Oh, Hue.

Jan. 18, HUE

I'm down for the evening with a bit of a cold, so I'll pick up where E left on Hue! I will also post about an older day trip to Halong Bay.

So as E said, we rode around on the backs of two motorbikes yesterday. It was a really efficient way to tour Hue, especially since we only had one day to do so. (Another item of note, it was the first day in Vietnam where I learned more details about the Vietnam War; Hue is in Central Vietnam and I believe it was a highly contested area.)

Going back into the 1800's, however, this is a picture with me at the emperor Tu Duc's tomb (which is actually a huge park with many monuments). I love elephants a lot.

Next we went to a lookout over the Perfume River. Mr. Ty, our gregarious tour guide (he calls himself the Hue Easyrider and had a Harley sticker on his Honda bike), gave us a bit of a history lesson on the Vietnam War from a spot where Americans had some bunkers.

We drove to a couple more sites before Mr. Ty took us to an authentic Vietnamese lunch spot. Like many authentic places, we never would've found it; it was behind an alley, and the walls and floor were a tarp over dirt floors. Most delicious Bun Bo I've ever had!

After lunch we visited a giant, walled, royal compound started in the 1800's named simplyThe Citadel. The Citadel was the scene of a terrible battle in the Vietnam war and was bombed and napalmed by American forces. The movie Full Metal Jacket apparently features the Citadel and is set mainly in Hue.

The place was simply immense and at least half was in ruins; it appeared to be in the process of a large-scale restoration. Here, two women restore paint on woodwork.

Inside the walled city is a lovely walk that surrounds the perimeter. After we got overwhelmed by the Citadel structure, E and I accidentally found our way to a calming walkway.

And to bring this post full circle, the Citadel has elephant rides.

The tour for me ended up being a mix of enjoying beauty and being sobered by the realities of the past.

MN