Saturday November 10, 2012
Tokyo, Japan
Gorgeous Fall Weather
One of the side trips I was very much looking forward to is visiting the ancient capital of Vietnam Hue. It was also the site of one of the bloodiest battles during the American War - The Tet Offensive. Almost everyone in Hue has a relative who was killed during that time including our driver and our guide. We were going to just do a one day trip but in hindsight, we would have spent a night to really enjoy the trip.
We were going to take the mountain pass to Hue from Danang but were told if it is rainy, its too dangerous and we would have to take the tunnel (which happens to be the longest tunnel in southeast Asia - 7kms or so). Anyhoo, we were lucky in that it was not raining albeit overcast. So we took off at 7am for our day trip to Hue.
The drive was beautiful along the mountains next to the sea. It was a spectacular drive.
View of the former leper colony from the drive.
We then got to the peak of the mountain where remnants of the old French barrack and later used by the US were still standing. We were also told to stay on the path as there are lots of poisonous snakes in the mountain. Last time Dat was there, a French tourist from another group strayed and got bitten by the famous poisonous green snake. She had to be rushed to the hospital. Dat does not know what happened to her. It was quite a nice place as cows from the farms were also found roaming the mountains.
The old French Barracks
Once we got into town, our first stop was to the studio of a famous artist in Hue. We would have never found his place without our guide Dat. The artist's name is Nguyen Thien Duc. Very well known and also head of the college of Art at Hue Art University. His paintings were magnificent. I wanted many pieces but settled on this piece. As we were buying directly from the artis, I had to pay cash which was a problem. I ended up going to the ATM doing 10-15 withdrawals to be able to get enough of the cash. I LOVE the painting. And Mr Nguyen is very nice and a gentleman. We were so lucky to have Dat introduce us to him. Can't wait to hang the picture in my apartment in Tokyo!
The talented Nguyen Thien Duc.
Then it was time for some sightseeing. Our first stop was Emperor Khai Dinh's tomb. And boy, was it an elaborate tomb. It took over 11 years to built and is located in the beautiful Chau Chu mountains. The tomb was completed by the "last emperor" his son Bao Dai in 1931. It's nothing but over the top. Khai Dinh was known to be the "salaried" employee of the French. He also imposed a 30% tax on the people to build it so one can imagine what the villagers thought of him. I could not believe how over the top it was with a combination of Chinese, Vietnamese and European influences. Although I'm glad I went, I did not have a good feeling about it as many people suffered for the emperor to have his tomb built.
The entrance
The tomb!
The ceiling was painted using and ancient technique where the foot is used to paint it.
The two pushy Vietnamese sales ladies trying to get me to buy a fan and tiger balm.
Next stop was the Tu Doc Royal Tomb. The tomb is located in a gorgeous pine forest and the buildings were done in the style that was common during the Nguyen dynasty. I have to say I loved the place as it was serene, austere and beautiful. I believe he was the 4th emperor and was the last Emperor I believe to resist French influence. The history of Vietnam is amazing. A country that was finally established by the Nguyen family, only to be invaded by the French, then the Japanese, War with America (America did not go into War to colonize but side with South Vietnam) and then China. Tough country, tough people but the nicest people in the world.
The grounds of the tombs
Shrine for the concubines
The tomb, but is he really buried there?
After the visit, we headed back to the city, got on the rickshaws and visited the Citadel and the famous pagoda which I posted about last week. It was a long day but lots of fun!
Thank you Dat from Trails of Indochina for making our trip special
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