Town As Old As Time

The sun was setting when I woke up in the middle of road somewhere along the Vietnamese countryside. That was my last day in Hue and I was en route to Hoi An from a sketchy shuttle bus that I booked online. The average travel time between the two towns is usually around 3 hours via private car, but I took an open bus and the driver had to drop other tourists off in Da Nang so the trip lasted about 5 hours to Hoi An. We left Hue around 4:30 PM and it was already 8:00 when we arrived in Da Nang, the highly urbanized city in central Vietnam, about 30km from Hoi An.

Thien Mu Pagoda & The Nguyen Imperial Tombs

Located on the Ha Khe Hill on the northern bank of the Perfume River is the site where, according to legends, an old lady appeared to the locals and foretold that one day a lord will build a pagoda on this hill that will bring peace to the land. Upon hearing the story, one of the Nguyen Lords fulfilled the prophecy and erected the Thien Mu Pagoda.

Imperial Citadel of Hue

Much has been written about the Chinese Forbidden City, after all it's the largest palatial structure in the world and one of the greatest legacies of ancient China; however, it's not the only Forbidden City. You probably haven't heard of it yet but another one actually exists in the not-so-popular Imperial City of Hue, former capital and political center of Vietnam.

Ho Quyen and the Palace of the Crying Elephants

Elephants are held in high regard in many parts of the world, especially in Hindu and Buddhist countries. These sacred animals are associated with the divine and Southeast Asian monarchies transformed them into symbols of power.

Of all the places that I visited in Vietnam, Hue in the central region is easily one of my favorites because this was the seat of power of the last Vietnamese monarchy. Being a former imperial city, I thought this place HAD to have some remains of the royal court besides the Forbidden City so I did my research and found out about the Ho Quyen, Asia's version of the Roman Colosseum.