Hue

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Hue,

Fun, fun, fun today. Got to ride on the back of a motorbike.

We rode around who knows where but I am sure that is part of the tour going through all the laneways and alleys. We started off by visiting the Thanh Toan market which is on every day where everyone sells everything including raw meat, fish and live baby ducks. (see pictures)

Once we had looked at the markets we were give a demonstration on how rice is made and what type of beds were used in the past. All very physical and this was shown to us by a very elderly lady. At this place they have a bridge that was built in 1776 and is called the Thanh Toan Tiled - Roofed Bridge. We all had our fortune told by the local fortune teller who seems to rake in a fortune every day for doing this for the tourists. Unfortunately I didn't understand most of what she told me - maybe that's a good thing.

After this we moved onto the cemetery. Huge place - all the headstones are massive and according to the Buddhist custom people are buried without a headstone and after 4 years their remains are dug up, the bones cleaned and reburied with the headstones in place.

After a visit to the cemetery we went to visit to the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc. Unfortunately the place is mostly ruins but you still get the idea of how big these places must have been.

Moving along on our trusty bikes we stopped at a nunnery where lunch was provided to us. Totally vegetarian but absolutely delicious. Very tranquil and quiet atmosphere.

After lunch we drove down to the Perfume River for a boat cruise up to the Thien Mu Pagoda. This is an active Buddhist monastery and well known for the monk who drove his car to Saigon in 1963 and set himself on fire as a protest against the treatment of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese regime.

Thien Mu Pagoda is set atop Ha Khe Hill, in the village of Huong Long about three miles from Hue city center. The pagoda overlooks the northern bank of the Perfume River. The pagoda exudes a peaceful air, ornamented as it is by pine trees and flowers. The octagonal seven-level pagoda known as Phuoc Duyen Tower is the most prominent single structure in Thien Mu Pagoda; standing on the crest of the hill, the tower is visible from far away. But that’s not all there is to the pagoda complex. The compound is actually spread out over two hectares of land, with other structures around and behind the tower. In fact, the Phuoc Duyen tower is far younger than the pagoda complex itself; the the tower was constructed in 1844, over two hundred years after the pagoda was founded in 1601.

The front of the pagoda can be reached by climbing up a steep staircase from the river’s edge. Not easy if you have short legs. The tower is considered Hue's unofficial Symbol.

We returned to our boat and cruised down the river to a pick up point and returned to Hue on the bikes.

Very long day but very interesting and great fun. Tomorrow we catch a plane to Hanoi.

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