We spent the day visiting some of the Emperors' tombs surrounding Hue and were blown away by the structures, especially the tomb of Khai Dinh. The blackened concrete of the complex was a striking contrast to the colourful interior of the tomb.
This tomb was started in 1920 and was completed in 1931, two years after the Emperor's death.
After this we visited the tomb of Minh Mang and found this one a little less impressive, even though it was more in harmony with nature (a guide's words, not mine). The strange part of this tomb was that the Emperor was never buried here and the 200 workers who built the tomb were beheaded to keep the secret.
Our final stop of the day was at the Thien Mu Pagoda, which was worth a short visit. Behind the main area of the sanctuary was an old Austin car that transported a Buddhist monk to Saigon where he burned himself to death to publicly protest the South Vietnamese policies in 1963.
The last stop of the day was at the Why Not Cafe for a cold Tiger beer. A cold beer is rare in Vietnam so when we find a place that serves them we are reluctant to leave - plus we had to do some shopping from the vendors who travel from cafe to cafe. Did I mention something about smaller backpacks earlier?
I think Fred has a complete new wardrobe by now, but not me....I don't think Vietnam knows there are sizes above eight!
Question of the day....what is the difference between a temple and a pagoda?
2 comments:
Those steps look like they are up to Colleen's knees! Bet your buns were burning the next day.
And yes ... I like your bonnet!
Come on..... No one checked out the pagoda/temple question? Pagoda for those worshipping Buddah/temple for other deities. (so do I win one of your Sapa purchases?) btw ....looks like my other comment didn't get posted...ljust wanted to tell you that we liked your hat!
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