The hotel organised a tour of Hue which, despite a healthy contempt of tour groups, we joined and really enjoyed it. The tour guide, a very attractive and personable young lady called Ang, took us on a coach to the Citadel, the Mandarin House, a pagoda (where a monk burned himself to death in 1965 in protest against the American-imposed Catholic president’s destruction of temples), a boat trip up the Perfume River, a visit to a minority village which makes incense and a couple of mausoleums of past emperors. In the evening, we were persuaded by the hotel manager to travel to Ho Chi Minh City by air rather than road or rail and he booked the tickets for us. He also recommended his sister’s restaurant which we visited and the food was excellent. There are many pictures on davidjennytravel.com (our blog)
The Citadel
Citadel moat
Entrance to the Citadel
Plan of the Citadel, also called the Imperial City. Built in 1802, it was home to 14 Vietnamese emperors until a republic was declared in1945. It originally had 157 buildings but was left with 10 after American bombing in 1968
Staircase in emperor’s palace
Emperor’s temple (To Mieu)
The Emperor’s lake
The queen’s palanquin
area’s where buildings had been bombed
Pictures of the Citadel before 1968
Pictures of emperors
Coronation of last emperor
The queen’s palace
Emperor’s garden
The Mandarin House
Mandarin House altar
Thien Mu Pagoda, where a monk burned himself to death in protest against the American-imposed Cathi dictatorship.
The Past, Present and Future Buddhas
Turtle, symbol of longevity
The boat we sailed on the Perfume River
Incense village. Sticks for sale
One of our friends making incense stick
Stone elephant at Minh Mang tomb
Kai Dinh tomb. Nothing in it.
We climbed Hue’s only hill in a pine forest to see the Perfume River
The last Enperor’s tomb
Tu Duc when he was alive