Vietnam Day 5: Hue - Imperial City ,Perfume river,Thien Mu Pagoda,Khai Dinh Tomb,Minh Mang Tomb

Day 5: Hue - Imperial City ,Perfume river,Thien Mu Pagoda,Khai Dinh Tomb,Minh Mang Tomb

We checked out from Eldora Hotel and left with  driver and guide to Hue City tour.

Hue was the capital of Huen Dynasty  1805 to 1945.

We visited the Imperial City of Hue .It has many  courtyards and well maintained .Palace has been built according to Feng Shui Practise. The Kuy Fish pond  is also a practice of Feng Shui as Kuy fish symbolizes long life. The entrance is surrounded by water ponds on either side of the gate. The Citadel is inside the complex. This was built by Ngyuen Dynasty. This was built similar to China’s Forbidden City.  The place is in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List. There are Palaces, Mandarin’s buildings,  Temples/ Pagoda to honour the Kings, Reading Room  and many more .Most of the Imperial City was destroyed during the war and very few remains  of what was built.

There is a  Royal Music concert hall, that is used even now. This hall is in the Unesco world Heritage site too. 





The temples have some royal symbols like  Pearl in Dragon Mouth symbolizes Nobility. Pheonix  symbolizes Queen ‘s nobility.. Dragon symbolizes high power for King.

The King was considered the son of Heaven i.e. Sun and when he died the Sun set.

We visited the Thien Mu Pagoda. The Pagoda is located at the river’s edge. The tower is a octagonal structure, with seven levels. Each level is devoted to one Buddha who came to Earth in human form, represented in each level of the tower as a single Buddha statue .To the tower’s right stone stele set on the back of a giant marble turtle. The Lord who built the Pagoda according to the  wishes of the Celestial Lady from the mountain ,penned the text inscribed on the stele. To the tower’s left is a giant bronze bell, known as Dai Hong Chung. The bell’s ringing sound is said to be heard from up to six miles away.

We then went for a boat ride in the Perfume river. It is called so as there were many flowers near the river and so there was a nice smell like perfume near the river. The boat person also were selling some  stuffs to tourists.

After reaching another end in the boat ride, we  visited the Minh Mang  Tomb. The tomb was started to be built by the emperor and completed later by his son  after his death. The area is a vast place , with river all around the place. The Tomb complex has lakes, many towers, the tomb,  few halls. The emperor is said to be fair and he kept good talents to rule. It is not known if the Body of the emperor is there  in the tomb.

The money is burned to keep ancestors happy. As a tradition in Vietnam, the ancestors are worshipped more than any God. The ancestors are built  beautiful Pagodas ( can be seen on the way to Halong Bay from Hanoi) and they are removed  from the cemetery and  worshipped and re buried later.

Khai Dinh Tomb

This tomb  is something I can remember  anytime clearly with all details. First as we climb few stairs, we reach the honour courtyard. Here the mandarins, Elephant, tiger are seen. 



Then as we climb 3 more levels, on the top level is the Tomb of the Emperor. The 12^th emperor  was an ally of French. He was sent to France by Ho Chi Minh. The tomb is painted with beautiful paintings, that can be seen even today. There is also mosaic work on the walls .The statue of the Emperor is also seen here. Beneath the statue is believed to be the body remains of the Emperor.. Also there is supposed to be Gold  and Gold Paper under the tomb.

Elephant  and Tiger were made to fight. But the Tiger is not fed food for weeks , so that the Elephant  which symbolizes the King wins. So this was not a fair fight. Lion standing near the mandarins  in the tomb Courtyard is to keep a watch on the loyalty of the Mandarins.

We drove to Hoi An, which is around 3 hours drive from Hue .On the way , we had lunch at  Mumtaz Indian restaurant , Danang .Please read my review on Mumtaz Indian restaurant here.

We stopped for a view of Danang Beach .

We checked into Royal Riverside Hotel .Please read my review on Royal Riverside Hotel here.

We refreshed and walked back to Hoi an Ancient city  and did some strolling around watching the beautiful lamps and the small shops. We also saw people leaving  colourful lamps on the perfume river. We had dinner at  Baba’s kitchen  and returned back to hotel.

Please read my review  on Baba’s kitchen  here.