We left Hoi An bright and early at 7:30 sharply (as our tour manager says). He has cured the tardiness out of all members of the group! We were all there at 7:25 just to be on time. But there is always murphy's law to derail our punctual departure. One guy discovered just before leaving that his wallet was missing. And this only happened because the tour manager asks us to double check our passports and money before the bus leaves the hotel.
There was a mad scramble. He went to the reception to see if he left his wallet there--couldn't find it. He then came back to the bus. The bus operator had to pull out several suitcases to get to this duffel bag. He rummaged within the bag but couldn't find it. He and the operator took the bag back into the hotel, emptied the contents to see if the wallet was stuck in some piece of clothing. No luck. He then went back to his room to check. Couldn't find it. Finally the hotel staff was called in and they did a thorough check of his room. Success! They found the wallet under the mattress. Who keeps his wallet under the wallet? Anyway, there was a sigh of relief all around. We were now late by 20 minutes.
Marble Workers
Beautiful Sculptures at the Marble Workshop
The figurines and mini-sculptures inside the showroom were eye-catching. But it was pricey. We weren't surprised that they were pricey given the amount of work that obviously went into each piece. I marveled at how the workers were able to create such intricate work starting with a block of shapeless marble stone. There were this Indian couple who bought two outdoor fountains for 1500 USD each for their daughters' homes. The shipping was included in the price.
We then continued on to the Imperial City of Huế. During the drive to Huế we got a history lesson on Vietnam. Nguyen was the first Emperor of Vietnam. He decided to make Huế the capital because the location comprised a good balance of Yin and Yang represented by the sea to the east (the south china sea) and the mountains to the west. This was the capital of the Nguyen dynasty for 150 years.
The city of Hue suffered horribly during the Vietnam war. It is only about 2 miles south of the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone). It was attacked by the VietCong during the Tet holiday. Tet is the start of the Vietnamese New Year. The Vietcong infiltrated Hue as well as a number of provincial capitals on Januray 31, 1968. The city was occupied by the Vietcong as the South Vietnamese troops as well as the American troops were completely surprised. Eventually the marines took back Hue, but not before huge casualities. The Vietcong lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers and it was technically a US victory. But it felt like a loss, because soon after the US congress stopped funding for the war and the troops had to be withdrawn
Our guide showed us all the bullet marks in the plaster and the stone walls as a reminder of this brutal war. For those who are interested the Perfume River passes through the city and is featured in the movie Full Metal Jacket. I intend to watch this movie again with this new perspective.
After checking and a break for lunch, we went on a walking tour of the Citadel. The Citadel is modeled after the forbidden city in China. It has an outer wall protected by moats. An inner wall delineates the imperial city. Within the imperial city lies the forbidden city where the king and his concubines lived. There was a long recitation by the guide much of which is now a blur. It certainly was interesting when recounted the history.
One narration, in particular, kept us all spellbound. He went into the surgical process the Eunuchs had to go through. I will not go into details here but all the men had pained looks on their faces and the women had looks of astonishment. But they were all listening intently. Another historical fact we learnt was that all concubines had to be buried with the king when he died. This practice later changed and the concubines were banished to living quarters near the king's tomb. They lived their till they died. It was sad to hear such treatment of women but then those were different days and we can't apply today's standards to those days.
While we were wandering around the Citadel, we saw these musicians in one of the halls. They were playing music that sounded very odd. It was as if they were all playing to their own tune. It didn't help that the drummer (on the right) seemed to be holding a small drum in a casual manner on which he would beat sporadically. I couldn't connect the beats to the music. What was most interesting was that they had absolutely no expression on their faces. If one were to just take the pictures of their upper bodies you would never know they were playing music!
Musician in the Citadel
In the evening we went on a Cyclo tour to the restaurant for dinner. The Cycle is uniquely Vietnamese. It has three wheels, two in front and one at the back. The passenger seat is in the front and the Cyclo driver has a seat in the middle between the front wheels and the back. It like a bicycle except that the from wheel and handle are replaced by the passenger seat and back-rest.
Me on the Cyclo -- We are all seated and about to start on the tour
Some of the others who went along with us
The market on our Cycle tour
Sandy's Cyclo driver at the end of the Cyclo tour
The Cycle tour ended at a family restaurant. The family that runs this restaurant claims ancestry from the last king of Vietnam, Bao Dai. The family serves traditional Vietnamese food with food decorated in stylish ways. The food was excellent, as usual.
Food decoration at the Family Restaurant
There was a mad scramble. He went to the reception to see if he left his wallet there--couldn't find it. He then came back to the bus. The bus operator had to pull out several suitcases to get to this duffel bag. He rummaged within the bag but couldn't find it. He and the operator took the bag back into the hotel, emptied the contents to see if the wallet was stuck in some piece of clothing. No luck. He then went back to his room to check. Couldn't find it. Finally the hotel staff was called in and they did a thorough check of his room. Success! They found the wallet under the mattress. Who keeps his wallet under the wallet? Anyway, there was a sigh of relief all around. We were now late by 20 minutes.
On our way to Hue, we visited a marble workshop. There was a section where workers were beavering away on marble blocks. The showroom was big and showcased hundreds of marble figures of various sizes. There were also large marble sculptures and outdoor fountains outside the showroom. Seems like they were specially displayed for American tastes.
The downside to this work is that the workers are subject to marble dust inhalation but were not wearing any masks. The tour guide said that many of them get respiratory illnesses over several years. This was one of the reasons they are unable to find younger workers to replace the older ones because they know of the adverse affects of marble dust. Because of this danger, the workers are better paid than most in Vietnam.
The downside to this work is that the workers are subject to marble dust inhalation but were not wearing any masks. The tour guide said that many of them get respiratory illnesses over several years. This was one of the reasons they are unable to find younger workers to replace the older ones because they know of the adverse affects of marble dust. Because of this danger, the workers are better paid than most in Vietnam.
Marble Workers
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Beautiful Sculptures at the Marble Workshop
The figurines and mini-sculptures inside the showroom were eye-catching. But it was pricey. We weren't surprised that they were pricey given the amount of work that obviously went into each piece. I marveled at how the workers were able to create such intricate work starting with a block of shapeless marble stone. There were this Indian couple who bought two outdoor fountains for 1500 USD each for their daughters' homes. The shipping was included in the price.
We then continued on to the Imperial City of Huế. During the drive to Huế we got a history lesson on Vietnam. Nguyen was the first Emperor of Vietnam. He decided to make Huế the capital because the location comprised a good balance of Yin and Yang represented by the sea to the east (the south china sea) and the mountains to the west. This was the capital of the Nguyen dynasty for 150 years.
The city of Hue suffered horribly during the Vietnam war. It is only about 2 miles south of the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone). It was attacked by the VietCong during the Tet holiday. Tet is the start of the Vietnamese New Year. The Vietcong infiltrated Hue as well as a number of provincial capitals on Januray 31, 1968. The city was occupied by the Vietcong as the South Vietnamese troops as well as the American troops were completely surprised. Eventually the marines took back Hue, but not before huge casualities. The Vietcong lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers and it was technically a US victory. But it felt like a loss, because soon after the US congress stopped funding for the war and the troops had to be withdrawn
Our guide showed us all the bullet marks in the plaster and the stone walls as a reminder of this brutal war. For those who are interested the Perfume River passes through the city and is featured in the movie Full Metal Jacket. I intend to watch this movie again with this new perspective.
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The Citadel
After checking and a break for lunch, we went on a walking tour of the Citadel. The Citadel is modeled after the forbidden city in China. It has an outer wall protected by moats. An inner wall delineates the imperial city. Within the imperial city lies the forbidden city where the king and his concubines lived. There was a long recitation by the guide much of which is now a blur. It certainly was interesting when recounted the history.
One narration, in particular, kept us all spellbound. He went into the surgical process the Eunuchs had to go through. I will not go into details here but all the men had pained looks on their faces and the women had looks of astonishment. But they were all listening intently. Another historical fact we learnt was that all concubines had to be buried with the king when he died. This practice later changed and the concubines were banished to living quarters near the king's tomb. They lived their till they died. It was sad to hear such treatment of women but then those were different days and we can't apply today's standards to those days.
While we were wandering around the Citadel, we saw these musicians in one of the halls. They were playing music that sounded very odd. It was as if they were all playing to their own tune. It didn't help that the drummer (on the right) seemed to be holding a small drum in a casual manner on which he would beat sporadically. I couldn't connect the beats to the music. What was most interesting was that they had absolutely no expression on their faces. If one were to just take the pictures of their upper bodies you would never know they were playing music!
Musician in the Citadel
In the evening we went on a Cyclo tour to the restaurant for dinner. The Cycle is uniquely Vietnamese. It has three wheels, two in front and one at the back. The passenger seat is in the front and the Cyclo driver has a seat in the middle between the front wheels and the back. It like a bicycle except that the from wheel and handle are replaced by the passenger seat and back-rest.
Me on the Cyclo -- We are all seated and about to start on the tour
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Sandy's Cyclo driver at the end of the Cyclo tour
The Cycle tour ended at a family restaurant. The family that runs this restaurant claims ancestry from the last king of Vietnam, Bao Dai. The family serves traditional Vietnamese food with food decorated in stylish ways. The food was excellent, as usual.
Food decoration at the Family Restaurant
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