Tomb Raider in Hue

Day 8: 24 Dec 2005

The bus journey from Hanoi to Hue is a good 14hrs. Jason and Kat, the Kiwi couple who are in my tour in Sapa, are also in the same bus. They intended to spend a day in Ninh Binh before heading to Hoi An. I reckon I will meet up with them for Christmas in Hoi An. People are either heading north or south in Vietnam, and bound to meet up in major tourist towns.

I alighted from the bus with a headache and a slight fever that persist throughout the day in Hue. The hotel touts quickly besiege us as we alight from the bus in the middle of the town. I follow a one of them to a hotel close to the bus station as I intended to stay only a night in Hue. I checked into Phu An Hotel (42 Nguyen Tri Phuong St) at US$10 a night.

With the limited time in Hue, I also arranged a one day tour of the Citadel, the Imperial City and the Royal Tombs from the hotel. Though the tour included lunch and trip back by boat along the Perfume River, it never included the admission to all the attractions. At an average of 55,000D for each attraction, it is quite pricey. My group consisted mainly of American tourists. Interestingly, there is an Vietnamese-American family, whose mum is descended from one of the concubine of the Nguyen emperors. Hmm.. traveling with the royal?

TOMB OF MINH MANG
The guidebooks have stated that the Minh Mang’s tomb is possibly the finest of all the imperial tombs, and it might be true. In term of architectural poise and balance, and richness of decoration, it is pleasant and pleasing visually. In addition, it is sited among peaceful ponds, large courtyards and stone bridges over the ponds. The tomb proper is located on the mound surrounded by a circular wall and locked bronze door which prevent access.

TOMB OF KHAI DINH
At first glance, the Khai Dinh’s tomb seems a bit lack of greens as compared to Minh Mang’s. The tomb is the last of the imperial tomb to be built, it show a distinctly European architectural influence. The interior is richly decorated with ornate and colourful murals, French floor tiles and fragment of Chinese porcelain and Japanese glass. The alter house the statue of the emperor and his tomb is located 9m below the statue.

TOMB OF TU DUC
Though part of the tour, the group unanimously agreed to skip this site. Seem that nobody wanted to pay another 55,000D to visit another tomb.

THE IMPERIAL CITY

The Imperial City is modeled after the much larger Forbidden Palace in Beijing. It was huge compound within the Citadel and we spend more than 2 hours within the city wall. Beyond the Royal Gate is the Palace of Supreme Harmony, which house the emperor’s throne. From here, the emperor will receive ministers, mandarins and military officers during ceremonial occasions. North of the Palace of Supreme Harmony is the walled-in Purple Forbidden City, formerly the residence of the royal family. Tragically, the Forbidden City was destroyed during the Vietnam War. Most of the surviving buildings of interest are found on the southwestern side.

THIEN MU PAGODA
The last stop of the tour is Thien Mu Pagoda, a seven-storey pagoda that is built in the 16 century, overlooking the Perfume River. With the ground also house an active monastery. Interestingly, the monastery also house the car driven by the first monk who immolate himself publicly to protest against the South Vietnam government discrimination against Buddhists. It was reported that he drove the car from the monastery to Saigon in 1963, stopped at an intersection in the city centre, sat down in lotus position, and set himself on fire. Unbelievable..

The tour ended with a typical boat ride along the Perfume River. We were dropped off at the bank of the city centre and have to make our way back on our own in a light drizzle. Though not a far walk from most of our hotels, the tour should have ferried us back.

I retired early after a light dinner as was still pretty weak from the headache and fever in the morning. No Christmas dinner.