The Citadel
Like many of
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
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 17:00How 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
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.
TRY A TOUR TO DISCOVER VIETNAM ATTRACTION HERE!
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
The monk in question hailed from this particular pagoda, which still functions as a monastery to this day. The
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3.5km
west of the
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 How to get there: To get here, start off from Vy Da Ward on the south bank of the
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
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
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
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.