A Day in Hue

Entrance to Royal Tombs

At least we are dry

The Royal Tomb

Part of the Citadel

One of many Temples

Gates after Gates

Dowager Empress Pavilion

Caramelized Shrimp

Our Bed with a Heart Made of Roses

Champagne

Embroidery Factory

30 years ago today, Cathy and I were married in San Francisco. San Francisco was one of the main locus of Anti-war activity. If you had asked us on our wedding day, if 30 years later we would be celebrating our Anniversary in Vietnam, I am sure the answer would have been something on the order of: “Are you crazy?” But here we are rediscovering what was so much of our focus in our respective college days. Cathy was protesting the war in Madison, I was protesting the war in Tempe.

Vietnam has a long period of many dynasties ruling it. For 1000 years the Chinese were in control. The country didn’t get unified until the early 1800’s by a king here in Hue. Successive kings ruled Vietnam from this Imperial City until the King was forced to abdicate in 1945. The French claimed Vietnam as a colony and they were in charge until they were defeated at Dien Bien Phu by the Ho Chi Minh in 1954. The country was divided in two along the 17^th parallel. North Vietnam was under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. South Vietnam was under the government of Ngo Dinh Diem. The North Vietnamese then reunited Vietnam defeating the South Vietnamese and the Americans.

           

Hanoi became the capital of Vietnam and Hue is now more of a historical city. The city is very important in the Vietnamese War. Over 80% of the city was destroyed during the famous Tet Offensive. This is the city that became famous for the phrase “We had to destroy the city in order to save it”. Although the Americans eventually drove the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong out of Hue, and by that standard it can be considered a US victory, the ultimate revulsion to what we did was instrumental in turning America against the war.

This history was all relevant to our tour today because The Citadel the vast palace like fortress of the Kings of Vietnam modeled after Bejing's Forbidden City,  was the site of the last bloody fighting in Hue and this historic site was severely damaged. Much has been rebuilt, but the destruction immense.

It was raining in the morning; thankfully it cleared up later in the day. As soon as we stepped out of our van women selling ponchos approached us. They only come in 1 size, but they work.

We first visited the Royal Tombs. They are spread out in a park like setting. The architecture of both the Royal Tombs and the Citidal (The Royal Fortress and Palace) is strongly influenced by the Chinese. There are lots of Red Temples and stone walls. You walk through many gates and long stone paths to get to a temple or living quarters and then continue on to get to the emperors ultimate home (at the Citidal) or grave at the Royal Tombs. Armies of men must have been employed to build these compounds.

They are sparsely furnished, I imagine that most of the furnishings were destroyed in the war or stolen. At the Tombs, there is a combination of thoughts. It is a large beautiful location, lush with vegetation from seemingly constant rain. On the other hand so much energy wasted on building magnificent tombs for just the Royal Family. I guess grand burial spots are a benefit of being a king (along with concubines).

Later in the afternoon we visited a museum, an art gallery and a embroidery factory.

We had champagne in our room, then went to dinner. It was funny, our tour guide had suggested the restaurant for lunch where I had soup and Cathy had French cheeses. It was the same restaurant that we had made dinner reservations at. It was excellent. There were some Vietnamese hipsters at the next table who would be right at home in Silverlake. The name of the restaurant if you are ever in Hue is Les Jardins De La Carambole.

We love the food in Vietnam. It is delicious and fresh and we don't worry about getting sick like in India. We have no trepidation about eating raw greens. Our favorite restaurant in Los Angeles is Newport Seafood Can Tang. We found out yesterday that Can Tang means Newport in Vietnamese. In Vietnam you get the best of all worlds: French Coffee, Good Wines, Fabulous Pastries and breads, Chinese influenced foods and authentic Vietnamese food.

Tomorrow we fly back to the capital - Hanoi.