We stopped in Huè for a day to see the citadel, the base of the Nguyen dynasty. Despite intense bombing campaigns during "the American War" this complex of temples, palaces, and government buildings was a great place to spend the day. More than half the originally structures are either gone altogether or damaged beyond recognition. So in between two lovely pagodas will be a large expanse of grass, rubble, and ceramic shards, but in some ways the site is all the more interesting to visit because of the damage. If nothing else, there was a sense of history and adventure to the place that would have been lacking had things been more manicured.
One of the more famous images from the citadel are the gigantic copper pots on the site (see both above and below). More impressive to us though were the design of the pagodas. The structures constructed from massive wooden beams, and jointed without hardware as far as we could tell. The pagodas themselves were lit with silk and rice paper lanterns and full of incense smoke. Inside Buddhist visitors read prayers aloud from scraps of parchment and made offerings of food and money at the altars. Outside, the pagodas are decorated with really intricate ceramic tiles. Even the moss-covered roof-tiles are patterned and painted.
All in all a well-spent afternoon and a lovely, if somewhat somber, piece of history.
Though it wasn't the main attraction in town, the produce market was nearly as picturesque as the citadel. Everywhere in Vietnam we saw women carrying heavy load on these shoulder-mounted baskets . Men carried these loads by bike or moto.
From Huè we headed south by bus to Hoi An, driving through fishing and farming town as we went. Here you can see houses along the water, each with its own rice patty.
xoxo Jessie
We stopped in Huè for a day to see the citadel, the base of the Nguyen dynasty. Despite intense bombing campaigns during "the American War" this complex of temples, palaces, and government buildings was a great place to spend the day. More than half the originally structures are either gone altogether or damaged beyond recognition. So in between two lovely pagodas will be a large expanse of grass, rubble, and ceramic shards, but in some ways the site is all the more interesting to visit because of the damage. If nothing else, there was a sense of history and adventure to the place that would have been lacking had things been more manicured.
One of the more famous images from the citadel are the gigantic copper pots on the site (see both above and below). More impressive to us though were the design of the pagodas. The structures constructed from massive wooden beams, and jointed without hardware as far as we could tell. The pagodas themselves were lit with silk and rice paper lanterns and full of incense smoke. Inside Buddhist visitors read prayers aloud from scraps of parchment and made offerings of food and money at the altars. Outside, the pagodas are decorated with really intricate ceramic tiles. Even the moss-covered roof-tiles are patterned and painted.
All in all a well-spent afternoon and a lovely, if somewhat somber, piece of history. 
Though it wasn't the main attraction in town, the produce market was nearly as picturesque as the citadel. Everywhere in Vietnam we saw women carrying heavy load on these shoulder-mounted baskets . Men carried these loads by bike or moto.
From Huè we headed south by bus to Hoi An, driving through fishing and farming town as we went. Here you can see houses along the water, each with its own rice patty.
xoxo Jessie
No comments:
Post a Comment