unable to father a son. “ They don’t mention whether he fathered any daughters !
Luu Khiem Lake and Tinh Khiem Island on the grounds surrounding the tomb.
This is a huge complex, with a large forest around it and we have a nice long walk to get to the actual site of his tomb.
“Tu Duc began planning his tomb long before his death in 1883. The major portions of the tomb complex were completed from 1864-67, along with future temple buildings that served as a palatial retreat for Tu Duc and his many wives during his lifetime. Construction of the tomb demanded so much corvee labor and extra taxation that there was an abortive coup against Tu Duc in 1866. This was put down, and for the remainder of his life, Tu Duc continued to use the tomb's palace buildings as his place of residence. Interestingly, despite the grandeur of the site and the amount of time Tu Duc spent here, he was actually buried in a different, secret location somewhere in Hue. To keep the secret safe the 200 laborers who buried the king were all beheaded after they returned from the secret route. To this day, the real tomb of Tu Duc remains hidden for future generations to discover."
A tiny visitor stands under one of the horse sculptures that adorned one of the terraces near the tomb.
The inner sanctum. The entrance gate and the tomb on the right.
Wall Decorations in the "inner sanctum"
Before leaving the site, we stop at a kiosk where local ladies are making incense sticks.
Inscense sticks for sale, made up as a beautiful display
Amazing to see how this is still made by hand, so easily, the same way it has been done for thousands of years. They have a paste in which they add the herbs or spices that will provide the scent, they flatten it out on a large stone and run the top of the stick along it (like a pastry roll) and the paste goes from the rock to the stick. And VOILA, within seconds you have an incense stick. I did not buy any, but I did find some nice Vietnamese drawings (ladies on bikes) that I had been looking for.
We were brought back to the hotel to change and then we left again, walking from the hotel to the main street where we had dinner at a local family run restaurant.
Moving an armoir on a bicycle ! ! !
Lots of traffic on the streets of Hue as we drove to the hotel from Tu Duc's Tomb
The streets of Hue
The owner and his wife are deaf and so are some of their children; but the grand children have no hearing impediment. We get to meet him and three of his 6 daughters (his son is away). Two of the daughters are pregnant and we find out that this is a good year (the Dragon) to give birth. The extended family helps to run the 2 story restaurant; the remainder of the family lives on the 3rd floor.
The owner has invented a type of bottle opener and we each get one to take back home. He proudly shows us a photo album of past customers who have sent back photos of themselves, in their home countries, with their bottle openers. We all promise him that we will send him photos from home. The walk back to the hotel is mostly in the dark, along with the bikes and motorbikes that are still roaming the streets, without any lights !
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