Hue - City Tour

We did a tour around Hue to all the major cultural places that make Hue famous. It was a pretty cool experience. 

First stop was the incense and traditional hat making market.

This is how they make incense...it consists of a sticky substance  made from sawdust and sandalwood or cinnamon. They then roll it onto the sticks and dry them in the sun. 

Traditional hat making - all made from bamboo. 

Incense...it looks so cool when you see hundreds of these along the road. 

The cinnamon incense smells quite heavenly and i'm not much of an incense person!

The market selling traditional paintings, bags etc 

The first tomb we went to visit.

  

This emperor had 104 wives and no children...however he had quite a pimped out place where he could fish and watch rare animals he collected etc. 

Inside, he even had a theatre!

This is on the way up to his tomb - gorgeous statues. 

His tomb - no one knows where he was buried though...

 Part of the tomb at the back

This symbol in Eastern life philosophy is so awesome. It means the circle of life. That nothing is clear and nothing can be foreseen. We need to accept our losses and triumphs and know that anything may happen tomorrow, in an hour, in 5 minutes that may change our lives. However if we can accept that nothing is within our control and we can live every moment within the moment, we will have a perfect circle, or fulfilled life. 

The tomb.

Next we went to the most amazing tomb - 127 steps, 127 degrees outside, 127% humidity (it really felt like it) but it was so worth it.

More steps...

this emperor built his temple right at the top of a mountain so that he could be higher than the French after they colonized Vietnam. 

Statues on your way up to the tomb.

Finally up at the top - something I have never seen before. The most exquisite tomb of all time. It was breath taking...

The ceiling of the tomb.

All the walls from top to bottom were detailed mosaic.

Absolutely incredible to see.

It took 11 years to build this tomb. 

This emperor had 12 wives, better than the last one who had 104...you must do your nut having so many wives...

Anyway, rumour has it that this emperor was a homo, maybe that will explain the flamboyancy and intricacy and beauty of the place. 

This statue is life size - cm for cm.

Unbelievable...it almost feels like your mind is playing tricks on you when you look at it.  

Dragon pillars line the walls detailed with glass and tiles that were imported from Japan. 

Some of the mosaics stick out about 5-6cm from the wall.

Khai Dinh tomb is a blend of oriental and occidental architecture of classic and modern art. The glass and ceramic mosaics were a materpiece of Vietnamese artisans early in the 20th century.

The outside of the tomb.

View from the top of the hill.

then it was a break for lunch: OK now traditional Vietnamese food...

1) Chicken and tomato soup

2) Omlette with pepper and spring onions

3) Fired morning glory with garlic

4) An oily type fish

On this side...

1) chicken soup

2) Tofu with a garlic, onion and tomato sauce

3) Rice

After lunch it was time for the dragon boat along the Perfume River.

Close up of the front of the boat.

Tinh - our guide!

Boats pumping cement / sand from the river. All the houses / buildings in Hue are built from the stuff they pump out of the river.

Close up of one of the boats...when they are fully loaded with sand / cement, it looks as though they are barely afloat.

The Pagoda...possibly one of the main tourist attractions in Hue. 

There are monks that live there and it has weird statues all over. Its a different type of Buddhism.

Incense burning outside the temple.

The place is so well kept and beautiful. 

Look at the size of those incense sticks.

they tie the trees up so that they grow into funny shapes.

Buddha - look at his big dimples.

Picture of a monk chiming away in the temple.

An absolutely beautiful temple...quite surreal.

Here is Buddha from the side. 

Finally, The Vietnamese Garden House...a typical Vietnamese home open to the public to see what a house looked like about 200 years ago.

The dining room.

The shrine of course!

Close up of the shrine.

They always have a pond outside which they believe acts as a mirror to reflect bad omens out of the house. 

If you have a reflection in the water, you are not a bad omen and you will have good luck...there's our reflection!

The house always faces south. Typical Feng Shui stuff... Even the rice paddies and plantations and stuff follow the same thing. They believe that they are the major exporters of rice and cashew nuts and other things because they have good luck by planting their crops in the correct direction. 

On the boat back to the docks and under the massive bridge that connects both sides of the city. 

The floating restaurant...and the day was done...5pm, 9 hours of heat and climbing and walking...it was definitely time for air con, cold showers and a coke!