Exploring The City of Hue

Driving into Hue was hard to describe. Just 3 hours away from the colorful lantern-filled lanes of Hoi An sat the country’s former capital, built under The Nguyen dynasty – Vietnam’s last monarchy. Strategically positioned along the Perfume River, the imperial city still had a touch of royalty, the kind only faded places can offer. It put me in deep melancholy to move through it as a traveler in today’s world, knowing everything the city had been through during the Vietnam War. The City of Hue, plotted on my month-long itinerary, was a personal pick.

The Battle of Hue

I had picked up multiple books before my Vietnam solo trip, as a pre-read to help me understand a destination’s cultural richness and history. Nothing haunted like Mark Bowden’s Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam – a 648-page historical account about the Tet Offensive launched by Viet Cong and The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) against the U.S. and the Allied Forces.

A coordinated, surprise attack at 3am. On the auspicious night of the lunar new year. A 24-day siege. House-to-house combat. Tense reclamation that lasted hours in the dark. Fresh body counts by the hour and mass graves. I found it strange that I could take to another country’s suffering so intensely, it seemed unfair. Being in Vietnam, I only felt it more strongly after knowing the kind and generous people I found them to be.

Capturing Hue was the biggest orchestrated win.

“At some point in planning the trip, it was no longer the vacation but a need to witness the war-torn country and its erased history. American reporters stood by the truth and made it harder for the government and families back home to offer public support and their sons to the war. A war that was never America’s to begin with.” The Perfume River No phonetic anglicization here; the English name translates back into the river’s Vietnamese original – Sông (river) Hương (scent). This 80-km tranquil waterway cuts through the city and along one of its bends is where I decided to book my room, at MiLa Homestay. Story goes that the river got its name from the spring blossoms that fell into the water upstream and drifted along, giving a sweet scent worth romanticizing life over. Locals added another angle painting a picture of the king’s sampans (river boats) cruising through the river with burning incense sticks at the helm to ward off insects and evil spirits. Either way, I was reminded of a book title that seemed to fit the scenery: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho.

A stationary sampan on Perfume River.

Culture across borders: Sampans along the river reminded me of house boats Kettuvallams cruising through the backwaters of Alleppey, Kerala, India. While the wooden boats are perfect to navigate through narrow waterways, the Indian counterparts are cargo boats refurbished to include a floating house on waters. Covering the Imperial City There’s a lot of guides already about Hue’s Historic Citadel so I’m mapping out what the rest of my itinerary included. Keep aside a good 4 to 5 hours if you’d like to see all the zones and soak up the sprawling royal grounds. The innermost gate –  Tu Cam Thanh or Forbidden Purple City – is actually modelled on the Forbidden City in Beijing, China and borrows the layout, architectural style, and functional spaces.  

Map of the citadel with the main attractions.

Here’s exploring the city of Hue beyond this major tourist attraction and picking up on a bit of everything that makes the city a rich experience. 

Phu Van Lau If you’re in the habit of seeing places represented on currency notes in real life, then here’s one that falls under Hue. On the 50K VND note you’ll find this historic spot that often goes unnoticed right on the banks of the river. It loosely translates into ‘a pavilion of edicts’ and was a 2-story tower that dealt with official correspondence and announcements from the Nguyen dynasty. You can easily club this during your visit to the Citadel, it sits right outside on the banks of the Perfume River. 

Currency art against real-life places.

Thanh Toan Bridge Though similar to the wooden house following Japanese construction in the lantern city of Hoi An, the 18-Century bridge in Hue is a much quieter one. Inside, you’ll find wooden benches – originally woven into the design of the place for rural farmers to rest and recover under the shade. The roof is special too, with traditional glazed yin-and-yang tiles that keep the brick-making craft of the old imperial court alive today. Observe keenly enough and you will often see many of the restored architectural sites spread across Hue featuring this ancient tile craft. Ca dao or Poem A famous Vietnamese folk song puts things into perspective whenever I’m riding alongside the perfume river, rushing to the next destination.The words, though at first sound like a simple lament, captures the poignant shade of patriotism and sorrow for the occupied lands during the French colonial rule.

Thien Mu Pagoda The seven-story pagoda is another spot that features in Vietnamese folk songs and is seen as a unifier of the city. It is an active buddhist monastery on the Northern banks of the Perfume river and in its former years, was a prominent location for strikes and protests. You’ll also find the famous, framed photograph of ‘The Burning Monk’ – the deeply moving shot of 66-year-old Buddhist monk meditating and on fire as he scarified himself in Saigon, in protest of the administration that violently prosecuted monks in South Vietnam. The car, a 1959 Austin A95 Westminster that he drove to the site of the public burning, is also housed at Thien Mu Pagoda.

Royal Tombs If Hue’s royal abundance wasn’t already implied at the Citadel, then the tombs and temples on the outer reaches of the city would certainly make you feel it. Gilded in gold, expansive lawns, intricate craftsmanship – you name it and the seven tombs of Hue will not disappoint. I unfortunately had to cut down seeing them all due to the weather and transport options but if I had to pick my absolute best, it would be: The Huyen Tran Cultural Center. Though not technically one of Hue’s royal tombs, the princess temple is a massive 28.5-hectare site, set in a forest of pine trees and sitting at the foot of Ngu Phong Mountain. Princess Huyền Trân is arguably one of the most famous female royal member in Vietnam’s history. The temple commemorates her sacrifice to leave the royal courts and become the queen consort of Champa – the territorial dowry that came out of the marriage expanded the provinces under Central Vietnam’s rule. Le Ba Dang Art Museum

The foundation displays almost 400 works of the Vietnamese-born French artist Le Ba Dang. Moving from the east to the west gave his body of work a unique character, playing with different materials and techniques. The ticket price is a bit steep but if you’re an art fanatic, this is one way to spend a slow, immersive afternoon.

I was reminded of the Precious Heritage Art Gallery Museum in Hoi An, where the French artist Réhahn based in Vietnam, brought culture closer and documented the tribes of the country. Entry was free there and it made me wonder why art, the contemporary kind that sits in vast galleries, is not accessible to the masses. Who got to decide that?

If you’re looking to explore the imperial city through a culinary journey, then head on over to another blog: Food Guide to Eating In Hue.