Hue: Around Town

After almost dying of heat exhaustion inside the Citadel (I exaggerate, but it was really hot and we were really thirsty), we stopped for some sugarcane juice just outside the Citadel walls, just past the moat.

We sat on tiny chairs, of course, while a bunch of guys next to us fished out of the moat.  Not sure what they were hoping to catch, but to each his own, I guess:

Walking back from the Citadel to our hotel, we saw this sweet roadside stand designed to meet all of your aquarium fish needs:

All of your bamboo bird cage needs can also be met on that same block.  Move over, Target.  This is one stop shopping at its best:

We caught some photos of the tourist trappy, albeit quite pretty, dragon boats on the Perfume River:

One night our waitress told us there was a night market down by the river that we should check out.  Lots of folks selling this cute fruit lollipops... spiral peeled pineapple, peeled longans, etc.:

Incense Making

Whilst on our tour of the countryside outside of Hue, between tombs and pagodas, we drove through a village that was a center for production of incense sticks.  Incense is a pretty huge part of daily life in Vietnam and they use a whole lot of it.  

The village has all of these beautiful, colorful displays of incense sticks lining the main drag:

You could also watch the ladies actually making the joss sticks in front of you, which was pretty cool. I never really thought about the process before, but basically the woman was rolling a scented paste (the big brown blob on the left) with a paddle until flat and then rolling it onto an individual stick until she got the right amount mushed on there.  I found a video showing it in action... check it out.  Neat.

  

Tombs and Pagodas and Bridges, Oh My

In the area surrounding Hue, along the Perfume River, there are a series of tombs where the former Emperors are honored and/or buried and also an ancient pagoda on the river's edge.  Tim and I toured all of these sites on the back of 2 motorbikes we hired via the Mandarin Cafe, a cute little cafe plastered with beautiful photos of Vietnam taken by the cafe's friendly owner, Mr. Cu (check out his website for a look at his lovely photos).

First we stopped at the Thien Mu Pagoda (Heavenly Lady Pagoda), built on a hilltop in 1601:

The monks were praying while we visited the site- there was some chanting going on, which was pretty cool:

It appeared the monks were also readying some offerings... or lunch?  It's not clear, but they were bringing out large bowls of live snails and fish (the covered bowls were fish, all trying to jump out):

The pagoda grounds also housed this piece of history... the car that carried Thich Quang Duc to Saigon in 1963, to the site of his self-immolation.  He was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's Roman Catholic government, lead by President Diem, and lit himself on fire at a busy intersection.  The car sat behind him in a famous photo of the act and now sits at the Thien Mu Pagoda as a reminder.

After the pagoda, we headed towards the tombs.  We stopped on the way, however, at another pagoda, the Tu Hieu Pagoda, which is surrounded by a pretty lotus pond:

On one side of the pagoda is a cemetery for the eunuchs from the Citadel: 

Finally we reach the first tomb, Tu Duc Tomb.  Like the other emperors' tombs, the tomb is part of a larger complex, planned by the emperor himself and used as a residence and retreat before he died.  Tu Duc's tomb was constructed between 1864 and 1867 using forced labor, which spawned a coup plot that was discovered and suppressed in 1866.  Apparently Tu Duc was not the best or most-liked emperor of the Nguyen dynasty.   

His tomb complex now offers tourists the opportunity to dress up as the emperor would have, for photo opps.  Tim and I did not partake:

 

Tu Duc, despite being only 153 cm (5 feet) tall, was known for having quite a bevy of wives and concubines (and yet no children due to a bout of smallpox)... Tim's motorbike driver told him that the total was over 500 wives, that Tu Duc had to "visit" at least 6 a day, and thus his back hurt regularly.  I did not have such scintillating conversation with my driver.  Other sources tell me his wives totaled to about 100, but that he also accumulated "countless" concubines.

We were told that Tu Duc sat on this veranda in the Xung Khiem Pavilion, overlooking the lotus pond, and composed poetry.  Tim and I spent our brief time on the veranda similarly (although we were probably more sweaty)... we favored haiku:

Vietnam is so hot.

Sweaty shirt sticks to my back

Tiger balm?  Why not.

Outside the tomb is am honor courtyard with horses, elephants, civilian and military mandarins (bureaucrats, statues made in diminutive so that they would be shorter than Tu Duc), and my giant sweaty head:

 Inside the Stele Pavilion, there is a 20-ton stone tablet with inscriptions written by Tu Duc himself (who admittedly made many mistakes in the writings), describing his life, his "imperial cause as well as his misadventures and diseases, etc.":

The tomb itself is enclosed behind a wall covered in an elaborate pottery mosaic (apparently the Chinese character for longevity).  Apparently, the emperor was never interred in the tomb- his burial site (complete with treasure) is a mystery because all of the 200 servants who buried the emperor were beheaded.  Classy.

The also tomb has some cool dragon bannisters and a ginormous spider sitting in his web:

After Tu Duc, we headed to Minh Mang's tomb, built in the middle of the forest, surrounded by lakes, in 1840.

The tomb itself is in the middle of the lake, surrounded by a big wall.... and is unfortunately closed to visitors except once a year on the anniversary of Minh Mang's death.  

We motored by the tomb of Khai Dinh, a hillside monument with a dramatic entrance.  We were all tombed out, though. So many tombs.

Finally, after a jaunt through the rice paddies in the countryside, we stumbled upon the Thanh Toan bridge, built in the late 1700's.  It was eerily cool inside the bridge, and the entire village seemed to be hanging out inside:

Next to the bridge is a  marker depicting the water level from several floods over the years... pretty crazy!

The Citadel

As I briefly mentioned, Hue's main draw is that it was the capital of Vietnam until 1945, the seat of the Nguyen emperors.  The emperors ruled from the Citadel, which is a large (2 km x 2 km) walled area on the banks of the Perfume River, surrounded by a moat and containing the Imperial City and the Forbidden City, where all of the royal family and concubines hung out.

Cyclos and motorbikes heading over the moat on one of the bridges into the Citadel. 

2 meters thick wall surrounding the Citadel.

On the ground of the citadel are some of the war relics from the 1975 battle when Hue fell to the North Vietnamese Army... tanks, guns, etc.

Another view of the moat and the massive walls surrounding the Citadel.

Tim standing with several of the Nine Holy Cannons, which are symbolic protectors of the Imperial Palace, commissioned by Emperor Gia Long.  4 of the brass cannons represent the 4 seasons and the other 5 represent the 5 elements (just like how each of the 5 Marble Mountains represented an element).

I don't know if you can read this description, but it says that the Nine Holy Cannons were called "The Most Powerful Unbeatable Senior Lieutenant General."  Hell yeah.

A close-up of one of the gates to the Citadel.

The flag sits atop 3 tired terraces and is the tallest flagpole in Vietnam. 

Ngo Mon Gate, the principle entrance to the Imperial City.  It was used for ceremonies and "troop viewing" by the Emperors.

This is where the Nguyen Dynasty ended when Emperor Bao Dai abdicated to a Ho Chi Minh delegation in 1945.  It's also the site of Tim wearing a sweaty t-shirt in 2012.

A painting depicting said "troop viewing" - troops and subjects all lined up below the gate.

There are still some elephants kicking around the Imperial City, giving rides. And golden dragon statues, not giving rides.

A large courtyard behind the palaces.  Many of the buildings that used to be here were destroyed in various bombing campaigns by the French and Americans.

Emperor Bao Dai's Imperial Tennis Court.  Labeled as a "special relic" on the sign, it has been lovingly restored by someone who really likes to play tennis.

The elaborate entrance gates of the Truong San residence... really beautiful, super-detailed mosaics of dragons and phoenixes made from broken pottery.

The Mieu Temple Complex includes the 3-tired Hien Lam Pavilion and several temples housing shrines to each of the emperors:

The pavilion is surrounded by Nine Dynastic Urns, each dedicated to one of the Nguyen emperors.  They are pretty massive (to symbolize the power and stability of the Nguyen dynasty) but really delicately detailed:

Me, standing in another cool gateway, trying not to pass out from heat exhaustion:

Tim, admiring the detail work.  So many dragons...