Day trip to Hue

Sieglinde stayed pool side while I hired a guide and car for a day trip north over the Hai Van Pass and up the coast to the old imperial city of Hue, located on the Perfume River. My guide was born in DaNang, but his family moved north walking up the Ho Chi Minh Trail to Hanoi during the American War as they were Viet Cong. The trip took six months. He recounted stories of being in elementary school in Hanoi when American B52's would bomb the city.

We stopped at the top of the Hai Van Pass for pictures. Great view ahead of the beach at Lang Co (there is a second photo of the beach and town), and of some of the bunkers built by French and US troops at different stages of the war. In the 15th century, the pass was the boundary between Vietnam and the Kingdom of Champa.

I'm sitting at the base of the Thein Mu Pagoda, founded in 1601. The Perfume River is right behind the photographer, and Loas is only a few hours away up river. We also toured one of the royal tombs outside town. More stair climbing in the heat.

The other pictures are from inside the Citadel and imperial palace grounds. Massive site, surrounded by 10 km of wall and moat. Almost all the buildings were destroyed during the 1968 Tet Offensive when North Vietnamese forces held it for almost a month. Fighting was heavy and US forces eventually shelled the entire site and used napalm to take back control. Less than 1/4 of the site has been re-built. Fascinating place, but after walking about in 35 C weather with high humidity for 3 hours I hit the saturation point.