Another town, another day, another motorbike trip! Hue was the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty and by some miracle most of its tombs and historical sites weren't damaged or destroyed by the various wars Vietnam has fought. Aside from the usual traffic we also passed a lumbering elephant on our journey this time - we made sure to avoid him! We visited the Tomb of Emperor Tu Doc which was impressive but in ruins, which is fitting as the emperor had over 100 wives but no children and therefore no one to hand the empire to after his death, the French soon took over Vietnam. Next we headed to Minh Mang's tomb, another ancient emperor, but this tomb was just breathtaking - very Chinese in style with beautiful pagodas and colourful buildings. The emperor himself is buried in a tomb which is surrounded by a high wall all around and then a moat containing lots of lilies, and entirely closed to the public. We also visited Thien Mu Pagoda, a stupa with seven storeys (the tallest in Vietnam) with a beautiful location just beside the Perfume river. Hue is also famed for its Imperial cuisine which we had to try out! We weren't disappointed - we sat down to a glorious 7 course meal with the most amazing and subtle flavours all presented amazingly - the peacock holding our spring rolls was amazing!
Hue is also very close to the DMZ (Demilitarised zone) which previously divided the country into North and South and where much of the Vietnam War was fought. We were lucky enough to visit the DMZ with an ex-soldier, Am, who served with the US Army (the GIs as he referred to them) as part of the Southern Vietnamese army who fought against the Northern Communist army under Ho Chi Minh. Our guide was chief scout and spent his time gathering information from the minority people and Viet Cong all paid out of his pocket. He lead the troops when going out into battle - he went first looking for booby traps, mines and signs that the enemy were close, by looking at the trees and plants for signs of disturbance. It was very sobering listening to him and how he had to work in the war from an age of 19 (he had no choice on whether to join the army or not as his father didn't have the money to continue sending him to college and unless you were qualified or in college you had to join). When the war ended the communist regime took from him all of the money he earned working for the US (USD 5000 per month) and also his house and imprisoned him for a number of years. We visited several important sights, one being the supply tunnels on the coast at Vinh Moc. These tunnels ranged in depth from 12 to 25 metres below ground and some people mainly women lived here for up to 6 years. These tunnels were tiny and we spent most of our time bent double to get through them. They had family rooms, maternity room, one kitchen, several escape and entrance tunnels. 17 babies were born in the tunnel and after spending 30minutes in them we couldn't imagine how anyone lived in them for 6 years! We also visited and walked around an old US army base on the second line. The entire area was cleared at the end of the war and there is not much more than rubber trees planted there now. Locals have long since raided any remaining metal and bullet casings to sell. We did come across some rusty unexploded hand grenades and the only remaining US bunker - which was commanded by Westman for all of 45 mins and is still named after him. From the site we could see almost to the coast to the east, the mountains of Laos to the West and all the surrounding land covered in vegetation north and south. Rockets were fired regularly from Laos and the men had to take cover in the bunkers - however our guide told us how they would hide outside the camps and smoke opium and cocaine to make them a little nuts and not scared of the bombs around them. The US camps were crazy from his reports and he went there only to report information, buy things to sell to locals for a big profit and when he or his friends were sick. Malaria was also rife but he and his friends didn't want to take the medication so they could go on 'Army holiday' to Hong Kong, Sydney, or elsewhere away from the fighting! Visiting the mass graveyards for the Viet Cong army we could get an idea of the number of lives lost during the war and Am told us that in certain areas (such as Hamburger Hill where the US dropped a bomb completely obliterating their own and the enemies troops) that sentiments still run high and any foreigner is likely to be attacked if they don't have a police escort. All in all the tour was an amazing and very sad insight from someone who had been on the front lines.