Monday, July 25, 2011

Tien Giang Province, a beautiful and rich area


Area: 2,236sq.km.
Population: 1,668,000 people.
Geography: It borders on Long An Province to the North, Ben Tre Province to the South, Dong Thap Province to the West and the sea to the East.
Administrative units: My Tho City and seven districts including Cai Be, Cai Lay, Tan Phuoc, Chau Thanh, Cho Gao, Go Cong Dong and Go Cong Tay.
Climate: Temperate with the dry and rainy seasons.
Visitors enjoying Southern specialities and folk songs.

Since the 17th century, the fertile land in the North of the Tien River has been reclaimed and developed by generations of inhabitants into an area with rich rice fields, fruit gardens, and busy trade along the river banks. Gradually, the brisk market towns of My Tho and Go Cong emerged in the fertile Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta. This area is Tien Giang Province.

Taking a ride for 75km from Ho Chi Minh City along Highway 1A you will arrive at My Tho City, then going further you will visit Cho Gao and Go Cong Districts. Turning to Cai Lay and Cai Be Districts, you will see the My Thuan Bridge spanning the Tien River to Vinh Long Province.

The second biggest cable-stayed bridge across the Tien River to Ben Tre Province replaced the Rach Mieu Ferry. With asphalted roads running to all hamlets and a series of natural and man-made canals, Tien Giang Province has a convenient land and water-way transport system to all communes, districts and other provinces in the Mekong River Delta and to Ho Chi Minh City.

An area abundant in agricultural and aquatic products

Tien Giang Province is a granary. Apart from a stable output of 1.2 million tonnes of rice per year, of which more than 300,000 tonnes are for export, Tien Giang ranks first among the provinces in raising and providing pigs with a herd of more than 500,000 hybrid pigs that yield lean meat.

Each year, the province provides 800,000-plus tonnes of fruits to domestic and foreign markets, ranking first in the output as well as fruit cultivation area (72,500 hectares).

Many farmers specializing in growing mango, mangosteen, rambutan, star-apple, durian and longan trees apply high technology in selecting strains and in farming, which results in bumper harvests.

The names of some fruit-growing areas in the province have become familiar brands, such as Hoa Loc mango (in Cai Be District), Vinh Kim star-apple (in Chau Thanh District), Go Cong cherry, Co Co shaddock, Tan Phuoc pineapple and Cho Gao blue dragon.

Tien Giang Province has many natural fishing grounds that yield high productivity. In recent years, the province has developed the raising of catfish, tiger prawns and other valuable aquatic products.

In Go Cong District, fishermen, who were engaged in fetching oysters on the thick alluvial coast, have raised oysters on 2,000 ha of alluvial grounds that yield high output.

Each year the whole province produces about 120,000 tonnes of aquatic products. Since 1990, the Province’s GDP has increased annually 10% and the export turnover in 2005 is estimated to reach USD 145 million.

An attractive tourist spot

It does not take much time to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Tien Giang Province. Visitors can take a cruise on the large Tien River or take a boat ride steered by a young girl wearing a loose-fitting blouse and a conical hat, through canals shaded by water coconut trees.

They will have a chance to visit fruit gardens and enjoy the tastes of ripened fruit right off the tree. In Thoi Son Island, they will visit villages with orchards where they can taste the local traditional food prepared by villagers and enjoy a traditional opera performance, lovely songs and ditties of Southern Vietnam as well witness the making of local traditional handicrafts.

Going along the Tien River upstream, visitors will visit Cai Be floating market where hundreds of boats and canoes gather to sell and buy the local products.

Along the banks of the river, service shops are always crowded with people. Sometimes there is clear bell ringing from Cai Be Church built in the early 20th century.

This year, Tien Giang Province is expected to receive more than 500,000 domestic visitors and 300,000 foreign tourists.

In the atmosphere of an area criss-crossed with many rivers and canals as well as fruit gardens, they will visit historical relics, temples and pagodas, such as the cultural relic of Oc Eo in Cho Gao District and learn about the history of this area through valuable exhibits full of Phu Nam culture in the early Christian Era.

They also visit the historical monument of the Rach Gam-Xoai Mut Victory, where they will be told about the renowned naval battle of national hero Quang Trung, and visit 200-year-old Vinh Trang Pagoda which has Asian-European architecture, to contemplate the quintessence of the sculptural art of Southern Vietnam.

There are other historical places, such as the royal mausoleum inscribed with the merit of the family of queen mother Tu Du, who was the grandmother of King Tu Duc, in reclaiming Go Cong area. Buu Lam Pagoda in My Tho City, where patriots Nguyen Sinh Sac and Phan Chu Trinh once stayed, is the most typical ancient work of the Viet people in the Southern plain in the 19th century.

The provincial characteristics are also reflected through the festivals to commemorate the Ap Bac Victory and Nam Ky Uprising, the worshipping ceremony to honour national heroes Truong Dinh and Nguyen Huu Huan and the traditional festivals of the Viet, Khmer, Hoa and Cham ethnic groups.

Tien Giang Province also boasts Dong Tam snake-raising station that provides venoms for making medicines and an ecological zoo where different genes of rare and precious animals in the Southern area are conserved and there is a museum of almost all species of pythons and snakes in Vietnam.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Cao Bang province


Area: 6,724.6 sq. km.
Population: 518.9 thousand habitants (2006)
Capital: Cao Bang Town.
Districts: Bao Lac, Bao Lam, Ha Quang, Thong Nong, Tra Linh, Trung Khanh, Nguyen Binh, Hoa An, Phuc Hoa, Quang Uyen, Ha Lang, Thach An.
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Tay, Nung, Dao, HÆ¡Mong, San Chay...
Introduction: Geography, Tourism, Ethnic groups, Transportation.

Geography

Cao Bang Province is located in the Far North - East, shares borders with China on the north and east, Bac Kan province and Lang Son province on the south, and Ha Giang province and Tuyen Quang province on the west. The topography is complicated so inter-transportation is limited.

Climate

Cao Bang Province has temperate climate. There are 4 seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter. The average temperature is 25 - 28oC in summer and 16oC -17oC in winter. Snow sometimes falls in winter on high mountains such as Trung Khanh, Tra Linh.

Ethnic groups

Many ethnic groups live together here. It creates plentiful traditional culture. Tay group makes up a large amount of population. They have own handwriting (Tay-Nung language group). The Tay's special culture is showed in village festival, vi and then singing.

Transportation

Cao Bang Province is 272km north of Hanoi following National Highway No.3. Cao Bang Province has National Highway No.4B and 3 linking to Lang Son Province, Bac Kan Province, Ha Giang Province and to China. There are direct buses from Hanoi, Thai Nguyen Province and Lang Son Province.

Tourism

Cao Bang Province - VietnamThe cool weather combines with many high mountains, beautiful sightseeing's to form the convenient for relaxing tour and discovery tour. Famous sites include Thang Hen Mountainous Lake in Tra Linh, Ban Gioc Fall and Nguom Ngao Cave in Trung Khanh. Among of them, Ban Gioc Fall probably is one of most beautiful waterfall in Vietnam. Several sites where Uncle Ho lived and worked before the August 1945 Revolution include Pac Bo, Coc Bo Cave, Lenin Stream, and Khuoi Nam Stream. In Cao Bang Province, the traditional festivals have specific characteristics of ethnic groups, for example, Long Tong Festival, Inviting the-Moon-Mother Festival (Moi Me Trang).

Cao Bang Attractions:


1) Scenic Landscapes


Scenic LandscapesLocation: Ban Gioc Falls is situated in Trung Khanh District, Cao Bang Province.
Characteristics: Ban Gioc Falls is famous for a famous fish named “tram huong”.
Water from Quy Xuan River falling down on the stone creates water droplets columns that can be seen from a distance. The echo of the falls can be heard kilometers away from Trung Khanh. The temperature near the waterfall is remarkably cool, due to the water mist in the air.
At the foot of the waterfall is a large river, as calm as glass, surrounded by many precious kinds of flowers. In the early 1920s, French people started building cottages on the river banks. They would come here to relax and fish for “tram huong”.

2) Pac Bo CavePac Bo Cave

Riding 272km by car from Hanoi along National Highway No3, visitors will arrive at Cao Bang Town. Sleeping through the night in open air and a cool and quiet atmosphere of this mountainous area, their tiredness will disappear. The next morning visitors will ride through Hoa An to reach Ha Quang area. Through the windows of car, visitors can see golden rice fields lying amid green mountains, small hamlets with dozens of houseson-stilts under the shade of towering clusters of peach trees, and the winding streams with thatch-roofed bridges. Visitors will certainly be very interested in enjoying the picturesque scenery, endowed by the nature.
 
3) Thang Hen Lake
In the mass of mountains appears beautiful scenery with rows of trees rising from steep cliffs and reflecting themselves on the very blue water surface which curves round the heart of a valley with rough subterranean rocks. 

4) Nguom Ngao Cave

Nguom Ngao CaveIt is discovered in 1921 by local people then opened for tourists since 1996. With the length of 2,144m, Nguom Ngao cave is relative enormous, includes three main entrances. Now, Cao Bang Province only exploits 900m. The scenery in the interior of the cave is as picturesque as that of a fairly land. Visiting cave, tourist come in Nguom Luom entrance and go out Nguom Ngao entrance.

5) Ban Gioc Waterfall


The waterfall originates from Quay Son River. On the Vietnam side, the river has a Ban Gioc Waterfallpicturesque scenery, fresh environment with grass cover, evergreen forest, bobbing white clouds mingling with the peaceful atmosphere of villages of mountainous ethnic minorities. On the other side is the neighboring country of China.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Mui ne - sand and sea


Northeast of Phan Thiet the coastal road climbs over the slope of a Cham-Tower-topped hill and descends onto the long, sandy crescent of Mui Ne Bay. The formerly little-inhabited beach south of the fishing village of Mui Ne proper has seen some serious development in the last 15 years. Mui Ne Beach lies 200km east of HCMC. If you're travel weary then it's the place to head for. Take one of the Open Tour bus services from HCMC if you're going north or one from Nha Trang if going south. Most take a detour to Mui Ne and drop you at your chosen hotel. Now it is a 15 km long strip of resorts that line up like pearls on Nguyen Dinh Chieu street, shaded by coconut palms. The main resort strip lies between the addresses of 2 and 98 Nguyen Dinh Chieu and is actually named Ham Tien.

Given the choice, nature would move the sand around, much to the dismay of some developers. Beach sand tends to migrate up and down the coast seasonally, leaving some (but not all) spots with just a concrete breakwater rather than sandy beach. There is always a good sandy beach somewhere along this 10 km beach. Accommodations at higher addresses tend to be smaller and less expensive, somewhat removed from the main tourist section and more mixed in with local life. If a sandy beach is important to you, some research is called for before booking in that area.

A few bargain hotels have popped up on the inland side of the road, across from the beach-side resorts. If you stay on the inland side, you will need to pass though one of the resorts to reach the beach, which might or might not result in some hassle from the guards. The resorts jealously guard their lounge chairs and palapas, though the beach itself is open to everyone. If all else fails, you can always access a nice sandy stretch of beach via the Wax Bar at 68 Nguyen Dinh Chieu.
Most overseas visitors reach Mui Ne via "Open Tour" buses that run between Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang. Most depart from HCMC between 7:30 and 9:00AM or PM (7:30AM for Sinh Cafe in air-conditioned bus and arrive at Mui Ne at about 1:00 PM, same for night schedule). In the opposite direction, buses typically depart from Mui Ne around 2:00PM or AM and arrive in HCMC at 7:00PM or AM~ five hours at night or in the morning. Joe's Cafe is a good place to catch an outgoing night bus as it offers full service all night and you never know how late the bus will be. Outside HCMC, the coach will stop at a petrol station with a pretty large shop and stalls selling snacks, drinks and fruit.

The buses stop in the heart of the tourist strip in Mui Ne, so there is no need to take a taxi. The cost is about US$6 (105,000VND - Vietnamese dong) each way, and tickets are sold all over the tourist districts of both HCMC and Nha Trang. If you are traveling to HCMC from Mui Ne, you will most likely be put on an already full bus traveling from Nha Trang. Since you are not assigned a seat you may not be able to sit with any traveling companions, and at some of the less scrupulous travel agents you may not even get a real seat (we were put on a mat at the back of the bus with four other people).

Public buses from both destinations also travel to Mui Ne, though finding the departure stations and figuring out the schedule is difficult for visitors. It's not worth the trouble unless you have a strong need to depart at a different time of day than when the Open Tour bus leaves. Travel agencies play dumb because they don't earn anything from helping you find a public bus.

There's a surprising amount of accommodation relative to the number of visitors. We were there in mid-December which should be peak season yet it was surprisingly quiet. The Blue Ocean Resort is a well established option which is about as centrally located as you can get. It is surrounded by plenty alternatives including the upmarket Mui Ne Sailing Club to the west and the budget Red Sun to the east. If you haven't pre-booked make sure you arrive by day and get off the bus anywhere around here and you won't go far wrong. The Victoria Phan Thiet Resort is the luxury choice located about 3km before this central area.
Mui Ne Beach

The beach is very narrow and some hotels have had to put sandbags at the edge of their property to protect themselves from the encroaching sea. Most tourists seemed to use their hotel pools more than the beach. The resort is well known for its windsports with wind and kite surfers in their element especially in the November to May period.

There are so many restaurants along this central strip that it's difficult to recommend any one over another. I particularly like the ones offering freshly barbequed fish and tiger prawns priced according to weight. Just select your fish as you enter the restaurant, see it weighed and go to your table whilst it's prepared for you.

With so many places and so few people you'll be politely hassled to go into every one of them as you walk along. Our favourite was in front of Ocean Beach Resort where nobody stood outside touting for business and the food was so good it just sold itself.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Ho Chi Minh city - Young city review


Area: 2,098.7 sq. km²
Population: 7,123.4 thousand habitants (April 2009)
Administrative divisions:
- Districts: District 1, District 2, District 3, District 4, District 5, District 6, District 7, District 8, District 9, District 10, District 11, District 12, Tan Binh, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, Thu Duc, Go Vap, Binh Tan,Tan Phu.
- Rural districts: Nha Be, Can Gio Hoc Mon, Cu Chi Binh Chanh.
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Hoa, Khmer, Cham...

Geography
In the core of the Mekong Delta, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is second the most important in Vietnam after Hanoi. It is not only a commercial center but also a scientific, technological, industrial and tourist center. The city is bathed by many rivers, arroyos and canals, the biggest river being the Saigon River. The Port of Saigon, established in 1862, is accessible to ships weighing up to 30,000 tons, a rare advantage for an inland river port.
Climate:The climate is generally hot and humid. There are two distinctive seasons: the rainy season, from May to November, and the dry season, from December to April. The annual average temperature is 270C. The hottest month is April and the lowest is December. It is warm all year.

History
Many centuries ago, Saigon was already a busy commercial center. Merchants from China, Japan and many European countries would sail upstream the Saigon River to reach the islet of Pho, a trading center. In the year of 1874, Cho Lon merged with Saigon, forming the largest city in the Indochina. It had been many times celebrated as the Pearl of the Far East. After the reunification of the country, the 6th National Assembly in its meeting of the 2nd of July, 1976, has officially rebaptized Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City. The history of city relates closely with the struggle for the independence and freedom of Vietnam.

Tourism

Today, Ho Chi Minh City is the big tourism center in Vietnam, attracting a large of visitors to Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City has various attractions as Ho Chi Minh Museum, formerly known as Dragon House Wharf, Cu Chi Tunnels, system of museums, theatres, cultural houses... Recently, many tourist areas are invested such as Thanh Da, Binh Quoi Village, Dam Sen Park, Saigon Water Park, Suoi Tien, Ky Hoa..., which draw numerous tourists.

Despite its quite recent past, Ho Chi Minh City nevertheless possesses various beautiful buildings, displaying a characteristic combination of Vietnamese, Chinese and European cultures. These include Nha Rong (Dragon House Wharf), Quoc To Temple (National Ancestors Temple), Xa Tay (Municipal Office), Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theatre as well as many pagodas and churches (Vinh Nghiem, Giac Vien, Giac Lam, Phung Son pagodas...). After more than 300 years of development, Ho Chi Minh City presents many ancient architectural constructions, famous vestiges and renowned sights. It is remarkable for its harmonious blending of traditional national values with northern and western cultural features.

Transportation

Ho Chi Minh City is the main junction for trains, roads, water, and air transportation systems for domestic trips and for foreign destination.
- Roads: Ho Chi Minh City is 1,730km from Hanoi, 99km from Tay Ninh, 30km from Bien Hoa (Dong Nai), 70km from My Tho, 125km from Vung Tau, 168km from Can Tho, 308km from Dalat, and 375km from Buon Ma Thuot. The City has National Highway 13 which connects Vietnam with the rest of Indochina.
- Train: Thong Nhat express train connects Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, vie many provinces in Vietnam.
- Air: Tan Son Nhat International Airport, 7km from center of city, is the biggest airport with many domestic and international routes. There are flights from Hanoi and Danang to Ho Chi Minh City and between the City to many regions as well a lot of countries on over the world.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Kontum The highland central of Vietnam


The most northerly of the three towns on the Highland plateaux, the provincial capital of Kon Tum is located on the banks of the Dakbla River about 900km from Ho Chi Minh City and around 200km from Qui Nhon. It’s a pleasant, unassuming sort of place. There are well over 600 ethnic minority villages and hamlets in the province, mostly Ba Na, Xo Dang, Gie Trieng and Gia Rai. A sizeable proportion of the population has converted to Catholicism.

The French used Kon Tum as their administrative centre for the Central Highlands and built a large prison to subdue the local population. They deployed the prisoners as forced labour to build Highway 19 – needless to say, many died.

One of the best-known international guidebooks has much to say about Kon Tum’s historic prison, concluding that the “local tourism authorities have not quite grasped the economic potential of this would-be war museum.” Had the authors checked, they’d have known that the prison was demolished after the war and completely rebuilt between 1998 and 2000 by the tourism department to capitalise upon an unwitting tourist market. Oops!

If you travel with Haivenu, you get accurate information. As we’re not interested in ‘fake’ attractions, we give the prison a miss.
However, the town has two French-built churches that definitely shouldn’t be missed. The small, whitewashed Tan Huong Church was built around the 1850s. It stands on stilts, although it’s not immediately obvious. Inside, it’s a gem. Most of the stained glass is original, and there’s a splendid vaulted ceiling. The roof has been replaces, but the original ‘fishscale’ tiles can be seen on the tower.

The better-known ‘Wooden Church’ was built in 1913, and has been carefully restored. The stained-glass window includes both Christian and local imagery.

The Bishop’s Palace isn’t open to the public, but it’s worth a look from outside.

While in Kon Tum, we encourage our guests to visit the town’s Ba Na orphanage. It’s a poorly funded charitable foundation, but the children are well cared for despite the somewhat Spartan surroundings. You’ll get a very warm welcome, and they’ll get a decent donation on your behalf, a transaction that sends everyone away happy.

The main attraction of the area around Kon Tum is dozens of easily accessible ethnic minority villages. Visitors can stroll through ethnic communities, meet the people and experience their daily life. You’re very unlikely to run into beggars or other nuisances: even the children don’t cluster around or pester strangers. People are very friendly, and happy to welcome guests into their houses. Homestays are available.

‘Rafting’ down DakBla River in an inflatable dingy, a riverside picnic, swimming, dinner in the Rong house of a Ba Na village followed by wine and conversation with the locals typifies the experiences offered by this little-known area and its easygoing, good-natured people.

If you want to get further away, there are plenty of good trekking routes taking you through attractive countryside and across precarious bridges to reach more remote villages. Accommodation will most likely be in the local ‘rong’ house. You need to be flexible and adaptable, though – the local authorities have differing ideas about what’s allowed and what isn’t, which is why you need one of our expert guides to smooth the way!

Friday, June 17, 2011

World’s largest cave in Vietnam to be introduced in 60 countries

The world’s first 3-dimension scientific reportage is about Vietnam’s Son Doong cave and it will be broadcast in 60 countries on June 25.

The 3D reportage was produced by Japan’s Kyodo Film and will be broadcast on Japan’s NHK World TV in 60 countries, according to officials from Quang Binh province, the home to Son Doong, which is classified as the largest cave in the world.

The reportage, called “Let’s Fell the Grandness of Nature”, has been made by Japan ’s Kyodo film studio with assistance of Quang Binh province and the British Cave Research Association (BCRA).

Son Doong (Mountain River) Cave was announced as the largest in the world by BCRA, and selected as one of the most beautiful in the globe by the BBC news. The cave can contain a 40-storey building.

Son Doong cave was first spotted in Quang Binh’s Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park by a local man named Ho Khanh in 1991.

The cave was then made known publicly as lately as in 2009 by a group of British scientists from BCRA, led by Howard Limbert, after their surveying trip in Phong Nha-Ke Bang Park .

According to Limbert, the cave is five times larger than the nearby Phong Nha cave, previously considered to be the largest cave in Vietnam.

Son Doong cave is found to have a length of at least 6.5km. It is estimated to be 200m in width and 150m in height. The largest chamber of the cave is judged to be 250m in height.

Scientists have also discovered a great number of stalactites in astonishingly extraordinary shapes and also primitive forests in the cave.

Son Doong Cave in National Graphics’ photos:


A giant cave column swagged in flowstone towers over explorers swimming through the depths of Hang Ken, one of 20 new caves discovered last year in Vietnam.


A climber ascends a shaft of light in Loong Con, where humidity rises into cool air and forms clouds inside the cave.


A half-mile block of 40-story buildings could fit inside this lit stretch of Son Doong, which may be the world’s biggest subterranean passage.


A jungle inside a cave? A roof collapse long ago in Hang Son Doong let in light; plants thickly followed. 
Mist sweeps past the hills of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, its 330 square miles set aside in 2001 to protect one of Asia’s largest cave systems.


Going underground, expedition members enter Hang En, a cave tunneled out by the Rao Thuong River. Dwindling to a series of ponds during the dry months, the river can rise almost 300 feet during the flood season, covering the rocks where cavers stand.


Headroom shrinks in the middle of Hang En as cavers pass beneath a ceiling scalloped by eons of floodwater rushing past. The river shortly reemerges onto the surface, then burrows into Son Doong after a few miles.


Like a petrified waterfall, a cascade of fluted limestone, greened by algae, stops awestruck cavers in their tracks. They’re near the exit of Hang En.


Moss-slick boulders and a 30-foot drop test adventurers at the forest-shrouded entrance to Son Doong.


Son Doong’s airy chambers sprout life where light enters from above—a different world from the bare, cramped, pitch-black spaces familiar to most cavers. Ferns and other greenery colonize rimstone. In the jungles directly beneath
roof openings, explorers have seen monkeys, snakes, and birds.


Rare cave pearls fill dried-out terrace pools near the Garden of Edam in Son Doong. This unusually large collection of stone spheres formed drip by drip over the centuries as calcite crystals left behind by water layered themselves around grains of sand, enlarging over time.


Navigating an algae-skinned maze, explorers lead the way across a sculpted cavescape in Hang Son Doong. Ribs form as calcite-rich water overflows pools.


The trickiest challenge for the expedition team was to find a way over the Great Wall of Vietnam, an overhanging mass of flowstone that blocked the way deep inside Son Doong.


Like a castle on a knoll, a rock formation shines beneath a skylight in Son Doong. A storm had just filled the pool, signaling that exploring season was coming to an end.


Dubbed the Great Wall of Vietnam, a 200-foot cliff halted the advance of the first team to enter Son Doong, in 2009.


“It sounded like a roaring train,” said an explorer, describing the noise a second before a waterfall exploded into Son Doong through the Watch Out for Dinosaurs doline, or sinkhole opening.


In the dry season, from November to April, a caver can safely explore Hang Ken, with its shallow pools. Come the monsoon, the underground river swells and floods the passages, making the cave impassable.


Taking the only way in, a climber descends 225 feet by rope into Loong Con. A survey party discovered the cave in 2010, hoping it would connect with the enormous Son Doong. A wall of boulders soon blocked the way, but a powerful draft indicated that a large cavern lay on the other side.


Streams of light from the surface unveil stalagmites fat and thin on the floor of Loong Con. Cavers called the new find the Cactus Garden.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Visiting Hue, Vietnam’s last imperial city

hue-travel
Situated on the Perfume River, Hue is a relaxed and peaceful city full of lakes, canals and lush vegetation. Once the imperial city of the Nguyen dynasty, this Unesco world Heritage Site is home to some of Vietnam’s greatest historical buildings and sights. The Nguyen dynasty was the last royal family to rule Vietnam with a dynasty spanning 143 years, from 1802 to 1945.

Thien Mu pagoda
Thien Mu Pagoda
hue-travel
Ngo Mon Gate, Citadel
Possibly the most impressive sights within the city are the citadel and the royal mausoleums. Of equal interest is the Thien Mu pagoda, the largest in Hue, and an unofficial symbol of the city. It is very fortunate that these historic sights survived somewhat unscathed during the bombing of Hue during the Tet Offensive in 1968 when much of the city was levelled.
The Citadel
Hue’s glory days kicked off in the early 19th century when Emperor Gia Long began the construction of a vast citadel comprising three concentric enclosures. The citadel bears a striking resemblance to the Forbidden City in Beijing and must have been a sight to behold when completed. Today, only 20 of the original 148 buildings remain.
Ten gates lead into the citadel, but by far the most impressive is Ngo Mon, the principal entrance. The gate itself consists of five entrances: the central one for the emperor, two for civil and military employees and two for the royal elephants. Of the remaining palace buildings, Thai Hoa Palace boasts a spectacular interior containing gold and red lacquers and was where major ceremonies were held.
The Royal Mausoleums
If the citadel were not enough to convince one of the decadence within the royal court, the royal mausoleums surely are. Built in the valley of the Perfume River, these mini palaces are built in beautiful surroundings. Artificial lakes, waterfalls and lush gardens were set out with the three buildings comprising the mausoleum taking pride of place. The main temple was dedicated to the worship of the deceased emperor in question, followed by a stone stele recording details of his reign and finally, the tomb, which is enclosed behind a wall.
There are in total seven mausoleums although the mausoleums of Tu Duc, Khai Dinh and Minh Mang are the most attractive and best preserved. These are easily accessible from Hue by taxi or motorbike. It’s also possible to see the mausoleums as part of a cruise on the Perfume river and if this is the route chosen, it should be possible to see a further three mausoleums.

Thien Mu Pagoda
Equally impressive is the Thien Mu Pagoda, also known as the Heaven Fairy Lady pagoda. It is seven stories high and is the tallest pagoda in Vietnam. It was originally built in 1601 after the then governor of the region heard a local legend. According to the legend, an old lady known as Thien Mu sat at the site, rubbing her, cheeks, and professed that the lord would come to the site and build a pagoda to pray for the country’s prosperity.
It’s possible to wander around the site at leisure taking in the calming atmosphere and smell of incense burned by Buddhist worshippers. After removing shoes, it is also possible to enter the temple behind the pagoda and catch a glimpse of the Buddhist way of life.

Imperial Cuisine
Hue has many cafes and restaurants serving both traditional Vietnamese food and for those that have been on the road a while, more prosaic pizza and burgers. The best known Hue dish is banh khoai, a small, crispy yellow pancake that is fried with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts and is served with a peanut and sesame sauce.
A food experience unique to Hue is to indulge in an imperial feast. There are a number of restaurants that offer this. Food in the imperial court had to be both visually stunning as well as delicious. Don’t be surprised if served a bird carved from cucumber. The food was meant to amuse and delight the diner, as well as satisfy their hunger.
While not a bustling city like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, Hue provides a break from the usual frenetic activity that is Vietnam. Whether taking a cruise down the Perfume River, or renting a motorbike to explore the rice paddies on the edge of town, Hue is wonderful place to relax and experience the quieter side of Vietnam.