Day 13 of 36
Hue, Vietnam
I awoke at 6. It gets light here very early since Vietnam does not go on daylight savings time. We showered, dressed, and went to the continental buffet that is included with our hotel room at La Residence. Another beautiful, but very hot, day.
We met our guide, Tung, in the lobby at 8 and headed down to the river to catch our private boat for our cruise on the Perfume River. The driver of the boat lives on the boat with his wife and 4 children. Amazing. They sleep on the floor as most Vietnamese do - no mattresses. His wife put out things for us to buy. Tim haggled for a pair of white silk pants with a drawstring. I got 3 small prints. Later I went up to stand with the captain and we talked for a while. He steers the boat with his foot. That was fun. He was 44 and couldn't believe I was 62. He said "You old man!" (Gee - thanks!).
When his wife found out I had 2 children and 2 grandchildren she talked me into looking at silk outfits for Lauren and Lillian. We looked and looked and I haggled and haggled - she was a tough negotiator, but I got 2 outfits that they can sleep in.
On the boat ride we saw them getting gravel from the bottom of the river. Hard work. Fishermen were out. Water buffaloe and cows. Women washing clothes in the river. We passed some temples. Our first stop was at Thien Mu Pagoda. Interesting stop - still used as a monastery by the Buddhist monks. The car that took the monk to Saigon who self immoliated himself in 1963 was on display and a tourist attraction. The monks raised orchids - lots of them.
We got back on the boat and went much further down the river to Lang Minh Mang - the burial place of the 2nd emperor of the Nguyen dynasty. We bade our captain and his wife farewell and walked a short distance to the site. Tung took us all around and explained the layout and sites. Hot but very educational and interesting. Not too many people. We walked all of the way to the back of the grounds to the area where the emperor is buried. No one knows exactly where he is as this was kept a secret. The park where he is buried is open only one day a year.
We walked a short distance out of the grounds and were met by a car and driver - the air conditioning felt so good. We drove a short distance to Lang Khai Dinh. Here the 12th emperor (next to last) is buried. Interesting blend of architecture - you can see the French influence. He had only 1 child who became the 13th emperor and the last. He abdicated the throne (he was a weak ruler) and went to France to live and died there. There were 13 emperors but only 7 Nguyen tombs. This one was much more elaborate.
After this tomb our driver took us to lunch at a nice restaurant in the countryside Biet Phan Thao Ubi Garden Restaurant. We sat upstairs and had an 8 course meal. We were stuffed. We had 2 Festival beers (Vietnamese) and bottled water. It was good. Dessert was grapefruit but the "pods" were in a touch skin that the server pealed off for us.
After a long lunch we were tired but headed for the last Nguyen tomb - Lang Tu Duc - he was the 4th emperor of the Nguyen dynasty. The buildings were in dire need of repair. All 7 of the Nguyen tombs, the Pagoda and the Citadel are now UNESCO sites. Hue used to be the capital of the united Vietnam until the end of the dynasty.
After Lang Tu Duc our driver and Tung took us back to the hotel where we enjoyed the air conditioning and went for a swim in the large beautiful pool at the hotel looking over the Perfume River.
Hue, Vietnam
I awoke at 6. It gets light here very early since Vietnam does not go on daylight savings time. We showered, dressed, and went to the continental buffet that is included with our hotel room at La Residence. Another beautiful, but very hot, day.
We met our guide, Tung, in the lobby at 8 and headed down to the river to catch our private boat for our cruise on the Perfume River. The driver of the boat lives on the boat with his wife and 4 children. Amazing. They sleep on the floor as most Vietnamese do - no mattresses. His wife put out things for us to buy. Tim haggled for a pair of white silk pants with a drawstring. I got 3 small prints. Later I went up to stand with the captain and we talked for a while. He steers the boat with his foot. That was fun. He was 44 and couldn't believe I was 62. He said "You old man!" (Gee - thanks!).
When his wife found out I had 2 children and 2 grandchildren she talked me into looking at silk outfits for Lauren and Lillian. We looked and looked and I haggled and haggled - she was a tough negotiator, but I got 2 outfits that they can sleep in.
On the boat ride we saw them getting gravel from the bottom of the river. Hard work. Fishermen were out. Water buffaloe and cows. Women washing clothes in the river. We passed some temples. Our first stop was at Thien Mu Pagoda. Interesting stop - still used as a monastery by the Buddhist monks. The car that took the monk to Saigon who self immoliated himself in 1963 was on display and a tourist attraction. The monks raised orchids - lots of them.
We got back on the boat and went much further down the river to Lang Minh Mang - the burial place of the 2nd emperor of the Nguyen dynasty. We bade our captain and his wife farewell and walked a short distance to the site. Tung took us all around and explained the layout and sites. Hot but very educational and interesting. Not too many people. We walked all of the way to the back of the grounds to the area where the emperor is buried. No one knows exactly where he is as this was kept a secret. The park where he is buried is open only one day a year.
We walked a short distance out of the grounds and were met by a car and driver - the air conditioning felt so good. We drove a short distance to Lang Khai Dinh. Here the 12th emperor (next to last) is buried. Interesting blend of architecture - you can see the French influence. He had only 1 child who became the 13th emperor and the last. He abdicated the throne (he was a weak ruler) and went to France to live and died there. There were 13 emperors but only 7 Nguyen tombs. This one was much more elaborate.
After this tomb our driver took us to lunch at a nice restaurant in the countryside Biet Phan Thao Ubi Garden Restaurant. We sat upstairs and had an 8 course meal. We were stuffed. We had 2 Festival beers (Vietnamese) and bottled water. It was good. Dessert was grapefruit but the "pods" were in a touch skin that the server pealed off for us.
After a long lunch we were tired but headed for the last Nguyen tomb - Lang Tu Duc - he was the 4th emperor of the Nguyen dynasty. The buildings were in dire need of repair. All 7 of the Nguyen tombs, the Pagoda and the Citadel are now UNESCO sites. Hue used to be the capital of the united Vietnam until the end of the dynasty.
After Lang Tu Duc our driver and Tung took us back to the hotel where we enjoyed the air conditioning and went for a swim in the large beautiful pool at the hotel looking over the Perfume River.
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