Left Hoi An this morning. The day was quite gray and we had a downpour during breakfast. However, we were lucky again and the rain stopped before we started touring. Our first stop was Marble Mountain, a group of five mountains composed of marble. Plenty of shops selling marble carvings and statues, some quite large. They will ship to the US for $150 a cubic metre. Lots of caves and Buddha statues, temples and pagodas.

Arrived in Hue and toured the Citadel, Imperial City and Forbidden City where the Nguyen Dynasty reigned from 1802 until independence from French colonial rule in 1953. The Citadel is the outer area (about 500 hectares) and is surrounded by a wall and a moat. Inside is the Imperial City, also enclosed within a wall and moat. The innermost sanctum was the Forbidden City with its own wall. The area, particularly the Imperial City and the Forbidden City, was badly damaged in 1947 (during the civil war with France) and in 1968 when the VietCong occupied the Imperial City during the Tet Offensive.

This was a strenuous day. Climbing around Marble Mountain was bad enough, but our tour of the Royal Citadel, Imperial City and Forbidden City must have involved a walk of several kms. While the temperature was not as high as previous days, I think we are beginning to tire. Tomorrow should be less strenous.