The tour company who whisked us from Hoi An to Hue did such a cracking job and were so keenly priced we used them again for our excursion to Hue’s Imperial Tombs.

We knew the ‘must see’ in Hue was the Imperial Citadel compound on the shores of the Perfume River. These days we do our research on the fly and James took on the role of Hue Activities Co-ordinator. He discovered that the other major (in fact even better) attraction in Hue is the tombs of the various emperors - spread willy-nilly all over the countryside - some as far out as 20 kms. He found that most tour operators were keen to sling customers on the back of a scooter taxi to do short legs of the trip - so that wasn’t happening. We find it hard to believe that tourists anywhere in the world still do this since a month doesn’t go by in the Australian press without some poor hard-done-by individual weeping for the journos from their hospital bed in Bali after a scooter accident - only then reading their travel insurance policy where it says you won’t be covered for anything involving a scooter.

If ever there is a place to support the community and go ‘top shelf’ Asia is it. So the tour man tailor-made an outing for us involving a private driver and air conditioned car from Hue - out to the 3 major tomb complexes, followed by a private dragon boat up the Perfume River from the furthest tomb - couple of hours and lunch on the boat with a stop at the Thien Mu pagoda before docking back in Hue. Lucky to be A$100 for the outing which kept us off the streets for 5 hours or more. Major kudos to James for an excellent day out.

The photos will undoubtedly tell the story better (especially after I delete about 80% of them...) but in short:

Firstly, the tomb of Tu Duc - the longest reigning of the 13 Nguyen emperors, in power from 1848 to 1883. It was built about 15 years before his death and used as an out-of-the-way Royal Palace for many years. Set over 12 hectares with 50 constructions and a 1500 metre wall surrounding it - it is big! We were initially overwhelmed and even considered getting a private guide. But in the end it was a peaceful walk with great information boards and generally serene and quiet. Except for the dodgy explanations overheard from private guides who may or may not have actually read the official information boards they were spouting bits from. Good call on not getting a guide. If the size and extent of the tomb area sounds extreme... well it is. But in fairness, there are also tombs and worship areas on the site for his wife, the queen mother, the royal concubines, the emperors wardrobe and accoutrements etc. Still not crowded mind. We felt we were old hands by this time and quite keen to move on to the second location - the tomb of Khai Dinh.

Khai Dinh was the 12th emperor of the Nguyen dynasty and ruled from 1916 to 1925. The tomb was built with modern French materials of the time and the information provided on site reckons it’s in the style of a European castle of the middle ages. We’d probably dispute that since while the important bit is on the high ground - the big flight of steps leading up to it would be a bit too ‘easy access’ for the middle ages. The emperor died in 1925 and the tomb wasn’t completed until 1931. By the by, this was probably our 2nd favourite tomb (after Ming Mang’s). It’s easy to think important tombs will be old (pyramids anyone?) and whilst the official style is Vietnamese neo-classical, this tomb with its modern construction materials teamed with the symmetry and balance of the traditional Vietnamese architecture leads it to feeling almost art deco. The art and science of feng shui is here in abundance. The bronze statue of the emperor (cast in France in 1922) rests over his tomb. It was beautiful as were the huge walls of free form mosaic created from fragments of ceramic and glass in the most important part of the structure - a style we’ve not really seen elsewhere. We were well on a high of tomb-visiting by now and really surprised by the different styles in the two we’d visited. Onwards to the third, final, oldest and furthest of the major tomb complexes - that of Emperor Ming Mang. (Pictured is one of two obelisks at the tomb of Khai Dinh - to symbolise dynastic stability and majesty - topped with South East Asian style stupas.)

Ming Mang was a long, long ride out into the heat of the day. Deities, gods, prophets, emperors etc... all good stuff, but we pretty much worship air conditioning. We farewelled our driver (almost with regret) after he pointed out the dragon boat we were to report to after exploring the tomb. Bye bye air conditioning... Onwards to the tomb of Ming Mang. He was the 2nd emperor of the Nguyen dynasty and ruled from 1820 to 1841. The tomb complex was built between 1840 and 1843 which makes it the oldest place we’ve visited today. And big, definitely the biggest at 15 hectares and with a 2000 metre wall to keep it all tidy. The complex is set along one main axis with around 40 constructions on the site. We think they went all out on this complex and the list of individual constructions is very specific - the emperor obviously had very clear thoughts on a relaxing and fulfilling afterlife. Aside from the specific tomb sites and steles dedicated to the emperor and his wife, there is the Minh Lau Pavilion (for the emperor to enjoy fresh air), other pavilions for, variously, the emperor to read books, to contemplate nature, for the emperor and his concubines to ‘rest’, for relaxing, for fishing, for keeping deer - you get the picture. Perhaps Trump could take a note... pavilion for Twitter, pavilion for making decrees on fake news, pavilion for creating fake news, pavilion for making up words... In any event we enjoyed the visit immensely - the peace and serenity was sublime. The symmetry and solemnity of the complex make it a masterpiece of Vietnamese royal archtecture. We were very fortuitous to be leaving just as 3 coachloads of tourists off a cruise ship arrived. Very fortuitous indeed.

We pottered down the path to our dragon boat, gave the captain and his wife a wave and were onboard lickety split and sitting down to lunch (in state - just the two of us). We motored off down the Perfume River and were blown away with the lovely lunch being served up. We knew lunch was included but it could just have been a bowl of rice. As it was we enjoyed a lovely fresh water fish with a complex, dark glaze and delicate flavours, dumplings, rice, noodles, pork and vegetables followed by watermelon and bananas. Washed down with a couple of local beers. We sat back after lunch and watched as the world passed by (including some Dragon boats like ours with 20 or more passengers onboard... they looked a bit envious of our boat of solitude). It took an hour to reach the Thien Mu pagoda - but with lunch and scenery, the time flew by.

The boat docked at the steps leading up to Thien Mu pagoda (Pagoda of the Celestial Lady) and it was a beautiful image as we arrived, the pagoda in contrast to the brilliant blue sky. We learned from a passing tour guide that tombs are for Emperors, temples are for gods / deities and pagodas are for Buddha. Which is actually handy to know - pays to keep our ears in meerkat mode every so often. We hoofed up the steps, revitalised after our lunch and pleasure cruise and enjoyed our visit to this pagoda.

It was built by the Nguyen dynasty and is considered an unofficial symbol of the city of Hue. On the banks of the Perfume River, it’s about 3 km from the Imperial Citadel - which we’ve yet to visit. Whilst the first pagoda was built in 1601 to fulfil a prophecy and promote prosperity for the country, there have been many restorations and rebuilds over the years. The saddest thing on display was an Austin car. We read it was last used by a monk in 1963 who was driven to the centre of Saigon, then he alighted from the car, sat down in the lotus position and burned himself to death in protest of the regime’s policies of discrimination against Buddhists and violations of religious freedoms. This was apparently the first of several self-immolations by Buddhist clergy that brought the plight of buddhists to international attention. The pagoda itself was also a site for hunger strikes, barricades and protests and the centre of the Buddhist movement in south and central Vietnam.

We finished our walk around then returned to the boat for the leisurely final half hour or so before docking at the public dock in Hue and walking home, very gently, to the hotel. Big day indeed. Barely time for a kip, a spa bath and feets up and it was dinner time and an early night. Manana? Gazetted rest day.