Our trip to South East Asia ...
... Vietnam, part II
Hué
The Paradise Cave
From Hoi An we continued by taxi to the next place on our tour, the city of Hué. We stayed at The Friendly Hotel, situated in the centre of town and close to the river. On the first evening we walked over to the old part of the city and had dinner at a nice restaurant. We walked back in the dark, lightened by the lamps that are decorating the streets and houses at this time of the year. Sometimes surroundings are nicer in the dark.
We had an early morning the next day since we had booked a tour to Paradise and Dark caves (Hang Thien Duong). The excursion is a full day and it takes 8 hours to go back and forth, so quite a long trip. It was wonderful though. We started with lunch and then headed to the caves by boat, which took a further 15-20 minutes. Arriving at the caves the boat took us inside until the end of the cave. We could admire the walls and ceilings with the stalactites.
On the way out the boat let us off in the cave and we followed the path towards the exit. Apart from the fact that you can watch the cave from a boat, here is where you saw the amazing stone formations close up. Quite an experience. The Paradise Cave has a total length 31,4 km and is considered to be the longest dry cave in Asia. It has been formed for over 300 million of years and maybe that is why the formations are so fantastic. The fossils you see are over a million years old. It is a secret city, hidden away from the world outside. If you are brave enough you can enter the cave with a kayak.
The Imperial Palace
Hué is also famous for the Imperial City, including the Royal Palace. It is an enormous area, surrounded by a wall, and it took as around four hours to go around. Even then we could not see everything. Hué is the former imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen dynasty. Here you find palaces, shrines, gardens and villas for mandarins. It was constructed at the beginning of the 19th century under Emperor Gia Long, as the new capital. During the French colonial period it mostly served a ceremonial function. At the end of the monarchy in 1945, it was badly damaged during the Indochina Wars in the 1980s. In 1993 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now there whole complex is undergoing restoration since some years back. It was nice to walk around and feeling spring in the air, passing by the various gardens and ponds built around the area.
After all this walking we wanted to take a taxi back to the hotel. Peak hours, so no taxi to find, so we just had to walk back to the centre. After having been in Vietnam for 10 days, I all of a sudden craved some European food. We found a nice French restaurant, close to the hotel. Don’t laugh now, but I took a pizza. Not the best one I have eaten, but it still felt good. Although, the Vietnamese food is excellent, and we have really eaten very well.
How beautiful. I have never been to East Asia and always love pictures - and books - about it. I'm glad you shared your experience.
This is a part of the world of which I know nothing so it is very interesting to see it through your eyes .You have some wonderful photos here and that Imperial Palace looks magnificent. I laughed when you said you were ready for European food!