Hue, in central Vietnam, was the scene of many of the battles in the American War. Just a couple of hundred kilometres below the demilitarised zone, it was stormed and badly damaged in the 1968 Tet Offensive.
Before visiting the city proper we visit the tomb of Minh Mang. This was built by the 1800 century ruler several years before his death and is an extensive complex with elaborate Vietnamese architecture.
This is the house where Minh Mang spent his later years with this 140 concubines and 300 children. Joanna and Louise agree that it probably was not much fun to be a concubine.
Further down river towards Hue, the Thien Mu pagoda towers over a bend in the Perfume River. Here we visit the monastery and see that old Austin car that the Buddhist monk Thiek Quay Duc drove to Saigon in before burning himself alive in 1963.
We then board a dragon boat for a rather slow trip down the river in the fading light to our hotel in Hue.
While the central 'Purple Forbidden City' was destroyed in the Tet Offensive, many of the buildings in the Imperial Enclosure of the Hue citadel remain. The Thai Hoa Palace (left) has fantastic laquerwork and a splendid throne and dais.
In the Hall of Mandarins we see a family dressing up for photos and posing in the Mandarins' throne.
Leaving Hue we head south to Danang and stop to visit the Cham museum. Here there are some splendid, old Hindu carvings and statues from the many Cham sites around the country.
Tom also decorates J's hair which attracts almost as much attention as the carvings.
Our final stop on the route from Hue to Hoi An is the rather disappointing 'Marble Mountains'. There is not a lot left of the mountains but there are masses of marble shops, competing with each other for the most tasteless statues.
Hoi An is our next stop and turns out to be a fabulous place to stay for a few days. Click here for more.
Hue, in central Vietnam, was the scene of many of the battles in the American War. Just a couple of hundred kilometres below the demilitarised zone, it was stormed and badly damaged in the 1968 Tet Offensive.
This is the house where Minh Mang spent his later years with this 140 concubines and 300 children. Joanna and Louise agree that it probably was not much fun to be a concubine.
Further down river towards Hue, the Thien Mu pagoda towers over a bend in the Perfume River. Here we visit the monastery and see that old Austin car that the Buddhist monk Thiek Quay Duc drove to Saigon in before burning himself alive in 1963.
While the central 'Purple Forbidden City' was destroyed in the Tet Offensive, many of the buildings in the Imperial Enclosure of the Hue citadel remain. The Thai Hoa Palace (left) has fantastic laquerwork and a splendid throne and dais.
Leaving Hue we head south to Danang and stop to visit the Cham museum. Here there are some splendid, old Hindu carvings and statues from the many Cham sites around the country.
Our final stop on the route from Hue to Hoi An is the rather disappointing 'Marble Mountains'. There is not a lot left of the mountains but there are masses of marble shops, competing with each other for the most tasteless statues.
Hoi An is our next stop and turns out to be a fabulous place to stay for a few days. Click