Hue was the logical next step on our way down to Hoi An and we’d heard it was possible to see quite quickly, so with a limited number of days on our visa, we decided to make it a one day/two night stopover. With Alpa extending her stay in Phong Nha for another caving tour, this was the first day in 6 weeks of travelling that we’d been on our own and not part of a larger group!
The major draw of Hue is its Imperial Citadel, and the entire walled city that has been expertly preserved and rebuilt after the Vietnam/US war. It was originally built in 1804 and became a world heritage site in 1993. We could have easily spent an entire day just exploring the citadel, which was incredibly well restored and contained a plethora of artefacts and information about the former Imperial capital of Vietnam. The city is surrounded by two thick walls and a moat, and is home to gardens, pavilions, the peace hall and the purple forbidden city.
We explored all morning and by early afternoon our empty stomachs prompted us to begin what would turn out to be an epic quest for food. For some reason we could find nowhere to eat in the walled city, which was much larger than we’d anticipated, and we only came across coffee shop after coffee shop. If we could make any recommendation for visiting the Imperial City, it would be to come armed with snacks!
We had just enough time to fit in one more attraction in Hue, Thien Mu Pagoda. Unfortunately it’s very easy to get scammed when trying to get there, as the tourist transport is monopolised by rickshaw drivers that charge astronomical prices to take you to the main tourist haunts. We were able to take a Grab taxi to the pagoda, but it was not so easy on the way back, as it’s too far out of town to call one out and you’re forced to pay more to get back to the city centre. Given our time in Hue again, we may have planned our transport differently, but we were glad to have seen the pagoda and its pretty riverside location.
In the evening we went for dinner at Nook Cafe, one of the most delicious curries we’d had on the trip so far! And a shining moment for Annie who had her first proper cup of tea in 6 weeks.
Although there were a few things we missed in Hue, we were happy with the things we’d managed to fit into our limited time there and felt we’d definitely got our culture and history fix!
Chloe x
Pint-Sized Adventurers 