Hue for the day 7th of July

Today we joined a City Tour which was sold to us at reception in the front desk, we knew we could have got it cheaper elsewhere but at this point in my life I like being picked up and dropped off at the hotel. We were collected by a friendly young guide clad from top to toe in denim (35*) she was alas only our guide to cross the road diagonally in front of our hotel - not such a good guide really as Mirta and I were left on the other side of the road while she forged on ahead with Liz.  The road crossing tricks are very annoying. In Hanoi you launch into traffic and walk at a steady pace towards a point on the horizon but here in Hue, in a place where there are pedestrian crossings everywhere I am finding it the worst. A pedestrian crossing here is like an advertisement for all vehicles; cars, buses, trucks cyclos, motor bikes and bicycles to speed up and ignore the huge lines painted across the road. The other thing locals do here is walk across the road in a long diagonal line, however there are a few places which are controlled by lights with big timers so whenever possible I use those.

Anyway I digress , we got on the bus with 17 other tourists and were given our spiel by the guide Huang who told us that depending on how you say his name it can mean either respectful ( or something else of a gentle nature ) or a play boy. The respectful playboy commenced his welcoming speech in Vietnamese this prompted an arrogant young Frenchman to walk up the front to interrupt him by saying " I paid good money for an English speaking guide" the latter was overheard by the ever vigilant Liz. I think I had already started preparing mentally for a sleep, I became alert however when our guide started off his speech in English by discussing respect for the native language in the place that you are visiting and that since we were in Vietnam he would always start off his blurb in Vietnamese then speak in English and lastly in French.

Each of us was given a stiff white cap boasting the words 'City Tour' to pop on our heads and off we drove to our first destination. The first tomb was that of King Ming Mang it was about 12 km from Hue and on the banks of the Huong River . Ming Mang was a much loved leader and was clearly the tour guides favourite. Ming Mang had over 500 wives and 700 concubines but only had about 120 children which actually quite surprised me. The construction of this elaborate burial site was begun in 1840 ( September)  however in January 1841 King Ming Mang unexpectedly died. The tomb was completed by his son King Thieu Tri and was completed in 1843. I was lucky enough to find my way to the 'head 'of the site the whole monument was built to represent the human body in silent repose. 

The next tomb we visited was that of the Nguyen Emperor  Khai Dinh, this was built on the Chau Chu mountain between 1920-1931. This was my favourite tomb it was absolutely stunning featuring elaborate glass and ceramic mosaics it is blend of Eastern and Western architecture. The Emperor only had 12 wives and two children. The guide told us this was because he didn't like the ladies only the men. Whatever his preferences were his mausoleum is incredible boasting the largest statues of dragons in Vietnam. He was the last emperor to build a tomb and towards the end of his reign seemed to be in the paid employ of the French Government. This might explain the huge amount of French visitors to Hue.

This is a Photo of the Emperor Khai Dinh.  

The tour included a buffet lunch with 50 dishes, unfortunately the invasive smell of prawns turned me off doing the spread justice, I sadly picked at some fruit, crepes  and seaweed jelly. After lunch we boarded a dragon boat to cruise along the Perfume River, there was no sweet aroma but never the less it was indeed very restful. Our destination was a working monastery, I think for the three of us the highlight of this visit was seeing an earnest monk clad in chocolate brown wielding a whipper snipper to trim the grass verges. After the exhausting climb back to the river and the hour long wait (after the designated departure time) I slept for most of the return journey. Luckily the boat berthed in a complex beside our hotel so although it was raining it was a quick return to the sanctity of our upgraded room. ( I had requested a free upgrade because the bathroom ceiling kept dripping which was most inconvenient when I brushed my teeth or used the convenience.)

That evening Liz and I had dinner at Bloom which had been recommended by my daughter, who couldn't remember whether she had liked it for the food or the ambience. The actual highlight of that dining experience was that I asked the young man there if we could have the fan on as it was quite still. He looked quite puzzled but after much gesticulation from me, he finally turned it on. However the reprieve from the heat was short lived as he sat down on a bench directly behind us and turned the fan towards him making sure it wouldn't oscillate. Since it was our last night we went to a backpackers bar and had mohitos, it was a great way to end our night and Liz discovered she had a flair for Jenga.

The next morning while my two travelling companions packed their luggage I went on a one hour cyclos tour around Hue. It was a wonderful experience as my driver spoke very good English and explained a lot about the history of Hue as well as the education system. I wish that I had done this as soon as I reached Hue, in fact as soon as I reached any other destination that we had visited as it immersed me into the the hustle and bustle of the city much more than when I was on a huge tour bus or boat. 

We took a short trip by taxi to the railway station where we waited patiently for our train back to DaNang it was less than two hours late and waiting in the transit room was definitely a cultural experience. Boarding the train was quite horrid, to begin with their is no such thing as a queue here, people just barge you out of the way. I found it highly unpleasant that when I was trying to pass Liz my huge bag (filled with presents for my family) the conductor shouted something and stood on my small carry on case and lurched down the stairs almost felling me to the ground. 

The train journey was indeed as picturesque as we had been told it would be giving us a different perspective to that of our private car journey from DaNang to Hue. DaNang was not what I had expected. When we had previously driven through it we had seen the beach strip that looked quite like the Gold Coast. However finances had not permitted us to book in that area, our hotel was relatively clean though and had great air con. Another plus was that it was very close to the Cham Museum which had been mentioned to us as a 'must visit' by our guide at MySon. This was as fascinating as he had promised although I wish I had been here prior to going to MySon as then I would have had more of an idea of what I was looking at.

After a quick refresh at our hotel we walked past the Pink Cathedral a catholic landmark to 'The Waterfront' which is the most highly recommended restaurant in DaNang in Lonely Planet. Liz and I both enjoyed our entrees much more than our mains but the setting looking over the Han River was definitely extremely relaxing. So that was our very short stopover in DaNang. We went to bed relatively early to prepare for our 4am start the next day.