Katie's Travel Adventures: Hue and my 3 day motorcycle adventure

Hue is the old capital, an Imperial city, home to the Royal family until 1945. I spent my day in town exploring by motorbike (common theme in Vietnam). Some of the main sights are a few kilometres away from the city centre, and on a nice day, would be very bike able, but in this humidity, I opted for an engine to get me around. Myself and some fellow travellers visited the tombs of Minh Mang and Khai Dinh. Minh Mang was ruler from 1820 to 1840, his tomb is the most impressive in the area, with several buildings, gardens and lakes. Khai Dinh was emperor from 1916-1925 . His tomb is the newest and incorporates both eastern and western (influenced by the French) styles.

Khai Dinh's Tomb

Khai Dinh's Burial Chamber - he is buried 18m under this room

Minh Mang's Tomb

Gardens around Minh Mang's Tomb

I then got dropped off in the old city centre to explore the walled city, and inside it, the citadel, home to the emperors. The area was unfortunately heavily bombed during the Vietnam war ( another common theme), so only a few buildings are still accessible. There is also a lot of restoration still going on. I enjoyed wandering around the huge area, taking in the grandiosity if it and finding areas free of other tourists to enjoy watching the sunset.

Me, inside the Citadel

Inside the Imperial City. Finding solitude amongst the ruins.

The next day I left for my motorbike adventure. I had heard from several sources, that a ride through the Vietnamese countryside was not to be missed! The first day we concentrated on the area around the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) along the Ben Hai river. The line between north and south was drawn in 1955 after the French left and was supposed to be temporary for two years. Elections didn't happen as planned in 1957 and the separation remained. People were able to move across the DMZ for 100 days when it was first made, afterwards, movement was highly restricted. The area also saw a lot of fighting and bombing. We visited a cemetery; Vinh Moc tunnels, that villagers made from 1966-68, to hide from frequent bombing and the Ben Hai river memorial, where I had an excellent local guide who shared some personal stories with me, and answered my many questions.

Unmarked graves of the VietCong unknown soldiers

Scenes from the road

Tunnels; I didn't need to crawl, just crouch a little

Outside the entrance to the tunnels

Ben Hai River, and the memorial to the DMZ on the other bank

Our trusty bike!

Day 2, we traveled north on Ho Chi Minh trail through jungles and past many villages of the minority people in Vietnam. My driver, Tam told me that there are over 50 minority groups with their own language and culture. Unfortunately, some groups have not been treated well by the current communist government as they supported the US during the war. The Ho Chi Minh trail was completed in 1959 and was a major transportation route for goods, people and ammunition traveling from the north to the south, parts of the original trail went through Laos and Cambodia.

Scenes from the road

Day 3, a visit to Phong Nga National Park and the paradise cave. The park contains some of the oldest karst mountains in Asia and some amazing cave systems I thought I was going off the tourist trail a bit, but ended up in the busiest place I've been yet. The big holiday is approaching in Vietnam, Independence Day on Apr 30 and Labour Day on May 1st, and the Vietnamese tourists are out in full force. I would have to say the cave experience was not quite what I expected. I did my best to enjoy the massive caverns and beautiful rock formations, but it was a little tough with screaming children and pushing people around me...oh well!