Konni & Matt - Perpetual Travellers: 22 Jun

Southeast Asia

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Huế

Chu Van An Street 46

Hong Tien II Hotel +84543837272 hongthienhotelhue@gmail.com

Clean double room with wifi for VND 133,000.- or US$ 7.- per night.

Click below for an interactive road map of the Hong Tien II Hotel in Huế, which we would recommend, and for directions:

N 16° 28.14' E 108° 35.76'

Exploring the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Huế’s huge citadel (begun in 1804 CE on a site chosen by Emperor Gia Long’s geomancers, it was originally made of earth and later strengthened with brick) and discovering (i) its 37m-high flag tower, Vietnam’s tallest flagpole, (ii) its Nine Holy Canons, symbolic protectors of the palace and kingdom, and the (iii) the Imperial Enclosure, housing the emperor’s residence and the buildings of state, with the Forbidden Purple City (a citadel-within-a-citadel-within-a-citadel) at its centre.

“Vietnam was a country where America was trying to make people stop being communists by dropping things on them from airplanes.”

(Kurt Vonnegut)

Cruising along the Perfume River aka Sông Hương (US$ 5.- per person for the full-day river tour with Vietnam Discovery Travel +84543837809, including a light tourist lunch) and visiting en-route (i) the 19th century CE Thien Mu pagoda with its 21m-high octagonal tower, (ii) the royal tomb of Minh Mạng aka Lăng Minh Mạng (admission for foreigners VND 55,000.- per person), renowned for its architecture, which harmoniously blends into the natural surroundings, and (iii) the majestic and serene royal tomb of Tự Đức aka Lăng Tự Đức (admission for foreigners VND 55,000.- per person).

Taking the sleeper option of The Sinh Tourist’s +845113833258 reliable air-con open-tour bus from Hue to Hanoi for VND 200,000.- or US$ 10.50 per person for the 660km-long night ride along the coast of the South China Sea thus crossing the ex-DMZ at the 17th parallel and moving from liberal and republican South Vietnam to anti-Chinese and communist North Vietnam.