Hue in a Day (or Two)

Marble Mountain
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February 13, 2006

The bus ride from Hoi An to Hue was nice and easy with a couple of interesting stopovers on the way up.  Of note was the Marble Mountain around which are hundreds of marble sculptors and their shops.  The whole bus ride was beautiful with some lovely coastline, colorful villages, and rice paddies along the way.

Short But Sweet

During the first leg of the ride we met a nice Vietnamese man named An, a military photographer for the South in the Vietnam (American) War, who shared with us some of his views on the government's treatment of southerners after the war.  He said that southerners were definitely treated worse than northerners who are "allowed to do whatever they want," while the south is subject to more rules and general repression.  According to An, northerners are not as warm and receptive as the southerners, besides "they eat monkeys, dogs, and even cats" (we will have some time to find out for ourselves).

Mouth of the Marble Cave
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The ancient imperial city of Hue is now a fairly large, industrial and commercial center that spans both sides of the Perfume River.  It dwarfs the tiny town of Hoi An and was the site of the infamous Tet Offensive during the war.  Some remnants of the battles remain, but the city is rebuilding in order to regain its status as the cultural heart of Vietnam.

We arrived in Hue in the early afternoon and took a stroll through a wonderful sculpture garden after finding some accommodations.  The expanse and beauty of the park and garden was a welcome respite from the noisy streets.  Nothing was for sale!

Street of Statues
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We ended up our day by taking a cyclo (a tricycle with a seat on the front) tour of the Old City.  The slow ride was the perfect way to view the Forbidden Purple City and the Citadel (the fortress of the old capitol) as motos whizzed past on all sides.

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February 14, 2006

Our second day in Hue we spent taking a dragon boat trip down the Perfume River to see an ancient temple and tombs.  The trip cost all of $1.50 each, including lunch, but it was a bit anticlimactic since each spot we visited had a higher entrance fee than the last.  The whole thing was definitely worth it for the views we had of the river and its banks.  Our favorite site of the day was the first temple we visited, the Thien Mu Pagoda.  It is a seven story octagonal pagoda that dates to the mid-nineteenth century, but the working monastery actually dates to the early seventeenth century.  One interesting piece of history is the Austin motorcar that drove the monk Thich Quang Duc to Saigon where he burned himself to death in protest.

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Now for a romantic Valentine's night on a 14 hour bus ride to Hanoi!