Day 100 - Hue
100 days just flies by..
After our shortest bus trip in Vietnam (4 hours) we were in Hue. Hue is the old capital of Vietnam (the self proclaimed "cultural capital") or the Uppsala of Vietnam. ;)
We were only spending two days here, so right after we had checked into a hotel, we walked to the main landmark of the city, the citadel.
At first sight the area looks very impressive. The buildings cover a huge area that is surrounded by a moat filled with water lilies. After seeing the entrance our expectations began to grow, but as we entered, they quickly crashed again. One building inside the compound seemed to be authentic; however, the rest seemed suspiciously well preserved. Walking further in we even saw new buildings being built. We also realized that since Angkor Wat, we feel like we still have "temple overdose".
Knowing this, it was probably a bad idea to go on the Perfume River cruise the next day. Nonetheless, this is what we did. We got on a painfully slow "dragon boat" with 20 other people. Our boat stopped at every structure we floated past that was situated along the riverside.
Our first stop took us to something neither of us had seen before, a Kung Fu show. For 20 minutes 6-7 small but very muscular Vietnamese fought each other with spears, swords and nun chucks. They also pressed bamboo spears against their throats and smashed bricks with their elbows. Most of it was of course staged, and more like well choreographed dance that was performed in front of us.
After the Kung Fu show, we went to what is supposed to be the most famous building in Vietnam. A 20 meter tall pagoda. After the pagoda, we went to one temple and 3 tombs. All were very pretty, but we felt stressed because we had to catch our night bus to the capital right after our tour.
Hue did not end up to be our favorite town, but we would probably have liked it much more if our appetite for old buildings was stronger.
After our shortest bus trip in Vietnam (4 hours) we were in Hue. Hue is the old capital of Vietnam (the self proclaimed "cultural capital") or the Uppsala of Vietnam. ;)
We were only spending two days here, so right after we had checked into a hotel, we walked to the main landmark of the city, the citadel.
At first sight the area looks very impressive. The buildings cover a huge area that is surrounded by a moat filled with water lilies. After seeing the entrance our expectations began to grow, but as we entered, they quickly crashed again. One building inside the compound seemed to be authentic; however, the rest seemed suspiciously well preserved. Walking further in we even saw new buildings being built. We also realized that since Angkor Wat, we feel like we still have "temple overdose".
Knowing this, it was probably a bad idea to go on the Perfume River cruise the next day. Nonetheless, this is what we did. We got on a painfully slow "dragon boat" with 20 other people. Our boat stopped at every structure we floated past that was situated along the riverside.
Our first stop took us to something neither of us had seen before, a Kung Fu show. For 20 minutes 6-7 small but very muscular Vietnamese fought each other with spears, swords and nun chucks. They also pressed bamboo spears against their throats and smashed bricks with their elbows. Most of it was of course staged, and more like well choreographed dance that was performed in front of us.
After the Kung Fu show, we went to what is supposed to be the most famous building in Vietnam. A 20 meter tall pagoda. After the pagoda, we went to one temple and 3 tombs. All were very pretty, but we felt stressed because we had to catch our night bus to the capital right after our tour.
Hue did not end up to be our favorite town, but we would probably have liked it much more if our appetite for old buildings was stronger.
I appreciate the wonderful photo of the boat on the Perfume River. "I can only imagine" the history that has accrued in the various places that you are traveling.