Monday, March 28th ~ Hue, Vietnam
At the Imperial Palace, the Citadel
After a very full day, I am finally comfy in my PJ’s and about to drift off to sleep, but first I wanted to type a quick post of some highlights from our day.
We had a 4.5 hour bus trip that took us from Hoi An to Hue, but that included several stops along the way. The first was at a marble factory. I tried to convince the gentleman who was using a chisel to hand carve an enormous block of marble to use me for his model.
Trying to get immortalized in marble to no avail.
He chose to carve an elephant instead. Ahhh, shoot.
The showroom had some fabulous pieces for sale, but simply not my taste, nor do I have any place to put it.
Next stop, China Beach in Da Nang which is known locally as My Khe Beach or Non Nuoc.
At China Beach
Then a short drive further along the coast we got to see some of the woven bamboo round boats the fishermen use here in Da Nang. Woven by hand and then coated with resin that has either sawdust or cow dung mixed in, they are surprisingly seaworthy.
Woven bamboo boats
And a final coffee and toilet stop along this inlet.
Multiple sticks with oyster pods attached.
After our arrival in Hue (pronounced Way), we proceeded to do a local tour that included the Citadel and former Royal Palace.
Spotted on the city tour
The Dragon Bridge is the symbol of Hue
Inside the Citadel grounds
“The Imperial City (Vietnamese: Kinh thành Huế) is a walled fortress and palace in the city of Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam.” ~ Wikipedia
Entrance to the Citadel and Imperial Palace grounds
But one of the highlights of the day was a ride on a Cyclo. This was another first for me, and so much fun. One person per cart, you are simply sitting in an open chair in front of a rider who pedals you around town. I loved the freedom and view it allowed us. I felt so much more a part of what was going on around me, instead of this huge separation of being on a big bus.
Just about to leave for our first cyclo ride
And a few shots taken along the ride.
Our evening topped off with a HUGE meal in a private residence.
Gorgeous setting for our evening meal.
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful for the fun we had on our cyclo ride. I would love to do it again!
A Note From Abroad 
very nice post!
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Thank you Valentina
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What a beautiful country. I love the photo of the two of you at China Beach. How lucky you are to be able to have such adventures!
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Vietnam continues to enchant in her own unique way. Thank you for following our adventures.
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Those bamboo boats are pretty interesting and the cycle ride looks like fun!
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Ah, to be carved in marble… what an experience that would be. 🙂 Really, really like the dragon bridge. –Curt
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Just for some information on Hue, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War the City of Hue was just about totally destroyed. The Vietcong had occupied the City and the Historic Citadel area. US Troops eventually pushed the Cong out of Hue, but they then took up the fight in the Citadel area. US Troops were ordered not to destroy anything Historic, but had to later on because of heavy fighting in the area. USS Carpenter DD-825 Vietnam 66-67
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Les, thank you for adding your insights to this. Our guide mentioned that there had been heavy damage here due to the war and that Agent Orange was used extensively for defoliating the entire area.
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Glad I found your blog! Nice post and photos. Thanks for visiting House Sparrow😊
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Thank you. I’m glad you found us too 🙂
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Fabulous seeing your photos
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Photo of the bridge is amazing. How Asian!
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