Daniel Young Travels: Hue, Vietnam

We flew from Hanoi to Hue, the old Imperial capital, a somewhat slower-paced town. We arrived on the eve of a big 12-day international culture festival. Our maximum participation in that festival was sitting in the evening in the open-air Book Cafe on our side of the Perfume River, listening to the sounds of a rock concert coming from across the river accompanied by laser lights.

We did the usual tourist things, the Citadel and its fairly well-preserved remnants of the gigantic Imperial City (Forbidden City), a river-boat trip to a famous pagoda and a Mandarin house and garden, a drive to nearby village with a famous wooden bridge and market, (with our trip coinciding with a big festival day with boat races, tremendous crowds and a carnival atmosphere) and finally two tombs of aristocratic big shots. All this was done in tremendous heat with an umbrella borrowed from our driver for the last two.

All these places look better in photos than in actuality. Also, they do not show all the heat, humidity, garbage, disrepair and ugliness in between.

Main entrance to Citadel - Forbidden City inside, entirely surrounded by a moat.

Portion of inside - lots of buildings in various states of repair, big spaces all around, no slaves to carry us from one point to another.

Ticket checking


The Empress of Vietnam!........, actually, a tourist in "pay-to-be-photographed" operation in the palace.

View within, that's a moat at the bottom

Pagoda, seen down the river on a boat trip. Seven roofs supposedly represent the seven bodily forms of Buddha, or the seven veils of Salome, or the seven Dwarfs.

Entering the village on festival day. That's our driver/guide followed by Emma's hat.

Crowd scene - villagers watching boat race. By the way, masks against air pollution (and also to keep the skin pale) are commonplace , particularly on motorcyclists, scooter riders and bicyclists.

Boat Race - Green team totally outclassed the others.

Speed of drumming gives proximity clue to blindfolded contestant trying to break small hanging ceramic pot.

Villager offers treat of frozen condensed milk.

Ducks enjoy the festivities.

Part of a 19th century tomb park (Minh Mang).

One of the many figures in the Minh Mang tomb (a park-like arrangement with many buildings and no clue as to where the guy is actually buried.) That's real hair on the sculpture.