Friday 13th was a very enjoyable day for us in Hue on Vietnam’s central coast. We arrived early in the morning on an overnight bus from Hanoi after a journey of 700km south. Hue (pronounced Hway) is a small city of about 300,000 people just south of the former Demilitarized Zone that separated North Vietnam from South Vietnam for twenty years from 1954.Hue was the political capital of Vietnam for 150 years from 1800, under the 13 emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty. As a result there is plenty of historical interest to see in and around this pleasant city bisected by the Song Huong (Perfume River). Convinced by the glowing testimonials in the visitors’ book at the Café on Thu Wheels opposite our hotel, we booked one of their half-day motorbike tours to see some of the sights.
First stop was the Citadel, the Emperors’ moated Imperial city on the north bank of the Perfume River. This sprawling complex contains many photogenic buildings in varying stages of restoration following decades of political upheaval and actual bombing of the site in the 1960s and 70s. We then zoomed through broad-acre rice paddy fields to get to the village of Thanh Toan to see the attractive 1700s tile-roofed bridge of the same name that crosses a stream here. Then it was on to the Thien Mu Pagoda, again on the north bank of the Perfume River just out of Hue. This was built in 1600 and is today one of Vietnam’s iconic historical structures that features on countless postcards. Next stop was the Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc, the fourth Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty who ruled for 38 years from 1848. According to our Lonely Planet guide book, Emperor Tu Duc was a serious gourmand, expecting “50 dishes to be prepared by 50 cooks to be served by 50 servants at every meal. And his tea had to be made from the dew that accumulated on leaves overnight. Not too demanding then!”
Tu Duc’s Tomb and associated buildings are contained within manicured, majestic grounds graced by a winding stream, stone walls and bridges, and rows of pine and frangipani trees. This place is exquisitely beautiful and not to be missed if you ever come to Hue. From there we rode on to a Buddhist monastery to catch the monks’ 4pm chanting session. A large number of western tourists were sitting on the floor just behind the monks, listening reverently to the chanting. It was nice but I was more interested in the buildings and structures. Just to the side of the temple was an old cemetery with very attractive moss-covered headstones and small stone fences. Our final destination for the day was Vong Canh Hill that overlooks a sharp bend in the wide, clear Perfume River. There are two concrete bunkers at the top of the lookout with small holes in the walls. These were used first by the French, and later the Americans and their allies, to keep watch over the river traffic below and to blast any identified enemy boats that dared to pass this way.
Hue’s climate is tropical and the cold of the Chinese winter is now just a memory. The challenge now is to keep cool and minimize sweating. We realized afterwards that the motorbike tour was perfect for this. Although out in the open, the breeze rushing past as we zoomed along had a very cooling effect. It was a great day; our drivers/guides were careful and knowledgeable and it was a novel and fun way for us to see the sights. Café on Thu Wheels thoroughly deserves the accolades it receives from visitors.
We ended the day with dinner at Omar Khayyam’s Indian Restaurant just down from our hotel – it was impossible to resist the tempting smells we noticed every time we walked past earlier in the day. We were far less finicky and demanding than Emperor Tu Duc, merely requiring three dishes: Fish Masala, Chicken Vindaloo and Vegetable Curry. With side serves of naan bread and saffron rice of course. It was all excellent - I doubt that Tu Duc himself would have eaten much better.
As I write this we are reclining in another sleeper bus on Saturday afternoon headed further south down the coast. Reading or tapping away on the keyboard provides a welcome distraction from the crazy suicidal traffic outside. China’s traffic can be very bad in places; Vietnam’s is certainly worse with many drivers not fit to be behind the wheel. If you’re reading this it probably means I’m not dead.
