Hue

Ted. When Judy and I decided to visit Vietnam,  the city of Hue was on my wish list list of destinations. Our travel buddy, Sonya, had suggested we spend some time in nearby Hoi An, so a day trip to Hue became feasible. 

I must say that all I knew about the city was from the Vietnam War (known here as the American War). A fierce battle took place in this city during the “Tet Offensive,” launched during the Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations in January of 1968. A visit to Hue by Walter Cronkite in the aftermath of the fighting marked a turning point in American public opinion which led, after thousands of more deaths, to the eventual end of US involvement. So this city had stories to tell. 

The history of Vietnam is fascinating and extremely complicated. I’ll refer you to the internet if you’re curious about the comings and goings of various empires. As you surely know, by the middle of the 19th century the French were firmly entrenched here. The small group tour we joined focused on this period and the Nguyen dynasty that was “in charge” then. 

Our drive from Hoi An took us through Da Nang (sort of the Miami of Vietnam), and over Hai Van Pass to the city of Hue.

At the pass with Hue in the distance

Lap On Lagoon (the mountains are in nearby Laos)

Our next stop was at the early 20th century tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh.

The emperor is buried 50 feet below his statue

The dragon's teeth are filed down since the emperor is just a puppet of the French

We then visited the 17th century Thien Mu Pagoda.

In 1963, there was growing sentiment that the policies of the President of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, were unfair to practicing Buddhists. A monk named Thich Quang Duc was living at this pagoda at the time and decided he would make a personal protest against these policies. He was driven from Hue to Saigon in a blue Austin car. Upon arriving at a major intersection near the presidential palace he sat down in the road, poured gasoline on himself and set himself on fire. Photographers captured the scene and this became the first of many self-immolations by Vietnamese monks. As a memorial, the car is still kept in a place of honor at the pagoda. 

The blue Austin with a photo of the scene on the back wall

From there, we crossed the Perfume River, and entered Hue's Imperial City.

Perfume River

Imperial Palace

These musicians play for the visitors

Our brief visit to Hue was interesting but there was almost no mention of the late 20th century and the fact that 80% of the city was destroyed and thousands of soldiers and civilians died during the Battle of Hue. It seems there is history here that no one is willing to talk about. Our young guide probably knows very little about events that took place almost 60 years ago but she did say that “War is terrible.” Amen to that!

Our guide, Van