Inside on the PC again as the temperature after lunch here in Hoi An is ridiculous (40C+) so we need to kill an hour or so.
Hué (hwhey) was a great surprise for us as it held unexpected interest. The city was hell on earth during the Vietnam war as it lies just 60km from the DMZ. We only had two days, so on the first day visited the imperial city and the DMZ on the second. The imperial city was once much like Beijing’s forbidden city and existed for many hundreds of years before the French decided to make a mess of it in 1947, the Americans decided to destroy it in 1968, and a typhoon took a third crack at it in 1985. It has housed 7-10 Vietnamese emporers. Now there is little left it. So wandering around it is a real history lesson as you look at ancient royal artefacts, sniper bullet pockmarks, and weather ravaged buildings. It is also a nice park to stroll around. The light here is intense during the day so the pics are a little contrasty but it gives some idea.
- rob
Posted in Vietnam - Hué
