Set off this morning to see the tomb of To Duc. TD decided to build a second palace which he could use for his holidays. So he found a plot of land and built it, very like his main palace. He may have been rich and powerful, but he had no imagination. Anyway, this one avoided being shot up in the war, although there are still stray bullet holes every so often. He had a very nice lake dug out with an island where he kept rare animals and birds, but the he hunted them. I guess if you were a king or an Emperor in those days you could do as you liked. Hence the title above. The palace is also his Mausoleum. When he was buried with loads of worldly treasures (what did he leave to his offspring then?) they wouldn't divulge exactly where his body was, in case people robbed his grave. In fact the burial party was executed to preserve the secret.
After that we saw the Then Mu pagoda
. Another pagoda! This one however had a garage where is kept the Austin car which was used to drive Thich Quang Duc to Saigon in 1963 so he could set fire to himself in protest against the Vietnamese government discriminating against the Buddhist religion. How many of you are old enough to remember the iconic photo?
From there we went to the mausoleum of Khai Dinh. He was very influenced by the French (early 1900's) and his resting place was constructed from concrete, rather than the natural wood and stone that his predecessors used. Upset the subjects, as he levied a tax to pay for it. Talk about funeral insurance! But the upside is that it has lasted better than the natural mausoleums have. It is also well decorated with mosaics, which are made from a variety of materials including beer and whisky bottles, porcelain spoons, light bulbs etc. Of course, all the mausoleums have temples as well, in the religion of the king buried there.
After that we stopped off to see how the locals make incense by rolling the paste onto the coloured sticks
. Of course, it's another opportunity it to support local industry, although sometimes I think that most of the goods on sale are anything but local.
Then we went for a boat ride on the Perfumed River, so called because in the olden days it carried the blossoms from further upstream. However nowadays it carries other things from upstream. Another opportunity to support local industry, including the chance to buy paintings identical to those offered to us last night,by a guy who assured us that he was the artist.
For lunch we were taken to a local restaurant, run by a deaf & dumb man. His older sister was fine but his 6 younger siblings were also deaf & dumb. But all his grandchildren are ok. He is famous for the way he opens the beer bottles, see the video. (Can't upload the video -come back after I'm home and you can see it) I do enjoy trying new food and Vietnamese food is good.
Then it was back to the hotel for a free afternoon , which I'm ashamed to say was spent reading by the pool. Then dinner at the same place we went last night, but there were a dozen of us this time, which rather swamped the restaurant. Early to bed as we have a plane to catch in the morning.
If I were a king
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Hue, Vietnam
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Comments

2025-02-11
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Stanley
2015-02-25
Its all very well getting a Hi from Hue - when are we going to get a Hi from Hi or a Ho from Him?
Your accounts are getting longer and explanations more detailed Roger.You need to get out more
k and s
2015-02-26
Love all the pics. Thanks for posting them! What an awesome trip.................