Hue was originally the capital of southern Vietnam. The Nguyen Dynasty ruled the city. In 1805 Emperor Gia Long, a member of the Nguyen family, united the country. Hue became the capital of Vietnam. It was so until 1945, when the communist government established the capital in Hanoi.
By the way, renting a bike is an excellent way of visiting the city. Ask your hotel. In the picture you can see a young Vietnamese girl on the way to school. Female students wear this white uniform on certain days of the week. I think it is on Mondays and Fridays. Younger female students wear the uniform every school day. Bicycles are still the most frequent way of transportation in Hue. Motorbikes are catching up quickly.
Not far from the Hue Citadel sits this popular market. This is another of the must see sites in Hue. A visit to a food market is always very interesting when you go to a foreign country. This is specially true in Vietnam. Here you can see what people eat on a daily basis. In Vietnamese markets you will also find stalls that sell the local dishes. As you can see, conic hats are widely used. They use these typical hats to protect their faces from the sun. Tanned skins are a symbol of low class.
On this side of the river there are also a couple of pagodas you can visit. They are not on most tourist guides, but if you ask one of the cyclo drivers to take you on a ride around the city, he will most probably take you here. Most pagodas in Vietnam have an evident Chinese influence.
In the picture you can see the decoration of one of the gates in a Vietnamese Buddhist pagoda. The Chinese influence is more than evident.
There is not much to do besides cultural visits in Hue. The offer of night action is very limited. One of the best things to do by night is taking one of the boat tours around the Perfume River. You may also find some bars with foreigners in downtown Hue. But you will find no proper night life here. At the moment I was in Hue, there was no disco in town. If you know of any, drop me a line.
Believe it or not, one of my favorite things to do while in Vietnam was eating. Vietnamese food is delicious. You need to be open minded, though. Food presentation is very different from what we westerns are used to. You may also need to learn to eat with the chopsticks. It takes some time, but it is much easier than it looks. Ask a local if you cannot figure it out. Even if you do not succeed, I am sure you will have a good time trying.
To visit the Royal Tombs and the Pagodas along the Perfume River there are two options. One is booking one of the boat tours. The other is renting a car (or a motorbike, for the more adventurous).
The boat tour is slower, but more beautiful. Royal Tombs are quite far from the river. You will have to rent a motorbike taxi at almost every stop. It won't be difficult to find a bike, taxi drivers will be waiting for you. You will have to add the cost of the motorbikes and the entry tickets to the tour price. This may more than double the price of the tour offered in tourist offices. But it is money well spent. If you do the boat tour, do visit all the temples and tombs.
The other option to visit the Royal Tombs, is renting a taxi. This is a cheaper and more convenient option. But less beautiful. The taxi will take you to all the tombs, and wait till you finish the visit. You should book a private tour.
The Heavenly Lady Pagoda was built in 1605 when Lord Nguyen Hoang heard the local legend that said that an old lady was often seen here. The old lady forecasted that a day would come when a great leader would built a pagoda on this hill to bring peace to the country of Vietnam.
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