Vietnam - Hue - Imperial City

Leaving the beauty of Hoi An behind, we travelled by bus towards our next destination, Hue. We stopped off briefly at China Beach and then headed up to the pass between the North and South of Vietnam. This was until recently the only way of moving through the country, and was where the US army based themselves.

Having been hassled by hawkers, we eventually got back on the bus and headed to our next rest spot. I am not entirely sure where this was, but it was close to Da Nang. I thought it was incrediby peaceful and beautiful here.

We arrived late afternoon in Hue, and Ha took us on a dragon Boat on the Perfume River.

I seem to be obsessed with dogs on this trip, but this little puppy was on our boat and I spent some time with it.

Thien Mu pagoda was spectacular, and has lots of history behind it having been built in 1601.

This is the car used by the monk who burned himself alive in protest in Vietnam. It is quite a striking image if you ever look it up. His name was Thich Quang Duc.

The next day the group separated and went to see the Royal Tombs in various ways. Some went via a tour group, others (who I thought were a bit crazy) via bikes and my group, who went with air conditioned taxis! Myself, Adam, Anne and Adrian spent the day together, marvelling at the different tombs and trying to stay cool in the blistering heat!

Inside this tomb there were some very rude people, who were climbing all over statues and totally disregarding any rules like no photography. Inside was so ornately decorated and many of the items/gifts seemed to come from the French government throughout the years.

Getting annoyed at the other tourists we left to go to a quieter tomb. Here we bumped into other members of our group. This one was surrounded by a lake, although due to construction work I didn't take any nice photos of the water.

We then decided we would go off in search of another tomb, which appeared to only be five minutes down the road. We sent Adam off to find out where we were, and he found another tomb. From there he could make out where we wanted to get to, and below is the result of this.

Arriving back in the city, we had some yummy lunch and headed for the Citadel in a cyclo. This is like a tuk tuk, but has an actual person as the engine.

Inside the old imperial city confused us. There seemed to be large green spaces, with lots of rubble. It wasn't until later we realised the reason there were no buildings was because of the bombings by the Americans. We had been disappointed of the wide green spaces, expecting a grand city. It wasn't made clear in the museum before that this was the case. I think if I ever visit the tombs and the city again I would go for an organised tour. That way you can learn about what you are seeing, and not blindly walking along.

In the evening some of us went to a local house to have a local meal. The house itself was quite grand in comparison to ones we had visited in Cambodia. We were invited into the living room, and asked to sit on the special chairs. Not even the family were allowed to sit on these. We were placed next to a shrine to the gods and also the ancestors of the family. The mural on the back wall was so colourful and kept drawing my eye.

We met the grandmother of the family, who spoke no English and was very sweet. Her grandson translated that she has followed the tradition of Ohaguro, blackening of the teeth. In Vietnamese culture this trait was considered beautiful and a sign of marriage. It has since died out, due to Western influences. She tried to get us to eat the ingredients she would usually chew to help keep them black. She is completely addicted to it, and will continue, I'm sure, until her last days.

Her family prepared a local feast for us, and the highlight was the pumpkin soup. This was no ordinary pumpkin soup, it has ground peanuts in it, and was so delicious, everyone went back for seconds!

Vietnam - Hoi An - The Most Picturesque City Ever - Part Two

Here is the second part to my Hoi An visit. It helps when the sunny weather brings out all the stunning colours of the buildings and lanterns. I loved walking around, snapping away. This is a photographers dream.

The same building looks so different in the day. This is my favourite spot in the whole of Hoi An.

Myself and Julia ventured across one of the bridges, and found this guy making his own lanterns. He allowed us to take photos of him, and so we bought a few as thanks.

We also spotted these two characters on the street. They prey on unsuspecting tourists by placing their goods on shoulders and invite you to take photos. Or even photos of them. They then turn around and ask for money. It happens all over Vietnam, but I thought these two were quite funny.

We went on a bike ride to the outer reaches of the city, and some of us got a boat back. We saw some fantastic fishing nets and a beautiful sunset.

On our last day, some of us decided to get up super early to get some photos of the city waking up. We managed to get there as the markets were starting. Below is a bike with mountains of coriander on the back. The image isn't much, but I can still smell the coriander just by looking at it.

The image below brings back memories of this wee old lady rushing along with two humungous bunches of bananas. It was quite a sight, and I managed to quickly capture it.

Leaving the market we ventured into the city again, which was so peaceful without all the tourists.

The Japanese Bridge for instance was deserted, and so we all got clear shots.

After such an early start, the only thing to keep us going was the Vietnamese coffee. Below is how they would serve it. The yellow liquid is condensed milk, and I became addicted towards the end of our trip. I also ordered the best Eggs Benedict I have ever had.

 The rest of that day was spent in the various tailors having final adjustments made to my clothing. I think by day three we were all happy to leave and see somewhere new. I loved Hoi An, but three days is the absolute maximum anyone should stay!