Imperial Capital, Hue

Hard to believe it, but I'm finally on my last blog post about my trip to Vietnam. I hope you enjoyed reading about another country. I'll return to discussing the interesting things about Korea very soon.

So on my last night, I took a bus from Hoi An to Hue, the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty. I stayed at the best hotel of my trip--a guesthouse called Sunny Fine. The owner spoke English pretty well and the rooms were very clean and spacious for the $7/night price. If you plan to visit Hue, I can send you the e-mail information for the hotel.

I arrived in the early evening, so I just went out to a little bar down the street and treated myself to a full body massage at a nearby spa. The next day, I visited the ruins of the Imperial Citadel, nearly destroyed during the Tet Offensive. They were really spectacular. Plus it was so early in the morning, that I had the grounds largely to myself to explore.

Fisherman in front of the Citadel, with reflected flag. My favorite picture I took the whole trip. Something about it just captures the spirit of Vietnam.

Emperor's entrance. Only the emperor and his advisers could use the center passages. Everyone else had to use the sides.

Detail of the entrance gate in the previous picture.

The ruins were in various states of restoration. Here, through the hole in the wall, you can see one of the gates to the emperor's mother's private residence. The Forbidden Purple City was destroyed, but you could see accents of the color used on the restored gates.

Of course, any emperor's citadel is incomplete without your random elephant.

I wish I'd had time to see some of the other ruins around Hue that in conjunction with the citadel make it a World UNESCO Heritage site. View the rest of my photos from Hue's citadel below.

Hue

And so, I bid adieu to my Vietnam series. I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and the stories.

Tomorrow night Anne is coming to Korea for a week. And Monday is my birthday. I am beyond excited. For now, I'm off to taekwondo. My 2단 (second degree) belt test is set for April 26, so I've got a lot of work to do! 와이팅!