Three Days in Hue on the Perfume River

The city of Hue sits along the banks of the Perfume River, quiet and picturesque at every turn.

A center for art and architecture, Hue offers endless walks amid statuary art along the river, king's tombs, pagodas, temples, ancient sites and LESS traffic!

Our first stop was at the Citadel. The 2 meter thick walls stretch 10 kilometers. Many of Hue's people live inside these walls and across the street from what was once the emperor's residence. It was badly bombed by the French and the U.S., so many of the buildings are evident only by a grassy raised outline of former grandeur. Park like in many ways...it was beautiful to wander the quiet grounds.

Remember the monk from Vietnam that set himself on fire? His home temple was here. He drove to Ho Chi Minh City and set himself on fire there to protest government policies. Although his demise was rather dramatic, his temple is a beautiful, peaceful place. The setting along the Perfume River is a few kilometers from the city amid pine trees. Here there were many young monks...some chanting in the temple, others wandering around the grounds.

That evening, we went to a restaurant Mary knew of and had local specialties and listened to some Vietnamese music.

By FAR the most wonderful part of this trip was our time spent with Nhien (another one of Mary's students) and her friend Huong. Nhien is studying international law and is energetic and friendly and I loved her!

She and Huong took us to a tomb about 10 km from the city. It sits nestled amid the trees on a hillside along the river. This tomb is very ornate and the king that is buried beneath the inner room was a glutton for all things of wealth! No wonder the Vietnamese people worship Uncle Ho and his simple life and his wish to make things better for ALL people of his country! The interior of the inner hall was more ornate than any place of mosaics I have ever seen. Every inch of the walls and center under the thrown area and above it were decorated to the max!

Next they took us was a newer temple along the river. A huge white Buddha statue (sorry for the sideways shot!)overlooked the valley below and after a long climb up the hill behind we had a beautiful view. At the top is a peace bell. Around the bell are the Vietnamese words for "Peace and Happiness for Humanity and the World". We all rang the bell in the name of peace.

While we had another short stop at a nearby temple, Nhien had a call from her mom asking when we would be coming to dinner!! A picturesque ride through the countryside and then through the back streets of the city and we were pulling up to her family home. We all drank a few cups of tea as we met her parents first. Then we were invited to sit at the table and the special dishes of Hue started to arrive! Wonderful food!! The first was on small little dishes.. a jelled rice topped with dried shrimp and a piece of pork rind. It was topped with a spoon of sauce, scooped out --delicious!! The second dish was one that was steamed in banana leaves. Lots of homemade meats also...along with Kuda beer from Hue!

After dinner we went to a local coffee house and had some special Royal Tea and enjoyed the ambiance for a while!

The bridge is very famous in all of Vietnam. At night, constantly changing colored lights create a beautiful sight with each span fading from one color to another.

An incredible time in beautiful Hue!!