KO and the Turk: Finding Our Way in Hue

Our bus took us up Highway 1 - the main highway connecting North and South Vietnam. Interestingly, about 15 years ago the highway was redirected in sections to make the road more safe through the mountains. The redirection used the Ho Chi Minh Trail as the foundation.

Sitting centrally between northern and southern Vietnam with access to the sea, Hue became the imperial city (capital) of Vietnam from 1802 to 1945 and was the last home of Vietnamese emperors- the Nguyn Dynasty. This city sourced Vietnamese music, art, literature, astronomy, medicine and over half of the 3000 dishes that make up Vietnamese cuisine. By 1949, the French 'influence' helped move the capital of a divided Vietnam in the south to Saigon. Vietnam reunited in 1975.
Today, 40% of the family names in Vietnam are Nguyn as this name was adopted by the Lee families from China to distance themselves from their ancestry.
Hue is considered the wettest city in Vietnam, and we can attest to that as we were soaked most of our time there!

vendor walking along the Perfume River

" Located only eight miles south of DMZ, Hue was the site of some of the heaviest fighting of the 1968 Tet offensive. As one observer put it, the Citadel was a "camera-toting tourist's dream," but in February 1968 it became "a rifle-toting infantryman's nightmare." Hue was captured by the North Vietnamese on January 31, 1968 and held for 24 days before it was retaken by American and South Vietnamese troops. Over 10,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and temples and palaces were reduced to rubble. Today you can see holes and marks, produced by tank and artillery fire, in many buildings and walls. "(factsanddetails.com) Note that 2 million Vietnamese soldiers and 1 million civilians died in the 20 years of war with France and the Americans (and allies).

DMZ Bar, complete with AK47 Xmas tree with 'peace', 'love', 'joy' signs. Popular bar!

We got a cyclo tour through town one evening to arrive at a private home where a delicious and beautiful dinner was prepared for us. The trip - sitting at bike level during rush hour traffic - was energizing!

Turk and I prepare for our cyclo adventure. Notice Santa in background holding on to reindeer..in Vietnam

One of many cycles - bike and motor - heading thru town

Bridges seem bigger when you are at street level

Trucks seem much larger when you are looking up at them

important observation - traffic is not following any normal pattern! See my foot!

beautiful tiles, furniture, ceramics

ancient glass paintings from the palace

pineapple with candle holds skewered appetizers, surrounded by carrot carvings

rice dish is the shell of carved carrot turtle - complete with a tongue!

edible flowers are like marzipan made of rice

Ngo Mon Gate with emperor's viewing platform above the gate opening - no women allowed

The Citadel was used for 150 years to house and protect the royal family of Vietnam. The buildings were lavish and the grounds were covered in manicured gardens. The battles around the Tet Offensive's Battle of Hue in 1968 largely ruined the Citadel destroying all but about a dozen of 160 buildings. The country is repairing some buildings, reconstructing some, and showing photos of others in order to attract tourist spending.

The 9 Holy Canons were constructed by the emperor using bronze wares collected from the population. Each canon weighs more than 10 tons and has never been fired for military purposes.

across the courtyard from Ngo Mon Gate is the Flag Tower - a BIG FLAG!!!

Restored building

Queen Mother's home with audience hall next door

decorative gate

detail

9 Dynatic urns outside To Mieu Temple. From 1830s to represent each emperor. 1.8 - 2.9 tons each. Smallest is 6.5 ft tall.

very decorative urn and offerings at temple

can see bullet holes from 1968 battle

unrestored building

Off to the market and to lunch; Pho on the street. Locals gave up their plastic stools so we could sit. While walking around, a local woman who spoke a bit of English decided we needed to come to her shop. She heard me say Mark's name and started yelling out, 'Mak, Mak'. We escaped and found a small shop that sold fake NorthFace jackets. Really good fakes, for $20. After we showed our jackets to the group, it became the quest - to find another store selling NorthFace.