Hue

Hue is a pleasant place to ride a bicycle

Hue is a town which houses the an Imperial Citadel. The citadel is a huge complex in the middle of the city. There is an outside wall, which houses many buildings, shops and houses. We rented bicycles and crossed the moat to check what was on the inside of the huge walls. Inside the walls is similar to that outside the wall, a Vietnamese city. As we have been moving north on our journey though Vietnam, we have noticed that the farther north you move, the more chilled out the country comes. In Siagon, it was crazy, a ton of motorcycles and many cars. The past week, we have seen more bicycles, less motorcycles and way less cars.

Inside the citadel

This is understandable as the wealth seems to be more concentrated in the south. Vietnam appears to have the most fairly distributed wealth out of all the countries we have visited. Saying that, there are some houses which are large (not huge), and there are some people living in poverty, but no where near as polarized as India, Cambodia or Malaysia. Everyone seems to own a motorcycle, and a surprising number of people own electric motorcycles.

Not really sure what this circular sign means, but it is everywhere in Vietnam

Another example of porcelain, and the symbol

A nice partially of restored house in the citadel

We went to see the imperial citadel the other day. It was great, there was a ton to see. The complex is huge, and as a result from its size, they were many times you could escape the crowds. It was great, Tanya and I would have a chance to walk alone, in quiet (the walls of the citadel cut out the traffic noise). We walked along the stone sidewalks, looking at the interesting use of porcelain to decorate the walls of the buildings. We even had the chance to watch a cat “play” with a small lizard, although, I’m sure the lizard wasn’t enjoying its last few minutes of life.

The lizard didn't really like this exercise

Tanya couldn't get enough of this wall

A dragon as a railing

Some of the colours seen

Kelly

Bright orange pillars stand against drab walls

Tanya, and the interesting windows

Some of the contrast of colours

Inside the one of the nicely restored building

The complex has many stages in different stages of restoration, as some parts are pretty much fully restored, many parts are not. Which is nice, there seems to be a nice balance of what it used to look like, and now, what it looks like after it has been neglected.

Tanya had to get a closer look too

I really wanted to get a closer look

The orange wall, the tiled walls, the big vase and the red and grey lines

An example of the nicely restored buildings

A detailed look at how the decorated their walls

Every entrance was nicely decorated

Golden roof, red walls, you see the Chinese influence here

The colours were truly amazing, full bodied reds, mixed with shimmering gold. Walls had the red brick colour, and were stained with years of tropical weather. Blue porcelain accented many buildings and green plants bordered nearly every wall. It was truly enjoyable way to spend the morning.

These archways are restored very nicely

Another example of the great porcelain work

Where's my beer?

Tanya hanging out