Hue
An early get up took me to the tombs in Hue. Back in the day it was apparently normal for the emperors to build their tombs when they were alive, taking up to 11 years to complete them. So, the tombs were many square kilometres in size and very showy - I particularly liked the lakes with the lotus flowers. I couldn't really hear the guide very well, but to make some sort of tea you put something inside the lotus flowers and leave it overnight; in the morning it is beautiful tea. I also learned that if you are an emperor you really don't want to catch smallpox when you're young as it leaves you sterile. Even with 103 wives / concubines the poor emperor was left childless, and blamed by many of the Vietnamese people for the end of a dynasty.
For lunch I had my first non-Asian meal of the trip, which was a shame but I figured it was ok as I'd already sampled the Asian cuisine from that particular moment. Then for the final sleeper train of Vietnam, standards apparently get worse the further north you go but the lack of air-con was actually helpful for a good nights sleep.
An early get up took me to the tombs in Hue. Back in the day it was apparently normal for the emperors to build their tombs when they were alive, taking up to 11 years to complete them. So, the tombs were many square kilometres in size and very showy - I particularly liked the lakes with the lotus flowers. I couldn't really hear the guide very well, but to make some sort of tea you put something inside the lotus flowers and leave it overnight; in the morning it is beautiful tea. I also learned that if you are an emperor you really don't want to catch smallpox when you're young as it leaves you sterile. Even with 103 wives / concubines the poor emperor was left childless, and blamed by many of the Vietnamese people for the end of a dynasty.
For lunch I had my first non-Asian meal of the trip, which was a shame but I figured it was ok as I'd already sampled the Asian cuisine from that particular moment. Then for the final sleeper train of Vietnam, standards apparently get worse the further north you go but the lack of air-con was actually helpful for a good nights sleep.
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