Tour through the ancient imperial city of Hue

As I had only one full day planned in Hue, I decided - somewhat reluctantly - to go for a guided tour instead of attempting to explore the many sights on my own; even though I always have to keep pace with the group. I was picked up early at 8:00 AM by 'Hi' in a larger bus at my hostel and was the first to board, which meant, of course, that I got to witness the bus gradually filling up with a colorful mix of people...

From 1802 to 1945, 13 Vietnamese Emperors/Kings of the Nguyen Dynasty resided in Hue, making it the capital of Vietnam. Since 1993, the ancient imperial city of Hue has been part of UNESCO's World Heritage ... and that is definitely not without reason ... So we first headed to this area of the ancient imperial city, to the grounds of the Citadel... Much within the grounds was destroyed by numerous wars - especially by the American bombing during the Vietnam War in 1968 - but a large part was rebuilt afterwards ... The estate, with its colorful garden design and many ornate, detailed buildings, is very impressive. We strolled through the area for about 2.5 hours while Hi shared many stories about the rulers and their many wives and concubines, the historical context - especially regarding the French colonial period - the feudal system of kings, mandarins, and soldiers, etc. ...

After that, we visited the 'Ancient Hue Garden House'. It's a garden complex of a high official designed with attention to Feng Shui architecture, followed by the Thien Mu Pagoda next to the Perfume River, which is a Buddhist monastery. With its seven-story tower, whose name I have already forgotten and can't pronounce anyway, this pagoda is the tallest in Vietnam. The area with the small temples and many intricately twisted trees, which reminded me of the old bonsai trees from Japanese films, next to the picturesque river bend is very impressive, and I could have easily stayed longer, but the table was already well set on our dragon boat, and we enjoyed delicious local delicacies on the ride on the Perfume River - for me, without fish ...

After the lunch boat tour, we returned to the bus and first headed to the Tu Duc Tomb located a bit outside, then to the photo spot on Vong Canh Hill, and finally to the impressive Khai Dinh Tomb, where we had to conquer many stairs again; but the view was worth it ...

The sun was blazing and the heat was quite intense again, so I was pretty worn out after the tour ... I also got a nice sunburn on my neck, which until recently had been protected by hair and thus not tanned ... I fell into the trap of forgetting sunscreen once again ...

After two hours of relaxing, I ventured out again in search of food and plunged into the festive and colorful nightlife of the city ...