Hue
Hue on the Perfume River was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors and was the capital city of Vietnam up to 1945. Its main attraction is the vast 19th century citadel surrounded by a moat and massive ramparts.
Along the Perfume River are several fabulous royal tombs of the emperors. We visited two – the tombs of Tu Duc and Kai Dinh. We also visited the Thien Mu Pagoda on the banks of the Perfume River. All of these sites were spectacular and memorable, but in very different ways.
The rather tacky marble factory on the outskirts of Hue catered mostly to Chinese tourists, hence the proliferation of Dragons.
Traditional Hats
One incident that I thought was a sad reflection on the effects of tourism happened to me in Hue. One evening Ann was not feeling well so I walked off to the local tourist restaurant area on my own for an evening meal. While walking on the way there two different locals came up to me on their scooters and called out “Hey, Lady!, Lady??” On the way back to the hotel after the meal, the same two propositioned me again!
Joss Sticks
Dong Ba Market where I bought the obligatory t-shirt – at least it was made locally & not from China.
Cruising The Perfume River
