And I thought the Halong Bay trip Was an early start. Friday I was up at 3.30am for a 6.30am flight. We were heading to Hue (pronounced Hway) in the middle of the DMZ ( Demilitarized Zone) a supposedly neutral zone during to American-Vietnam War. It ended up being one of the most heavily bombed areas in Vietnam.
There was so much more history to Hue than I had realised. This was my first trip there and I had much to learn. Hue was the imperial capital of the region, right up till 1945. The old city (Citadel) still exists, though it is in a bit of a state of ruin after wars and natural disasters. Situated on a huge piece of land just north of the river, it used to contain all the city behind it's thick surrounding walls and imposing gate with massive flag. The Forbidden Purple City inside housed the Emperor and his 104 wives & countless concubines. For those who have been to the Forbidden City in Beijing, it reminded me a lot of this. Even the Chinese influence. It's very strong here.
Next stop was the royal tombs, where all the Emperors had been buried. There were multiple tombs scattered just south of the city. And they were impressive! Our first stop (after an unimpressive dragon boat (literally!) trip down the river) was the tomb of Ming Mang, Emperor from 1820 – 1840. Situated on 28ha of land, there is a massive lake with pavilions and courtyards, and bridges joining all the buildings. Surrounding all the building is gorgeous forest, just like you would find in the country. The Emperor is supposedly buried on the estate, somewhere under a giant hill in the back. No one knows the exact location and a giant wall surrounds the hill to protect it's secrets.
Next tomb was the Tomb of Khai Dinh, the second last Emperor (1916-1925) and supposedly a puppet of the French. His monument is set at the top of a large hill with a great view and is quite different from Ming Mang's. There is not much land and the buildings are now covered in blackened concrete, making it look almost gothic. But the best bit is yet to come, when you go inside. The walls are covered in the most amazing mosaic's. Tiles made in to patterns on every inch of wall inside. Then there is a gold throne and statue of him, under which he is supposedly buried under 18m of concrete – so no one steals his body.
Our final stop of was the tomb of Tu Duc, supposedly the most popular tomb. It also had a lake and numerous buildings of worship. And houses for his concubines. And wives. At the back of the estate is his burial site surrounded by a massive wall. The entire site looks like it is being overtaken by the environment, as the ruins are falling apart and covered in moss. Very different to the other 2 sites, but gave it a certain uniqueness. Similar to Angkor Wat.
A few other things that I had learned included that in 1945 Ho Chi Minh abolished all religion, hence 85% population now has no religion. He also abolished Chinese script & introduced the Vietnamese language as it stands now.
All up, I was very glad that we had stopped in Hue to learn and enjoy the history of this country. You can forget how important it is and how much it shapes the Vietnam of today.
