Hue: The Perfume River

Today, we had an optional boat cruise on the Perfume River, visiting a village, and also visits to two of the emperors’ tombs plus a lunch at a women’s Buddhist monastery. It rained almost all day. Not a great day for sightseeing or for taking photos, but an interesting day nevertheless.

The photo is of one of the tourist boats on the river, similar to the one that we took.

I have put my photos of the optional tour on two slideshows. Go to Slide Shows, Vietnam–2,”Hue: Perfume River–1 and –2, Tour Day 8″   or go directly to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/hue–perfume–river–1/

http://www.peggysphotos.com/hue–perfume–river–2/

Hue: The Perfume River

Photo: My tour group walking to a village on the river bank––we had to avoid puddles on our walk. I would have loved taking this tour without the rain, but at least it was cool.

Hue: The Perfume River

At the village. I thought we were viewing villages eating their breakfast outside their homes, but when I looked at my photos, I realized that the villagers had mini–cafes on the patios of their homes. Tho told us that many people have to supplement their incomes, as they are so low, by becoming vendors of some kind.

Tomb of Khai Dinh

We finished our boat cruise and drove on our bus to the tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh, one of  a number of tombs along the Perfume River. Khai Dinh ruled Vietnam from 1885 to 1925.

Tomb of Khai Dinh

The inside of the Khai Dinh Tomb is spectacular, most of it decorated with glass and ceramic mosaic tiles.

Tomb of Khai Dinh

Part of a wall of mosaic tiles.

Lunch at a Buddhist Monastery

We next had a very tasty vegetarian lunch at a women’s Buddhist monastery with the most delicious freshly made potato chips.

Lunch at a Buddhist Monastery

Photo: The abbess of the monastery flanked by Tho and David. The abbess told us about the monastery with Tho translating. It was an unusual place to have lunch and was a highlight of our day’s tour.

Tomb of Tu Duc

Still raining. The tomb complex, including a palace, is quite large with many interesting buildings. It would be a good place to spend some time, when it isn’t raining, walking around and exploring. Photo: the lake at the tomb.

Tomb of Tu Duc

Tu Duc was the longest reigning emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, from 1848 to 1883. He had over 100 wives and concubines, but never fathered a son. His adopted son reigned after he died.

The complex also contained a palace and Tu Duc made it his residence. However, he isn’t buried at his tomb, but, instead, was secretly buried somewhere in Hue. The 200 laborers who buried him were beheaded after his burial so they could not tell anyone of its location.

Tomb of Tu Duc

Spirit gate at the tomb area. There are many tombs here including the tomb of Tu Duc’s adopted son and his empress, his most important wife.

Ceremony at Our Hotel–Movie

After our tour ended, I was sitting in just the right area in the dining room and at just the right time to take this movie. The procession was to celebrate an important event in a couple’s life––an anniversary perhaps.

Ceremony at Our Hotel

The hotel had a very fancy room for special celebrations.

Ceremony at Our Hotel

I took this photo of the couple being honored by the celebration. They still had their ceremonial robes on but I noticed that their guests had taken theirs off.

Tomorrow, we  fly from Hue to Hanoi and then drive directly south to Halong Bay. I had been counting how many more flights I had to go. Tomorrow’s flight would be no. 9 for me on this trip, the third one on the tour. After tomorrow, only two more to go and those would take me home.