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Published: August 6th 2007
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After a short bus ride North from Hoi An I arrived in the former capital of Vietnam and home of the once great Nguyen Dynasty, the imperial city of Hue.
Following a few hours of exploration the night I arrived, my first task was to head out for a day trip to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which ironically was one of the most heavily militarized areas on the planet during the American war. The tour itself was not particularly memorable, and the most interesting part for me was actually the bus ride there and back. As we got further and further out of town we passed countless rice paddies with workers toiling away and mud covered water buffalo roaming the fields. Being on a tour bus, the down side was that there were no opportunities to get off and explore. We were ushered off and on the bus at pre-ordained spots for 2 minute photo ops, but it is certainly a style of travel that I am growing weary of. The most interesting site that we did visit on the tour were the Vinh Moc tunnels. Built as deep as 28m underground, the series of tunnels were used as a
Demilitarized My Ass
A really big gun outside the museum near Khe Sahn, site of a famous battle within the DMZ hide out and shelter during the American war. Potentially tall enough to allow a Vietnamese (or otherwise height challeged) person to stand up straight, I spent our underground visit, which lasted about half and hour, hunched over like Quasi Moto. With people spending months at a time underground, the complex consisted of everything from water wells to a maternity ward the size of a bathtub. In summary, not a place you want to be if you're claustrophobic.
Back in Hue, the main attraction is the massive walled citadel that sits on the North bank of the picturesque Perfume River. As with many other things in the area, war has taken its toll throughout the ages and much of the imperial compound has been detroyed. That being said, it was still neat to follow in the footsteps of former Emporors through a variety of pagodas, lodgings and (thankfully) shaded walkways. After an exhausting afternoon of strolling around in the afternoon sun, I headed back to the hotel for a little rest, and then out for the evening where I stumbled upon a little festival going on in the main park along the river near the centre of town. It was
Vinh Moc Tunnels
Not for claustrophobes the first time I had seen such a large collection of Vietnamese people out past 10pm.... getting up at 5am usually indicates an early bedtime. The festival stage featured act such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the seven dwarves actually being a collection of midgets (oops... little people) who made up Ms. White's back up band, a man who could husk a coconut with his teeth or bare feet, and much much more. Just about as much fun as you can have without understanding a damn things that's going on.
My final day in the city was one of the most refreshing of my trip to date. Eschewing the idea of taking an organized river tour to visit the numerous pagodas and mausoleums that surround the city, I rented a bicycle and headed out on my own. I started out by heading West down the river towards the Thien Mu Pagoda. For the 4 or 5km along the way, I was the only western person on the road and had the chance to stop at a cafe for a rest and to practice my limited Vietnamese. Pulling in to a little place attached to a family home
Hue Citadel
Roof detail from a pagoda inside the walled citadel of Hue for a much needed iced coffee the two girls working the shop started giggling as they pushed each other towards me, both a little shy at the prospect of taking my order. In this case I actually managed to be understood (I've ordered a lot of iced coffee, if nothing else), but when I tried to break out some slightly more complicated phrases like "How are you?" I was met with blank stares, which is not unusual. Vietnamese is a tonal language and my pronunciation is more often than not horrendous, so whatever they think I'm saying is most likely absolutely rediculous.... "How are your mother's avocados, by the way?" Arriving at the pagoda after my little break, I was back in the shadow of the tour buses, but still happy to be at the site. The pagoda still houses the Austin motorcar that transported the monk Thich Quang Duc to the site of his self-immolation in the centre of Saigon in 1963. For those of you not familiar with the term (I wasn't until I looked it up in my guide book), self-immolation is the act of burning oneself to death, in this case in protest of the Diem
Hue Citadel II
The wall and moat surrounding the fortified city Regime which ruled the country with a heavy hand in the years immediately preceeding the American War. There is a very famous picture that was taken of this act of defiance, and most of you would probably recognize it, espcially fans of the band Rage Against the Machine (it was featured on their first album cover... you can see the Austin in the background). It really is unbelievable how determined someone would have to be in order to carry out such an act, especially in the calm and collected way the monk Duc did. Meditation can be powerful stuff.
From the pagoda I set out heading South to visit some of the mausoleums built for many of the former Emporors. While I didn't get completely lost, I was unable to find the one I was looking for as many of the roads were unmarked, as was most of the map I was working from. Stopping to ask directings I ended up having a little Lord of the Flies moment when I pulled into a road side shop for a drink and found it being run by nowbody but a swarm of 10 or 12 year olds. After a while
Hue Citadel III
Inside the walled city gesturing at the map I gave up on getting any directions, but did get them to show me a Chinese Chess game that I have been trying to figure out since I got here. Needless to say, I still don't have any idea how to play, but I appreciated their effort and the cool drink.
Having given up on the mausoleums, I decided to head home, but ended up meeting a bonsai farmer along the road side and got to talking (I am after all, a bonsai enthusiast, even though I seem to be better at killing them than making them grow). After a little conversation I decided to take him up on his offer to take me by some of the mausoleums on his motor bike. It was really great to have a one-on-one guided tour (his english was quite good) and I got to see some of the smaller sites that are a little off the beaten path. One neat experience was running into a few local orphans sitting under a massive tree who's roots trailed over the side of a rocky mound it was growing over. Again, I didn't understand much of the conversation, but it
Hue Citadel IV
A mean looking statue guarding the entrance to one of the Imperial Residences inside the citadel was a riot watching my tour guide teaching them a few Kung-fu moves, including pointing out a few pressure points that sent the one "lucky" kid nomitated as volunteer recoiling in a mixture of pain and laughter (but only for a second, and in a good natured way, of course).
Once again, just as I had started getting a feel for the town and the neighbourhood I'd been living in for the last few days when it was time to head out again, this time to Hanoi and the surrounding area via the night bus (think a very large bus with 39 very small beds in it, each person's head rising over the feet of the person lying behind them). More on that in the next entry...
Mike
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