Besides its mammoth Citadel, Hue is relatively colorless. However, the countryside nearby holds promise. Once again we sidestep the standard group tours and hire another motorbike to explore the countryside and the Royal Tombs of the various emperors, which lie scattered on both sides of the Perfume river within a 12 km radius from the hub of town. The initial moments on the bike are predictably harrowing, especially at large intersections, where traffic swerves in all directions and often against the main flow to get wherever its going. We make it across the river and head west along the north bank of the river. One of the areas we want to visit first is the 160 year old Thien Mu Pagoda that sits high above the river bank and provides ample views of the first major bend in the river. After leaving the city behind, crossing the train tracks that lead south to HCMC(about 1100km) or north to Ha Noi(about 660km), we ride along the endless strip of shops, gas stations, and roadside markets til the pagoda majestically appears. It’s early morning, so there are virtually no visitors. The resident monks are still congregating around some version of breakfast, and the instant peace of the place is itself a reward. The pagoda towers 7 stories high, and is flanked by various stele, one of which rests on the back of a venerable looking turtle(symbol of longevity). In the rear gardens we come across a group of young women who are taking the standard set of group pictures, which we take a picture of. This sends them into some kind of frenzy, and they hysterically hang on to Andres, taking still more pictures—giddy with happiness.
We continue along the river through the patchwork of rice paddies and small vegetable plots, and then turn onto a main road, which, sadly for us, is undergoing major work. It’s a gritty dust storm every time a vehicle passes us—which is often—, but eventually we see the sign pointing to the first tomb site: Minh Mang. Like most of the royal tomb sites, it is walled, has small lakes/ponds, a temple with a large stele listing the emperor’s accomplishments, an honor courtyard with two lines of mandarins and soldiers along with elephants and horses—all waiting to carry out the emperor’s wishes, from beyond the grave, and temples where the emperors worshipped. The site includes the tomb, but not all the emperors are actually buried in them. Interesting to note is that most of the emperors actually spent a good deal of time living at their tomb sites prior to their respective deaths, and they were usually the ones who designed their final resting places. Certain pavilions were then residential, or places for official business. Key was the emperor’s ability to have the ultimate say in the lay-out and beauty of his tomb.
From MInh Manh’s tomb we cross the Perfume River and head a few km down the rural roads to the incredible structure that houses the tomb of the Vietnam’s penultimate emperor, Khai Dinh. It is by now searingly hot outside, and the tomb’s various pavilions are built up against a steep hill, with the actual tomb site a building of megalomaniac proportions along with French colonial touches, as the emperor was reputedly enamored of all things French. The ceramic mosaics are exquisite and while some elements are jarringly contemporary—the clock in the mosaic, for example—, they do serve to remind one that he was emperor until 1925. Each site is a variation on a basic theme, but Khai Dinh’s is over the top.
On our second day of wandering the countryside in search of royal tombs, we meander near the south bank of the river, roaming through pretty little roads, rice paddies and small vegetable fields as well as a sprawling cemetery with no detectable layout. We find ourselves in a small village that specializes in making the oodles of brightly hued incense sticks that Vietnamese consume. Miraculously we find Tu Duc’s tomb, and then find one site that is closed for restoration and another that is clearly way off the beaten path, and is being used as a setting for various Vietnamese bridal couples, who are dressed to the nines, and being posed and made up on the spot out of a “wedding van” in the parking lot.
Beyond the worthwhile tomb sites, it is the pace of daily life that is enchanting to see. The fishermen, the women with their children, chickens dashing across paths, the backbreaking field work, the cafes with the old geezers sipping coffee and slurping soup. We see the people lined up at pharmacies, mechanics with motorbikes, sporadic vegetable/fruit stalls, and singularly unappetizing meat and fish stands, where old women wield sharp cleavers and cut off hunks at patron’s request. School children are everywhere in their various uniforms, and life seems infinitely more comprehensible in the country. Interspersed is the lush crowd of tropical vegetation, bananas and papaya, mango and jackfruit. In the end, this is the Vietnam we have come to enjoy most, although from what we’ve been reading, this is precisely the Vietnam that most Vietnamese want to leave behind.
Enjoy the trip in pictures. Check out the fancy helmet with “pony-tail room”.
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