After a relaxing sleep and breakfast, we took a little walk through the city of Hue today. The big city located on the Perfume River is not particularly spectacular, maybe we were still spoiled by Hoi An, but the area around the river mentioned above was definitely worth seeing. Beautifully designed parks stretched out there, where artists could showcase many of their statues, creating a special atmosphere and making it pleasant to take a walk along the river away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
One of the parks by the artistsIn addition to the parks, there were also some free galleries along the shore of the river, one of which we visited: a gallery for embroidered paintings. Unfortunately, my artistic knowledge is not sufficient to describe this art form, but it was stunning to see the vibrancy and beauty that the artworks exuded, causing us to stand in awe in front of a piece from time to time and wonder how something like this is possible. In fact, a very large artwork needed five years to be created by ten women - it is hardly imaginable the level of endurance and motivation required for that on a daily basis... Then we continued on to the so-called Citadel of Hue. This used to be the former royal palace, as Hue was once the royal residence. Today, many temples, gardens, and shrines are arranged in a circular fashion around the main part of the Citadel, inviting visitors to stay and wander around, which led us to walk a good 17 kilometers yesterday. Gateway to the entrance The main temple Gardens around the complex
The centerpiece was the Audience Hall of the King and the golden dragon behind it, which looked down on the Citadel and the city from a raised position.
The Throne Hall
As we were a bit tired, we went back to our hostel for a short nap. Afterwards, we strolled through the night version of Hue, had a snack, and sat down in a cafe to plan our further journey. At least we have already booked the flights from Hanoi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, where we want to be for the local Light Festival on November 21.
Nighttime HueTomorrow afternoon we will continue to Phong Nha in the interior of the country, where there is a national park with many presumably spectacular caves.
