City of Hue

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Arrival into the City of Hue -

It was evening and we were greeted with exceptional service by the service staff of our hotel called, Villa Hue. It is actually a training hotel for tourism in Vietnam. However, you would not recognize it as a training hotel. The hotel was highly recommended by others and by our tour company. The hotel is of 4-5 star rating. Martyn would be a little jealous if he were to see the beauty and experience the service of this place.

The following morning we set out for a partial day tour of several historical sites, including tombs from previous emperors and the famous Thien Mu Pagoda, the symbolic icon of Hue placed on a hillside along the Perfume river. Hue is the old imperial city of Vietnam. It was also the site where one of the bloodiest battles of the Tet offensive took place during the Vietnam war. There are numerous royal tombs to visit, but our time was limited so we visited some of the most popular ones. Hue is located in Centeral Vietnam, close to the demilitarized zone. You could spend at least 3 days here to visit all the sites - if not more time.

We were all blown away by the changes we experienced in Hue in regard to infrastructure and attitude compared with Northern Vietnam. There is only a quarter of the motorbikes on the road compared to Hanoi. There was a much more laid back atmosphere here in Hue.

Our hotel is located in a great area of town - walking distance to the restaurants and bars.

The temperature in Hue was hot and humid. This was the beginning of blue skies and hot weather that we experienced for the rest of the trip ending in Cambodia.

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Photos

Tomb of Tu Duc
Constructed between 1864-1867

Tomb of Khai Dinh
Ruled from 1916-1925

Tomb of Khai Dinh
Standing further up after climbing many steps

Villa Hue Hotel
Site for breakfast

Flag Tower
At the site of the Citadel - Hue's 2m thick and 10km long walls make up the citadel.