M-whY

"Can you book a train ticket for me to go to Hanoi tonight?" I requested of the hotel owner. He brought out a timetable and I picked a time. "4:50pm, sleeper berth?" I would be back from my tour at 4:00pm, just enough time to catch the train.

He nodded and said he'd go to the station soon. I went outside to wait for the bus to arrive.

Some mixup had occurred at the booking office, and a full fifteen minutes after my scheduled pickup, a motorbike pulled up to take me away. We circled around the tourist district, wasting more time, before finally locating the bus. I got on board with a bunch of Vietnamese and French tourists. Because of the weather, the windows were all fogged and I couldn't even stare outside while we were driven to our first stop. The day was not off to a good start.

A short while later, we reached the Tomb of Minh Mang, who ruled from 1820 to 1840. We entered through an ancillary gate, as all doors that would've been used by the emperor himself have been locked shut out of respect. The tomb itself actually served as a secondary palace, where the emperor would've retired to when tired of working in the Citadel. Walking in a straight line from the front of the complex, I passed a number of buildings that would've served as residences for the emperor and empress, before reaching another closed gate, where I presume the ruler's body was buried. The setting was calm and relaxing. It would've been perfect, if it weren't for the light rain.

Next was the Tomb of Khai Dinh, the twelfth of the thirteen Nguyen dynasty emperors. His palace/tomb was the last to have been built, as his successor didn't have time to complete his before he passed away. The architecture differed greatly from that of Minh Mang's and the other emperors, as Khai Dinh ruled during a time (1916 - 1925) when western culture, primarily French, was rapidly gaining influence in Vietnam. Khai Dinh took advantage of the new innovations and imported raw materials from all over the world to construct his palace.

This was most evident in the building on the top of the hill. The ornate glass and ceramic design, the nine dragons which decorated the ceiling, which, as legend tells it, was drawn by an artist so drunk he painted with his feet instead of his hands. Our guide took a few moments to point out interesting features and trivia. Apparently, Khai Dinh's body is the only one whose precise location is known (buried several meters under his effigy). The rest of the rulers kept it a secret, for fear of grave robbers who might attempt to steal the gold and treasures they were buried with. Khai Dinh's logic was his own body was safe, as no one would have the heart to defile his opulent tomb.

The last tomb we visited was the Tomb of Tu Duc, which had a more traditional layout with green landscapes and living quarters. Tu Duc, the fourth ruler of the Nguyen dynasty, is said to have had a tragic life, and spent a lot of time away from the Citadel in his private palace/tomb. His is arguably the most grand of them all. Original plans called for completion in six years, however, in an attempt to gain his majesty's favor, the chief builder worked his crew of 10,000 people day and night, finishing it in three. After it was built, nearly 4,000 of the workers died from being overworked. When Tu Duc found out, he was greatly saddened, and named all the buildings within after the theme of modesty. Hence, his tomb is often referred to as the Tomb of Modesty.

Whether they were bothered by the rain or were just tired, only three people (out of like 25) got off the bus to look around. Those who stayed behind in my opinion really missed out. Some fifty monuments furnished the grounds. Near the entrance, a man made island was positioned in the middle of a man made lake. A pavilion was nearby, where Tu Duc used to engage in his favorite hobby of composing poems.

"So did you find where the emperor was buried?" asked my guide when I returned to the bus.

"No." I had found where the empress lay, but 45 minutes was hardly enough time to see everything. "But you said at Khai Dinh that no one knows where the bodies are, right?"

"Right. The 200 people who buried the emperor had their heads cut off."

Ouch.

It was back to town for lunch. Afterwards, we ended up wasting another half hour waiting for the bus driver, who for some reason disappeared and didn't come back in time. At the Citadel, it was my turn to wait on the bus while everyone else looked around. I had seen it already yesterday, and didn't fancy paying the 55,000 dong (US$1 = 15,000dong) admission again. As I recalled, there wasn't much to see. Therefore, I wondered why some people were taking so long to get back. One hour was plenty of time to cover the imperial city.

When 4:00pm rolled around and a couple people were still missing, I began to get nervous. We still had the Thien Mu Pagoda and a cruise on the Perfume River to do.

"I have a train to catch at 4:50," I told my guide. "You think we'll be back by then?"

He looked at his watch.

"I don't know... Maybe not," he admitted. With all the delays, we were running seriously late.

"I think I'm going to take a motorbike back to my hotel now. I'll skip out on the pagoda and cruise."

"Okay. Sorry about that," he apologized, and flagged down a motorbike for me. I was back in the lobby a short time later.

"The train leaves in half an hour right?" I asked the hotel owner.

"Sorry, today's train is full. I couldn't get ticket today, I bought a ticket for tomorrow."

Well. That really sucked. I skipped out on the last portion of my tour to catch the train, only to find that I didn't even have a ticket.

"Too late to take a bus too?" I really wanted to leave Hue and get to Hanoi.

He made a couple phone calls. "Sorry, bus full also."

Unless I hired a taxi to take me the distance, I was pretty much stuck in Hue for another day. Not how I planned it, but things rarely go as planned anyways.

Later on that evening, I went to an internet cafe to check the weather for the next few days. The forecast called for rain, rain, and more rain. Damn, would someone turn off the water please?

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!