Hue

During my Tet vacation, I decided to travel in Vietnam, concentrating on the central coast and highlands. My first stop was Hue and, unusually for me, rather than take a bus, I flew there from Ho Chi Minh City. Most times I prefer to travel by bus or train since it gives me more chances to see the landscape and the daily life of people in the areas we pass through. But this trip I didn't have a lot of time, and Vietnam is a long country, so I started by flying.

The biggest surprise as soon as I arrived in Hue was the weather. I'd expected it to be a little bit cooler than Tra Vinh and maybe with some light rain, but when I got there, it was clear I'd been wrong. The temperatures were about 15º the whole day, and there was constant rain. True, the rain wasn't heavy, but it stopped for just a few minutes each hour. I was dressed in shorts and felt a little bit uncomfortable but not too cold.

Most cities are not very pleasant when you first arrive. There's the problem of finding a hotel and doing this with one's luggage, and this true in Hue. The walk to my hotel wasn't long, but I was constantly shouted at by men on the street who wanted to get my attention. I hate this! And, unfortunately, it made me angry. But as soon as I got to my room and rented a bicycle, things improved a lot.

One of the main attractions in Hue is the Citadel. This is an area built about 150 years ago for the kings of the Nguyen dynasty. There is a large wall, about 2 km long on each side, that makes a huge square, and inside this there were--and still are--many houses, public buildings and businesses. Most of the buildings that existed 100 years ago have been lost in wars, fires, and other accidents, but the ones that survive are beautiful.

Some of the buildings have been restored. The colors are usually a deep, bright, very shiny red with brilliant gold decoration. Even in the rainy, cloudy weather they seemed to have an electric brightness.









My favorite was probably the building dedicated to the memory of many of the Nguyen kings. This building was restored, so the colors were wonderful. But more importantly, there was some real activity there. I happened to arrive just before the end of a ceremony to worship the spirits of the kings, and seeing the people and offerings, smelling the incense, hearing the prayers, bells, and drums made this building seem more alive than the others.













During lunch there, I met a German woman who's traveling around Southeast Asia for 6 weeks alone. She explained that she used to travel with her husband, but that since he died, she's started traveling alone again. Like me, she was surprised--and disappointed--by the cold, wet weather, but we both agreed that traveling in Vietnam is generally safe, friendly and fun, and we both liked the buildings in the Citadel.













In some parts of the Citadel there are hundreds of tourists, and it feels like the corner of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi in Hoi Chi Minh City. Lots of crowds and little space to move. But just a few minutes away, there were places with few or any people, and walking around there was more pleasant.

I spent maybe 6 hours walking around the Citadel, taking pictures, trying to keep my camera dry, and admiring the beauty, both natural and man made. Near the end of my time there, the battery in my camera started to run out of power, so I had to skip many places but that wasn't a real problem since I had enough time to return another day.