Find that Life nowadays can't go on without thinking about the good times in Vietnam, especially the surprises thrown in my path.... I guess we all have stereotypical impressions of different countries, pigeon-holing them into neat categories that conform with what the world already knows... but sometimes this lazy approach gives us a load more pleasant surprises when we really experience the place, like what we did in Vietnam through north down the edge of its latitude....
One surprise was how much Vietnam's history is intertwined with the Chinese (though not reciprocal). The Chinese certainly left their imprint as conquerors for a thousand years...
The most splendid palace in Hue,
Thai Hoa Palace (which we visited on 19/12/06) reeks of Chinese influence from top to bottom. Built in 1805, renovated in 1833 and 1923, it is a hall where bi-monthly grand audiences of Nguyen Court were held. In a scene straight from the Chinese period dramas, officials would be lined up according to rank, designated by the stelae on both sides of the courtyard. It is said to 'exemplify the traditional ‘adjoining hips’ roof’ architecture – combine front and rear buildings linked by a gutter truss in between with 90 gilded columns and roof dragons.'
Can Chanh PalaceConstructed in 1804, CCP was the Emperor’s office and hall where regular meetings were held on 5, 10, 20th of lunar month. A most splendid building in the Forbidden Purple City but alas, the beauty was cremated to pieces by war in 1947. Maybe that was why we could see a snake, yellow head, olive with red neck, brown body but too elusive to catch on cam....
Forbidden Purple CityConstructed in 1804, the FPC was the exclusive living quarters of the royal family, concubines at one time the area contained many splendid buildings including palace pavilions, a theatre, a library, a reading pavilion, gardens and lakes. Most of these buildings were destroyed by war in 1947. It's the Vietnamese' version of China's Purple Forbidden City (notice the difference?)
The Tombs
Took a boat trip down Perfumed River. Lunch on board with springrolls + noodles + fish with food supplies bought at Dong Ba market.
Boat trip followed by a short but panoramic motorbike to Tu Duc Tomb. Emperor TD was the 4th ruler of the Nguyen Dynasty, reigning from 1848 to 1883. Tomb constructed in 3 years (1864 – 67) with some 50 monuments rich in national cultural identity. History is always learnt more easily when you've been to the place, touched the very monuments that bears testimony to the events you can only force your aimless mind to memorise. So I left the history portion in
The Lonely Planet Vietnam undisturbed til I came back....and found that, sorry for any offence caused to him, his rule was quite unremarkable but that he had something like 104 wives (or concubines? was it a typo?).... maybe that explains the size of the palace compounds, for himself, the wives, his mother the Dowager and the kitchens and maid chambers..Hoa Khiem, Le Khiem and Phap Khiem Temple were originally TD’s office. After death, worship drove the dedication of the buildings him and later Empress Le Thien Anh. A must-visit. As with the other tombs down the Perfumed River, it costs 55000 per entry. If you're on a budget, just skip the rest, like Meng Manh, where an interesting part on a mound was locked up and we can't even find the tomb! Its only redeeming points were a big, beautiful lake (that looks even lovelier in the misty rain) and the numerous species of unseen birds which nonetheless made their presence felt with their incessant chirps.
So, in conclusion, save your money on Tu Duc
ctwork of our omniscient Mother Nature
