Day 37: Hué, Vietnam

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March 5th 2009

Published: March 5th 2009

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Ferdi and Talita

Dragon Boat

Tuesday, March 3rd

So today was the day we would see if we'd get our passports back. We had to wait till the afternoon cause we joined a guided group tour for the day to visit some of the many tombs, temples and mausoleums scattered throughout Hué.

We got on a "Dragon boat" and cruised down the Song Huong (Perfume) river to the Garden House, then to the Thien Mu Pagoda where we saw, amongst other things, the car that Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk, took to the intersection of Phan dinh Phung street and Le van Duyet on June 11th 1963 in Saigon.
As soon as he got out of the car he sat down in the lotus position and burned himself to death in protest against the Ngo dinh Diem regime's policies of discrimination against Buddhists and violating religious freedom. There's a photo of him burning on the wall behind the car (and also on the CD cover of Rage Against the Machine's self-titled album).

Talking about burning... The weather here is hot and humid and we were soon drenched in sweat once more. Hanoi was crazy and expensive, but at least it wasn't so hot!

Dragon Boats

There are too many sights to see and most has an entrance fee, so you have to choose which to enter and which to skip, otherwise it gets very expensive.

We went to the Hon Chen Temple and paid 44,000 dong to enter but it was a rip-off.

We had lunch on the boat then cruised to the Minh Mang Tomb but we didn't go in. These tombs are the burial places of the Nguyen Emperors. They are located along the Perfume river and are Unesco World Herritage sites.

We continued the tour on a bus to the Khai Dinh Tomb (didn't go in either but got some pictures from outside) followed by a visit to the Tu Duc Tomb. We went in and it was big, old and interesting, but by that time we were pretty tired and really just wanted to be back at our hotel.

On the way back we stopped to see how they make conical hats and incense. We're both a little tired of history and culture by now. All we want is some quality beach time right now, but it'll probably only happen once we're in Hoi An.

Pagoda

Thien Mu Pagoda

Once back at our hotel we grabbed a shower and was delighted and relieved to find that our passports had arrived safely.

After dinner we went to fetch Talita's silk outfit but it wasn't quite ready yet so we went for a walk next to the Perfume river. The Trang Tien Bridge is illuminated by lots of lights that change colour. It really is quite beautiful!

Today's highlights:
1. Getting our passports back!
2. Cold shower after the long day.
3. Enjoyed a lovely noodle dish at Avi & U.

Additional photos below

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