Vietnam travel destination 8: Hue

The Citadel
Like many of Hue's historic sites, the Citadel is hardly ancient -- construction first began in 1805, under the rule of Gia Long, the first of the Nguyen Dynasty rulers. Thereafter it functioned as the imperial seat of government. 

Over the years, new buildings were added, and the fortifications strengthened to fend off would-be attackers. At its height, it was comparable to the Forbidden City in Beijing, but when the Vietnamese took on the French here in 1947, it was badly damaged. The coupe de gras came during the 1968 Tet Offensive, when it was mercilessly bombed first by the North Vietnamese before they took the city, then by the Americans before they took it back. Precious few of the interior structures were left standing, though the fortified walls survived the barrage of ordinance.

During the early years of communist rule after the end of the American War, the Citadel was neglected and seen as an embarrassing vestige of imperial rule. But over the past twenty years, the Vietnamese government has gotten hip to the old city's value as a lure for tourism and has been slowly fixing it up. It's important to note, however, that these reconstruction efforts are on-going and far from complete. Some of the most interesting buildings were razed to the ground and only their footprints remain, untended and overgrown with weeds. 

Many guidebooks hype the Citadel because of its historical significance, but after reading these over-blown descriptions of the place, tourists routinely show up to see it and are disappointed. 

So, we investigated the best way to see the Citadel, visiting once on our own, and the second time, booking a guide at the office at the gate. We have to say this is one place where a guide really makes a difference. Our guide was well-informed, spoke English well, and the information really added a lot to the experience. It's affordable, at US$5 a pop plus tip, no matter the size of the group. If you hook up with a licensed tour guide elsewhere in the city, they should be able to visit the Citadel without paying for themselves, and should also be able to give an informative tour. The guide we used, Nga, can be contacted on her cell phone: (0914) 078 584

our only complaint about the tour is that it didn't cover quite the entire Citadel and we saw a bit more when we went on our own. So, once your guide is done with you, hang around and explore. 

You can enrich the experience by taking a look at the book Life in the Forbidden Purple City, by Ton Thai Binh, Danang Publishing House, 2003. It's not a particularly great book, but it will give some informed questions to ask your guide. It's available for 30,000 VND at most book stores in town.

There are half-hour cultural performances at the Royal Theatre, 4 times a day, as long as there are a dozen or so people available to watch. Start times are 09:00, 10:00, 14:30 and 15:30. If you're in a group, let them know you're coming in advance.

You can get a picture of yourself in royal dress sitting on the Emperor's throne for 25,000 VND, more if you want two Vietnamese dressed as Mandarins to pose with you. A similar photo op is available at the Hall of the Mandarins. 

If you decide not to go the guide route, it's still a pretty, peaceful place with a smattering of interesting buildings worth walking around and exploring on a lazy day.

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Opening Hours: Daily 06:30 to 17:00
How to get there: To get here from Le Loi, take the Phu Xuan bridge across the river and take a left. Take any right turn you please, and the entrance is behind the very-hard-to-miss gigantic flagpole. The tour guide office is on the right side of the central gate.

Tombs

There are tombs and pagodas everywhere in and around Hue. Those with an endless appetite for culture can sate themselves every day for a solid week, and there will still be more left on the table. But the majority of travelers we run across are satisfied with just a taste.

 

As regards the tombs, there are a couple of important things to remember. They are not particularly old -- they were built within the past two-hundred years. This makes it even more surprising that most of them are already falling to pieces. This is partly due to poor upkeep over the years, and partly due the original construction techniques, which weren't all that exceptional.

The tombs were built by puppet emperors who had little real power, other than to sit around contemplating their own deaths and building monuments in anticipation of the occasion. Like Graceland, Never Land, and Sam Simeon, they are monuments to ego, but in this case, the egos involved are much more obscure and less interesting to contemporary visitors.

That said, some of the tombs are located on large, beautiful grounds, and the crumbling edifices exude a certain air of aesthetically-pleasing decrepitude. 

Broken-down Tomb Breakdown

Tu Duc is on the most expansive grounds, and takes the most time to see. It's rivaled by Ming Mang, which is also on a large plot, but we thought Tu Duc was a little better. Choose between the two so you don't suffer from tomb burnout, but then definitely see Khai Dinh -- it's in a different style from the others, is smaller, easier to visit, and in better shape. Gia Long is, by far, the best adventure in terms of a visit, it's usually deserted, and the ethereal natural beauty of the spot is hard to beat.

Tu Duc, Khai Dinh and Minh Mang have a 55,000VND admission and are open 08:00-17:00. Gia Long is free and open all the time.
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Thien Mu Pagoda

Hue's most famous pagoda

As with the tombs, there are more pagodas surrounding Hue than you can shake a stick at. If you're only going to see one pagoda, make it Thien Mu. It's situated in a beautiful spot over looking the Perfume River, on the river road that runs along the north bank, about 3.5km west of the railway bridge. 

Built in 1844 by Emporer Thieu Tri, it features some golden Buddha images at the base, along with a big bell cast in 1710, and a stone turtle holding a marble stele inscribed in the 17th century. In 1963 a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc shocked the world by travelling to Saigon, pouring a can of gas over his head, and lighting himself on fire, in protest of American interference in South Vietnam's self-determination. The image of a robed man, sitting cross-legged on the pavement, rocking back and forth in meditation as he was consumed by flames, was broadcast on American television. It was the first in what would be a long series of disturbing images brought into American homes during the world's first TV war -- images that would eventually ignite a backlash against the war, and lead inevitably to the American withdrawal, and the north Vietnamese victory.

The monk in question hailed from this particular pagoda, which still functions as a monastery to this day. The Austin motorcar he used to drive down to Saigon is on display in the sanctuary in back.

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3.5km west of the Phu Xuan Bridge

Elephant Springs

The Elephant Springs, some 53km from Hue, is an excellent natural spring that is well worth a visit. Particularly on a hot day, the natural pool below a small waterfall makes for a very refreshing dip. You can sluice yourself down the smooth rocks at the base of the falls, and there are plenty more spots upstream to explore. The place can be pretty deserted on weekdays and during off season, which is great if you're looking for some privacy, but not so great in terms of getting some food and drinks -- the food stalls around the springs are only open on peak days. When they are, you can enjoy a cold beer and munch on a whole roasted chicken while you're wallowing in the water. When the stalls aren't open, it makes sense to pack a lunch and BYOB. It's not too hard to get to, but it's not well-marked, and it might make sense to hook up with a guide -- most of the motorcycle taxi drivers know where it is. They can also help you sort out the food and drink situation.

Thuan An Beach

 About 30km from Hue is the nearest beach -- Thuan An. It's a pleasant patch of sand on the China Sea, and though its hardly world class, it'll do in a pinch. Services along the beach are ridiculously undeveloped -- really just a scattering of shacks in various stages of falling apart. But that's part of the charm. You'll pay 10,000VND to rent a beach umbrella and chairs for the day, 5,000VND to park a motorbike. There's no accommodation available anywhere near the beach -- the closest place to stay is in Hue. However, a five-star luxury resort is underway on the beach.

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30km from Hue
How to get there: To get here, start off from Vy Da Ward on the south bank of the Huong River and go north on Pham Van Dong Road. When the road tees, take a right. The road eventually crosses an inlet over a bridge to Thuan An island. Drive through town, bear right, and you'll see signs for the beach on your left.

Bach Ma National Park

The national park outside Hue is among the best in Vietnam, and spending a night or two here is highly recommended. The protected area stretches right across the country sideways, from the South China Sea to the western border with Laos. The 1450m summit of Bach Ma was used as a helicopter landing base by the American army during the war in Vietnam, and the area was heavily defoliated during the fighting, but has had about forty years to bounce back, and while the growth isn't quite as lush as it might have been otherwise, it's still uniformly green. 

There are two types of forest here -- sub-tropical evergreen monsoon forest above 900m, and tropical evergreen monsoon forest below that mark. It's known for its beautiful waterfalls, hiking trails, and decaying French villas which dot the landscape. It's also known for its wide variety of native wildlife, including rarities such as the Douc Langur, Asiatic Black Bear, Leopard and Stump-tailed Macacques, as well as wild pigs and deer. A lot of these critters are more active at night, so it takes some patience and persistence to spot them during the day. There's excellent bird-watching here as well, but of course, to get a peek at them, you'll have to get up at the crack of dawn. There are about 65,000 tribal inhabitants within the national park 'buffer zone,' including a settlement called the Khe Su hamlet, which can be visited while you're in the park.

It's a 14km hike to the summit, which has gorgeous views in clear weather that reach all the way out to the China Sea. Clear weather, though, can be a bit of problem -- as this is one of the rainiest spots in Vietnam, and also one of the coldest all year round. There's one guest house at the base -- The Bach Ma Guesthouse -- but you'll only really want to stay there if you arrive after nightfall and have to wait until morning to get up to the top -- double rooms are 120,000VND all year round. 

For those who want to skip the 14km hike, jeep taxis are available for groups of up to 4: 350,000 for same-day return, 400,000 if you stay overnight -- the trip takes 45 minutes. You can also bring your own transport, but motorcycles and bicycles are not permitted to attempt the ascent. The entrance fee is 10,500VND for adults, 5,500VND for children and students. The park currently does not have tents to rent-out, though you can camp if you bring your own. There are 7 lodgings to choose from at the summit--four are run by the park service, and three are run by private companies. Contact the park for more information.

Beyond Thuan An: The Road to Vinh Hien

A great way to spend a day in Hue is to rent a motor bike, head to Thuan An beach, and when you're done, just keep going south. You can see on a map that Thuan An is an island at the top of a long, slender string of land, with the China Sea on one side, and the waterway feeding into the Cau Hai Lagoon on the other. It's an easy trip if you don't know your way around because there's only one road so it's impossible to get lost. 

On the outskirts of Thuan An you'll see an endless array of Vietnamese style mausoleums, and as you continue on down the road, the local character of the area really starts to come out. The road seems to be clogged with students on bicycles almost no matter what time of day or day of the week, and you'll get plenty of 'Hellos' as you drive by -- foreigners are still pretty rare in these parts.

The road leads to Vinh Hien where there is a newly-constructed bridge crossing the lagoon. You used to have to take a ferry, which was lots of fun, but those days are gone. 

Once you're across the lagoon, there's a rough, winding road alongside it through the hills, with stunning views of the water along the way, that eventually crosses the railroad tracks and hooks up with highway 1A. At that point you can take a left if you like and head down to Elephant Springs, or a right to return to Hue -- you'll find Bach Ma National Park on your left along the way, but that's a day-trip in itself. 

The loop around the lagoon is about 100km all told -- expect it to take at least two and a half hours to finish, but then, of course, what's the rush? It makes a pretty great trek for experienced cyclists, too, though that's a full day -- you can always overnight at the guest house at the base of Bach Ma National Park if you run out of day light, or steam -- or both.

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