Hue was an imperial city and home to the Kings of Vietnam (until Ho Chi Minh kicked the last one out just after World War 2). The French, Viet Cong and Americans have all had turns trying their best to bomb and destroy the city. Unfortunately many of the sites have been ruined and are only being rebuilt now.
This is where we went today (here goes):
1. Minh Mang Tomb
2. Khai Dinh Tomb
3. Vietnamese Martial Arts display
4. Tu Duc Tomb
5. Conical Hat and Incence Village
5. Lunch at City Tour Cafe (aka The Museum of Food Poisoning)
6. Citadel
7. Thien Mu Pagado
8. Dragon Boat Cruise on Perfume River
King Minh Mang had hundreds of concubines to attend to his every whim. He sired 142 children. Obviously he was very busy but we think he probably died with a smile on his face.
King Tu Duc had 104 concubines to keep him happy. However he never managed to get one past the goalie and died without an heir.
The vendors at the tombs are getting younger and younger. This girl is saving money to buy some more teeth.
The Vietnamese Martial Arts display was a bit of a waste of time. It was interesting from the point of view that the students were orphans who were saved from the streets by this black belt. After sitting through the show this guy did what most of the audience felt like doing, smashing their head through 10 house tiles.
It was interesting to see how the traditional Conical hats were made. This lady makes 2 hats a day and they sell for 30,000 dong (about A$1.50) each. That's only $3 a day less costs. Makes you think differently when you are bartering with them.
Lunch was included in the tour at an awful restaurant. Jordan and Tia said they would rather eat their own vomit than have to eat there again. Brynley actually thought he was already eating his own vomit.
We also had a flying tour of the Citadel but we will go back there tomorrow to cover it in more depth.
The Dragon Boat cruise down the Perfume River back to the city was very picturesque. More importantly Brynley & Lisa cracked their first beer for the day at 4pm. God - we deserved it given the heat.
The guy driving the boat was not happy when Brynley filmed him with his hands behind his head and steering the boat with his feet. Brynley didn't see the problem. He thinks most of the Vietnamese probably drive their cars like that as well.
By the way did you spot the sophisticated navigation and steering system?
