Hue, Vietnam
Hue is a small city in central Vietnam. It was the capital from 1802 to 1945 when Ho Chi Minh declared independence and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. During the American War, Hue was the DMZ and experienced the terrible consequences of war.
These days, Hue is a popular stop for backpackers and tourists from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The most famous site is the Dai Noi Citadel which is surrounded by a moat and thick walls which, in turn, encircles the former Imperial City (palaces and shrines) of the Nguyen Empire. George and I biked from our riverside hotel (family run, 5 rooms and absolutely charming), parked our bikes and spent most of the day wandering the citadel grounds.
On our 2nd day in Hue, we took a dragon boat to sail on the Perfume River to the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady, a 17th century, 7 story pagoda on the northern bank of the river. The next stop on the river was the Minh Mang tomb, another beautiful site.
On our 3rd day, we biked away from the tourist sites, along the Perfume River (in Vietnamese Sông Hương). The name comes from the perfume-like aroma in the autumn when orchids upriver fall into the river.
Pagoda of the Celestial Lady.
Dai Noi Citadel entrance which also served as the royal viewing platform for court ceremonies. You can see that the large middle gate is barred because that is reserved for the emperor (no more emperors of Vietnam). The two flanking gates were for the emperor’s mandarins, and the outermost gates were for the soldiers and their weapons of war.
…the doors of a long hallway at the Citadel. It was blazing hot on the day of our visit, so I spent most my time in the shaded hallways. George was not deterred by the heat and visited all the buildings and climbed all the stairs of those buildings!
Dragon boats on the Perfume River. A family of 5 lives on our boat. On the day we sailed, the two older children were at school, and the 1 year old was on board with her parents. George and I had chartered the boat for our cruise so we had the opportunity to talk with the mother who also helped guide the boat for docking.
Here we are at the tomb grounds of the emperor Minh Mang. I was surprised by the beauty and serenity. George is about to climb more stairs to the top of the Minh Lau “The Pavilion of Light” that celebrates the emperor’s talents and insights.
…a beautiful roof at the pavilion. It’s all wood, and beautifully decorated with classic poems and ornamental flourishes.
Biking on the 3rd day, we walked our bikes around the back of Cho Dong Ba Market, a very large indoor/outdoor market in Hue. The food vendors there were very friendly to us amidst the chaos of the morning business.
Biking further along the Perfume River road we came across this neighborhood indoor market which was very busy and noisy. The vendors sit on short stools or squat near their merchandise. My knees hurt just thinking of squatting for hours to clean fish, make change, and check the close-in competition.
No blog post of mine is complete without at least one picture of food. Hue is renowned for its food because of the wonderful cuisine created for the emperor’s court. In the city, Hanh’ s Restaurant is THE place to go. Tourists and locals love it. This dish is my favorite. It’s called Banh Nam, and it’s rice flour stuffed with shrimp and pork, wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed. It’s served with a sweet fish sauce. Yum!
Here we have a local favorite. It’s a rice porridge which I find to be closer to Louisiana gumbo than Chinese rice porridge.
Three days in Hue gave us enough time to see the sites we wanted to see but was not enough time to sample all the local specialties. Maybe a month. 3 meals/day X 30 days, that’s 90 meals. That could work.