Hue

Leaving Hanoi

As we returned from Cat Ba Island under the treat of a Hurricane Haiyan towards mid November, we were unsure as to whether we'd be making it to Hue at all. The storm was heading our way and The Philippines had suffered horrific losses. The decision to get back to Hanoi (and relatively far from the coast) early from the National Park in Ha Long Bay was not a difficult one to make as that evening, we had watched the boats evacuate the harbour in anticipation of the storm so we headed back Vietnam's capital. After a long journey, by bus, boat, bus and taxi, we were back in Hanoi as night fell. We got on Skype to our Travel Agent who had helped us organise the trip to try and make a plan B in case the worst should happen! We were quite worried about the storm and had to be moved to a different hotel as our room had been taken by someone whose flight had already been cancelled in anticipation of bad weather. By the morning, and we were up at 5am to get a flight, the tropical storm had lost some potency and looked to be changing course. It headed north and all we suffered was a 5 minute delay.

Flooding

We had booked an early flight and headed to Hue but the floods around the airport were substantial and we felt lucky to have been able to make the trip following such strong rain. The flight was smooth and there were a few threatening clouds about but it seemed we’d missed the worst of it. We were looking forward to experiencing what Hue had to offer so we headed to the hotel to dump our stuff and get out exploring.

Imperial City

Hue's Imperial City is amazing. It is 10km to walk around the outside walls and moat. This is no mean feat in the outrageous heat that we were experiencing on the day we visited. It is a beautiful (and very dilapidated) monument but is going through a big refurbishment and restoration at the moment but well worth a trip.

Tombs

Peppered around Hue are the tombs of ancient Emperors. There are 6 main ones and a few smaller others that can be reached by moped, bike or taxi. They are exquisite in some cases and in need of a little restoration in others but fascinating to look around. Each has a different feel or style. Most of the actual burial ground in the larger ones are locked now but a few of the actual tombs are still open to visitors.

The Markets

The markets in Hue were fascinating and vibrant places...

Many of the people were happy to be photographed. Some weren't so happy or were asleep so I couldn't know either way- but I shot a few of them too!

The City in general

Hue was a great place. It wasn't as big as Hanoi or as frantic but it was possible to relax in the bars and restaurants, of which there are plenty and some extremely good ones too. It was a perfect juxtaposition to Hanoi for that very reason, we felt comfortable enough to hire a moped and explore a little further afield than we might have done by taxi (through lack of Vietnamese) or on foot (through lack of energy). There is a lot of history surrounding the city and the tombs were simply amazing. The streets are wider and better planned and cared for here so the congestion isn't so bad but it can be pretty bust at times as we found, in a huddle of about 200 other mopeds at a traffic light with nothing to do but 'copy the locals' which was our terrifying but successful strategy to surviving on the roads. We were sad to be leaving Hue but the train journey to Danang was next on our list and we had lots more of the wonderful country to see.