September: Trip to Huế

A few weeks ago, Shannon, Scout, and our friend Helena took a 65 minute flight to spend a long weekend in Southcentral Việt Nam to explore Huế (pronounced ‘hway’), the capital of the Nguyên emperors.

Huế, a small city with just under 400,000, is located on the beautiful Perfume River. After the noise, pollution, and flatness of Sài Gòn, Huế seemed like a magical place, surrounded by green mountains and a calmness just outside the city’s center.

We had a private guide on Saturday who took us on a boat ride to the Bảo Quốc Pagoda, which is a center for training monks. Then we toured the Citadel and Imperial Enclosure (built between 1804-1833). Here is a citadel within the citadel, housing the emperor’s residence, temples, etc. The place was badly bombed 2x, first during the French War and again during the American (we say ‘Vietnam’) War. Only 20 of 148 buildings have survived. There are 10 entrances, but only one for women.

After lunch we saw the spectacular royal tomb of Khải Định (1916-1925). The art in this building was impressive, especially the mosaic glass pieces. Our tour ended with a walk around the royal tomb of Tự Đức (1864-1867). No one knows where the king is buried in this enclosed, large “park.” The king’s body was escorted by 100 men through an underground tunnel; the tunnel was sealed with the workers inside, who chose to die inside the tomb alongside the king. The king made sure that these workers’ families were well provided for due to the loyalty of his escorts.

Sunday we relaxed: We walked through the city’s market and enjoyed drinks at a hotel rooftop restaurant. Around 3pm, we were treated to a vegetarian meal at a Buddhist restaurant with Helena’s friends–both professors at Huế University.

Monday (“National Day” in VN) we were given another personal tour of sites outside of Huế: a bike ride around the Village of Pomelo, a look at an arena where royals watched elephants kill de-clawed tigers (because it was important for the bad tigers to die), and a walk through an abandoned theme park. Our guide, Mr. Ha (from Đà Nẵng), was informative, earnest, and the most intensely real/authentic person I have met in a long time. I hope I get to meet him again while on this year-log adventure.

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