Hue - the Imperial City / Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge

From 1802 to 1945, Hue was the capital of Vietnam. Today, with a population of 340,000, it is a major city located on the Perfume River, called Huong Giang in Vietnamese.

At 6:00 am, the blazing sun woke us up, and we started our day with a visit to the Linh Mu Pagoda. We hired a driver through the Grab app because we didn't want to walk nearly 10 km in the heat. The white pagoda is part of a beautiful temple complex. With its seven floors, it is the tallest pagoda in Vietnam. The visit is free of charge and very interesting. In the early morning hours, it is quite peaceful, but later on, large tour buses arrive.

Afterwards, we went to the 'Forbidden City', which was modeled after the one in Beijing. The citadel was the home of the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. No house outside the forbidden city was allowed to be taller than the citadel, and the common people were not allowed to enter. From the outside, we got a glimpse of the splendor inside the thick walls. However, that was all we could see as we didn't have enough cash for the unexpectedly high entrance fee. Credit card payment was not possible, and there was no ATM in sight. So, at over 30 degrees Celsius, we reluctantly walked back to the hotel around 10 am. Luckily, there was a cool pool waiting for us, and after two weeks of non-stop action, we needed a break.

In the evening, we went to a large supermarket located a bit outside the city center to buy snacks and drinks and to see what was offered there. This is always interesting in other countries. We were greeted by the smell of the durian fruit, saw live fish for sale, dead frogs, and crawling cockroaches. We quickly became the center of attention ourselves. Some children stared at us, others said hello and asked where we were from. Even adults wanted to take pictures and sent them to each other. Overall, it was quite amusing, and thanks to the friendliness of the Vietnamese people, it was a fun experience for both sides.

A trip to Ba Na Hills on the way to Hoi An

At seven o'clock, Johnny Le Bao was waiting for us. He was our driver for the day between Hue and Hoi An. During the approximately 100 km drive, Flo arranged several stops that we wanted to make.

First, after about an hour and a half of driving, he showed us a small lagoon where we took advantage of the early hour to enjoy the nature all by ourselves and take some pictures. Then we continued over the mountains via a pass. After a few great viewpoints, we finally reached Ba Na Hills. We had read online that there was a bridge here that was held by giant hands in the mountains, and we really wanted to go there. Johnny told us that if we visit Ba Na Hills, there would be no time for further stops, and the day would last about 8 hours. We couldn't imagine that at all. Anyway, we bought tickets for about 25 euros each, which is an insanely high price here.

And then we entered the Ba Na Hills area. This is sort of a huge amusement park connected by several cable cars, each several kilometers long. After a 10-minute ride up the mountains to an altitude of about 1400 meters, we arrived at the top. Here, buildings and restaurants resembling European old towns are built, with names like Nice, Marseille, or Paris. The cable car stations are modeled after French train stations, and everything seems somehow surreal to us. Thousands of tourists, especially from Korea, Japan, and China, take one photo after another and feel like little children in a dreamworld. There is also a Chinese themed area with a giant Buddha and a pagoda, countless souvenir shops, and snack vendors. Weddings and wedding photos are taken here every second. Since many signs are only in Vietnamese and Chinese, we have a hard time finding the right cable car to the Golden Bridge.

The Golden Bridge is the newest attraction in the park and was opened in early 2018. It is named after its color. The difference between expectations and reality is huge... The bridge is quite small and is not supported by hands, but by pillars. The hands are not made of rock but are made of fiberglass that is painted to look like hands. Hundreds of people push past us, taking countless photos in the same unnatural poses and showing little consideration. Our pictures turned out quite good, but the reality is different.

Of course, we could have found out all this beforehand on Google. But it turned out to be a hilarious day, and I couldn't stop laughing. What were we thinking?! But we are very glad that we experienced the adventure of Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge. The attraction here is more about the surroundings!

After a few hours, we sent our driver a message via WhatsApp that we were ready to come down, and he safely and comfortably brought us to the next hotel in Hoi An.

We will stay here for four nights and force ourselves to relax a bit.