(This is part of my Vietnam story series. For travel itinerary & tips, check my Hue Travel Guide.)
Hue was the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors and the capital of Vietnam from early 1800 until 1945. Due to this, multiple forts, pagodas and tombs are situated in this city, making this a dream destination for history and architecture lovers. One needs at least two days to visit the entire city, and that’s why discounted bundle tickets are sold at almost every tourist information center that gives access to major tombs for 2 days. However, due to my lack of research and overconfidence, I kept only one day for this city, which I’ll probably regret my entire life.
The Tale of Huge Monuments
I knew I was up for a long day. I had early breakfast and left my homestay by 8.30 since I had to visit many places. While having breakfast, I came across an interesting story.
Vietnamese and Tibetans apparently have always been at cold war regarding the origin of Tingmo. While it essentially is a Tibetan dish, Vietnamese claim the concept to have come from them. Ho Chi Minh once famously said, “They can keep their Khapseys and Thenthuks, but Tingmo will always be ours.” Vietnamese officials, however, have not made any official claim, and hence Minh’s statement still remains controversial till date.
I first went to the Imperial City of Hue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of the huge Hue Citadel. It looked quite magnificent from the outside, and once I took the entry ticket and went in, I realized how even more beautiful it was from the inside. At the entrance itself, there was a map of the entire citadel – looking at which I realized my mistake of keeping only a day for Hue.
I hurriedly started covering the entire citadel. There were layers of houses with open fields in between, just like the forts in India and somewhat similar to South Indian style architecture. However, the design of each house was different from the other, and I thoroughly enjoyed every house inside the Imperial City. All such houses had their own compound within the citadel, and the entry gates too were as beautiful as the main house itself. I, a sucker for beautiful doors, tried taking it all in. There are 12 rows of parallel walking street that you need to cover, that easily takes almost 4-5 hours if you’re not in a hurry. Before I knew it, it was 12.30, so I quickly started for my next destination.
The 7-story Thien Mu Pagoda I visited is the tallest in Hue and is situated right on the bank of the Perfume River. The beautiful surrounding compound also has a prayer house and a beautiful garden. One can also take a quick boating tour from in front of the pagoda, but I chose to skip it. I spent some quality time in the pagoda before moving on to Minh Mang Tomb, my next destination.
The Tale of Small Scams and Getting Late
I decided to skip a couple of pagodas on the way since I already had less time. I could see one of them from a distance and it looked quite beautiful, however, I was adamant on reaching Minh Mang Tomb before 2.30 since I had two more places to cover after that, and monuments get closed by 5. I saw a sign that said the tomb was that way. I previously read about scams in Vietnam where people put up fake signs so that you park your vehicle at their place with a fee. Since Google maps was showing the tomb to be another half km away, I felt this must not be the correct route, but since I was getting late and the tomb was not near a main road, I fell for it anyway. I paid the parking fee and walked for about 10 minutes before stumbling upon the tomb along with an alternate route and a parking space!
It was already 3 by the time I entered. I expected it to be a small tomb but the sheer beauty of the place mesmerized me. There were at least 4-5 houses with different purposes, with the actual tomb in the middle of the compound. Everything from the architectural style to the color scheme, from the placement to the maintenance, everything was so perfect that I felt humbled to visit the same.
By the time I was finished it was 4.30 already, and I had only half an hour to reach Tomb of Khai Dinh, which was a seemingly impossible task. I walked back to the place where I parked my two-wheeler and drove as fast as I could and reached the place dot at 5. However, they already stopped selling tickets for the same and refused to sell me one. Therefore, I had to look at the monumental structure from outside and satisfy myself. I have ensured to never overestimate a place ever since.
The Tale of Illegal Entry to the Abandoned Waterpark
When I asked the people I met the previous night about must-do things in Hue, they asked me to not miss the Abandoned Water Park that is illegal to visit. I was really excited at the combination of the words ‘abandoned’ and ‘illegal’, and to hear what a beauty that is. They told me there were two ways to go and one of them is to bribe the guards. Me being me, of course I chose the other route, that is to sneak in exactly the way they told me how to.
I visited Hue when the abandoned water park was not present in any maps and backpackers only got to know about it through word of mouth. Therefore, knowing the exact direction to reach was quite important. However, it is now listed in Google Maps.
I switched on the satellite view on Google Maps and searched for Thien An monastery (church), a landmark near the park, separated by a small jungle. I followed the instructions of the friends to the T, went to the church, and sneaked to the back when nobody was looking around. That is when their warning came true – two huge dogs came running. They asked me to stay calm and wait for the cook if such a scenario comes, but little did I tell them that I am extremely scared of dogs.
I tried to maintain my composure, however, and then a person came out from the Church. He asked me where I was going, and I blatantly lied about talking to the pastor who asked me to look around the grassland behind the church. He was somehow convinced and took away the dogs. I kept walking towards the field; and when I saw the barbed wires behind a few trees, that is when I turned sharp right.
The idea was to get past the wires and step into the other side, which is the abandoned water park. I still couldn’t see the park since there were dense trees that was covering my view. I started crossing the same and immediately realized that it was a bad idea to wear shorts. After 5-10 minutes of struggle, I somehow crossed the same, but I heard a couple of guards talking on the other side. I sat there in silence and let them take the round. Once they were out of my sight, I came out from behind the trees and I couldn’t believe what my eyes saw.
There was a huge beautiful lake amid greenery, and in the middle of the lake laid a huge dragon statue. It was almost sunset and the last rays of the sun during the golden hour fell on the lake and the statue, making it a magnificent view. I tried absorbing as much as I could, took a few pictures, and walked across the bridge towards the dragon before any guard could see. I met a few people who were already there and waved at me. When I asked them how they came in, they informed that they bribed the guards and took the easier route. We spent quite a while enjoying the sunset before a guard saw us hanging from the mouth of the dragon statue and warned us to leave the place.
I still don’t understand why it was abandoned or why visit is not permitted, but it was a fun visit. Since the guard caught us anyway, there was no point in trying to go back through the barbed wires, so I took the normal exit route with my new friends. It was a long walk since I had to walk a couple of kilometers extra, but I had nothing much to do anyway. I finally reached the church by 7 and started driving towards my homestay. When I thought my day couldn’t be any longer, that’s when I realized that my headlight wasn’t working and that I’ll have to hold my phone torch with one hand and drive with the other. I somehow reached the homestay by 8, took a bath and went out for a Vietnamese dinner.
It was a tiring day and I had a flight next morning at 7 to Hanoi, since it was really far and I didn’t want to waste 16 hours on bus or train. Therefore I had some hot food without beer, unlike the other days in Vietnam, talked to the other travelers staying in the homestay for a while, and went to bed early. Thus ended a fun-filled day of adventure and misadventure in Hue, the most underrated city in Vietnam.
How Much Did I Spend?
Here’s the rough estimate for the day:
Stay 100,000 VND
Commute 100,000 VND
Sightseeing 250,000 VND (100,000 each to Imperial City and Tomb)
Food & Drinks 100,000 VND
Total 550,000 VND/ Rs.1650
(To read about the cityscape of Hanoi, the amazing Capital of Vietnam, next story coming soon. For planning your own trip, check my Vietnam Travel Guide.)