After spending several days in Hanoi I hopped on a quick 1hr flight to Hue Vietnam. Hue was the capital of Vietnam from which the Nguyen dynasty ruled from about 1800 to 1942. There are quite a few historical tombs in the area and the famous incense village swell, however most things are not in walking distance form the tourist center of the city.
Unfortunately my time here was not long nor was it great. The weather was hot and rainy making me decide to cut my time here short. In retro spect unless I had taken a tour of the city I probably would not have enjoyed staying longer here without renting a motorcycle or car. I know a lot of people talk abut riding bicycles around Vietnam But they tend to leave out how far between attractions things are. Sometimes you’ll have a 20 min ride other times your looking at 45min to an hour between attractions an unless your an avid biker or have access to a comfortable bike you will be exhausted after a day or two of traveling this way.
Although my time in Hue was short my trip to the Imperial City was quite magical. The architecture blending in with the landscaped gardens was really a sight to see. I spent several hours wandering the grounds with the audio tour in hand. There’s no historical signs on the grounds so the Audio tour is the best way to explore the grounds by your self and learn about Vietnamese history. Currently some areas of the grounds are under construction having been left to decay after the Vietnam War.
For those who travel to learn about history you may be aware of the Hue massacre that took place here during the Vietnam war. Unfortunately, I did not see any monuments or reference to the massacre during my time here. This seems to be the case with what I saw during my time here. The Vietnam war seemed to be a short mention in the vast history of this country or museums are small or neglected even in areas that were heavily effected by the fighting.
I am glad I stopped in Hue but you definitely need 2 days here to truly explore the area. I cut my time here short fbecause I had to take advantage of the break in the weather take a tour of the Hai Van Pass on the back of a motorcycle. Next time I’m in Vietnam I hope to come back to truly explore Hue.
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