Blogs from Thua Thien - Huế, North Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 7

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Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế November 14th 2014

We arrived in Hué late at night and it was pouring down with rain. So we caught a taxi that took us straight to the hotel, had a late dinner in the hotel, and went straight to bed. The next morning our guide came to pick us up. Our day started with a boat trip on the Perfume River. The river has its name because the people living at its banks used to grow herbs along the river and that is why the air always smelled nice. We got off the boat at Thien Mu Pagoda, a Buddhist temple. The main pagoda consists of seven floors and overlooks the Perfume River. Behind it there are several other pagodas and buildings. In one there is a car that is supposed to remind people of an incident: During ... read more
Hué: Thien Mu Pagoda
Hué: Citadel I
Hué 014: Citadel II

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế November 10th 2014

Breakfast at the hotel and on the bus. We are in Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam and one of its most important historical areas. The basic look and feel of the city is similar to Saigon, perhaps slightly more dilapidated. I would guess that there are more bicycles, even though they are still outnumbered by motorbikes. One interesting difference is the presence of many older buildings that are still in use, some from the colonial French period, some from the 19th-century Mang dynasty, and some even older. It is fascinating to see a relatively modern construction standing right next to a stone building right out of Indiana Jones. As we leave the city and climb into the surrounding hills, we have a view of the broad Perfume River that flows through Hue to the sea. ... read more
Entrance to the ancient Citadel, Hue
Gate inside Imperial City
Steps leading to Thien Mu pagoda

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế September 24th 2014

We had a full day today! After a very nice breakfast at the hotel (probably the nicest breakfast buffet so far), we met the group at 9 am. Susan was feeling much better today and seems to be over her stomach bug. It was a rainy morning, and unlike other days, it has rained on and off all day. Generally just a light rain, but kind of annoying. What can you do, it's the rainy season and no point complaining about the weather. Generally we've been really lucky with the weather. And the forecast for Halong Bay on Friday is for sun! We hopped on the back of motorbikes and whizzed off for our tour. It was quite exciting riding through the streets of Hue on motorbikes. We headed out to the countryside, which was very ... read more
Susan heading out on motorbike tour
On our motorbike tour
On our motorbike tour

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế September 23rd 2014

The day started early with Susan and I meeting some of the group at 6:30 this morning for a bicycle ride around Hoi An. It was a nice morning, and we had a fun ride. It was good to get some exercise, and to see the pretty scenery around Hoi An. I tried to take some photos while riding, but soon gave up as it was too difficult to watch where I was going, keep my balance on the somewhat rickety bike, not run into one of the many motorbikes who passed us, and take photos too! There were a lot of water buffalo and I particularly remember one scene I was unable to photograph. There was a big water buffalo in a field surrounded by many fairly large white birds, with one bird riding on ... read more
Hoi An lanterns
Lori at dinner
Susan at dinner

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế » Hué March 31st 2014

From Huế we bussed north toward Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng, with a stop at the Demilitarized zone that formerly divided Vietnam between north and south. There we stood on a bridge over the Ben Hai river and visited the war museum and some of the underground tunnels the North Vietnamese lived in during the war. Such a complicated mythology surrounds the Vietnam war in America; my generation has grown up with the questions it raised. It entered our popular culture, especially through films and books written by ex-POWs and men that fought there. And we have family members and close friends that served during that war. Decades after it ended pundits still discuss the repercussions and legacy of American's involvement; we are immersed in it. So much so that when we first arrived in Vietnam we weren't ... read more
Ho Chi Minh
Ben Hai River
Inside the tunnels at Vịnh Mốc

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế » Hué March 29th 2014

hue unter erbarmungsloser sonne. nach ausgezeichnetem frühstück mit riesiger obst-auswahl, alles was das herz begehrt, machen wir uns auf den weg, ein moped für den tag zu mieten. das ist hier irre billig und nachdem markus bereits bekanntschafft mit dem wuselig-unorthodoxen verkehr machte, ist es ihm ein leichtes uns durch hue zu schaukeln. unser plan ist, zwei der berühmten grabmäler der nguyen dynastie zu besichtigen. was laut plan anfangs ganz einfach schien, erweist sich aber mangels genauer straßenkarte als äußerst hoffnungslos. völlig ahnungslos treffen wir dann aber unter dem fahren auf eine einheimische bäuerin mit unglaublichen (für vietnam…) englisch-kenntnissen, welche gleich neben einem der gräber wohnt. wir folgen ihr also auf aufforderung durch den hektischen morgenverkehr, vorbei an ganzen familien auf einem moped (die kinder sind zeitweise an die rücke... read more
Minh mang
Inside farm house
Khai dinh

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế » Hué March 28th 2014

früh morgens geht es heute vom gemütlichen pepperhouse homestay mit dem bus über die dmz-tunnel nach hue (wird wie das englische “way” ausgesprochen). die dmz-tunnel sind mehrere kilometer lange, 1,6-1,8m hohe und etwa 90cm breite schächte unter der erde, in denen 300-600 menschen bis zu 2 ½ jahre während des american war gelebt haben. 17 kinder wurden darin geboren, es gab eigene wasser- und belüftungssysteme. mit einem guide steigen wir einige meter unter die erde und drängen uns für 20 minuten in die erschreckend kleinen tunnel. ich bin ja schon wirklich klein, komme aber nicht umhin über die gesamte strecke den kopf einzuziehen, der markus haut sich kopf und schultern mehrmals an den engen gängen auf. bereits nach wenigen minuten lässt sich erahnen, was das geheißen haben musste - jahrelang ohne licht, ohne privatsphäre, ohne die ... read more
rice cake
veggie market
meat market

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế » Hué March 23rd 2014

It's Matt's (and his twin sister Kristin's) birthday! So the celebratory trip was his choice. He decided we should spend a few days in Huế, then tour the The Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam before continuing on to Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park to tour its caves and grottos. A place we are sure to encounter leeches again. Sigh. We took a bus to Đà Nẵng and then the Reunification Express train north to Huế. Queuing for tickets was as stressful as we expected - in Vietnam the person that pushes, prods or otherwise tramples his way to the front of the line gets served first, so people don't hesitate to force their way in front of you, even thrusting money around you to the clerk and calling out destinations from behind. There is ... read more
Nhu Y River Bridge
Cyclist crossing Moat
Koi in the Palace Pond

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế » Hué March 21st 2014

When our 'Driver' forced his way between a group of cone hatted Vietnamese female pedestrians, nearly swiping one of them, Karen and Karlie let go with a cry and I told the driver to get us into nearby Hue' and leave us there. Our long planned return to the Ashau had not panned out as we had hoped. On our last trip to Vietnam we had been mesmerized during a tour of the beautiful Ashau Valley and so when we knew we were coming back we looked forward to revisiting the spot. An American acquaintance of ours who lives in Danang told us that he could arrange for car rental and would act as our guide/ driver. We agreed. Silly us. We planned on a six day trip and in the end we barely completed two. ... read more
Ao Dais
Cyclo Cabs
John T McDonnell

Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế February 28th 2014

What a lovely day for a boat trip. Glorious blue sky all day and winter is definitely over now in this part of Vietnam. We can almost see the leaves coming out on the trees as we watch. They will look fantastic in a month’s time when all the blossom is out. After breakfast we took a taxi back down to the Dragon Boat station and found our boat, number 0367. We wholeheartedly recommend this boat and the family which owns and run it. We have promised the daughter (named Jolly Tran we think) that we would tell people to book this boat and we are doing so. Our friendly boat owner’s daughter came running up as we found the boat, she had waited to go to school until we were safely arrived. Her dad got ... read more
Children from the Hue Perfume River boat station
Cat in a Hat
Dragon Boat racing ours on Hue Perfume River




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