Hue: tombs, a pagoda and a water park

June 14, 2017 Leoniedukes 0

14 June

Today I went on a motorbike tour to see some of the sights around Hue. We started in a coffee shop to try a local specialty- salted coffee. I was surprised to find it is really nice.

We then headed to to first stop, the tomb of Khai Dinh, the 12th Emporer of the Nguyen Dynasty. He obviously thought a lot of himself, as the tomb was very lavishly decorated, taking 11 years to build (1920-1931)

There were three sets of these stairs to climb.

The emperor was well attended, with two sets of these.

Signs on the horse strictly prohibited riding.

The view out from the tomb made a nice change from the artificial gaudiness of the interior

The next stop was the tomb of Minh Mang, the second Nguyen ruler. He fortunately had far different taste, and included gardens and lakes. The tomb is much larger, but took only 3 years to build (1840-1843)

Less steps here, but still a long, hot expanse to walk across.

This horse seems much fatter – might be the access to grass.

The interiors are still well decorated, but nowhere near as lavish.

Taking a break from the tombs, I next visited a water park. This might sound like a fun diversion, but the park only operated for a few years, and has been abandoned for ten.

You can climb up into the dragon’s mouth

This is a beautiful spot, and must have been lovely when it was operating.

The remains of a mural leading to the aquarium area

The slides are still here, but I doubt anyone would want to go in the water.

It is said that at one time the park’s crocodiles, abandoned, lived wild here. This is the only one I saw.

After the water park I headed to one last tomb, the tomb of Tu Duc. Tu Duc was the 4th, and longest reigning, monarch of the Nguyen dynasty. His tomb took three years to build (1864-1867) and had to write his own epitah, having fathered no sons despite having over 100 wives and concubines.

Some areas are very worn, but still show sections of the original decorations.

Some areas have been completely restored or rebuilt

This island can only be accessed by boat

Lunch was at a beautiful vegetarian restaurant back in hue. There were fresh and fried spring rolls, noodle soup and rice pancakes, all of which were delicious. While we were eating a storm came over, which meant the next attraction (Thien Mu Pagoda) was visited in the rain. Motorbike rides are less fun in the rain, but it was such a relief to be cool that the wet did not really matter. By the time we got back to my hotel the rain had passed.

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