Hue Photos


As recently as 1945, Hue was an imperial capital and because of this, has some very cool attractions. The Citadel is a walled portion of the city where the emperors lived and trespassing was punishable by death. Today, it has a serene, somewhat eerie feel. It was unique in my travels so far because the other ruins I've seen were from many centuries past. It was strange to see the remains of a civilization that collapsed so recently, yet looks like it's been gone for ages.

We were some of the few people out bicycling in the rain and loving it. The roads run right along the Perfume River, which is beautiful regardless of the weather. Later, on a sunny day, we rode out to some of the royal mausoleums that are scattered about the countryside. Getting out of the city was great and the locals tend to have a much more welcoming attitude towards outsiders. We were stopped by the side of the road and were approached by a local farmer who pointed out his fields, including one that was barren and apparently had housed a melon crop that had been lost. The farmer claimed to have fought with the Delta Force and the 101st Airborne during the war after faking his weight to meet the minimum requirement to be in the military. He invited us back to his house for coffee, but unfortunately we were on a tight schedule to get back in time to catch our bus out of town.

Due to following an extremely vague map from the Lonely Planet, we ended up riding through muddy trails and construction sites before finding our way to the correct spot. The mausoleums were quite extensive and sprawling and despite the fact that the entrance was sardined with tourists, it wasn't hard to find quiet, isolated areas.

On the way back, the brakes on my $1 bicycle broke and I barely made it back in time to make the bus.