Travels

As the taxi was pulling in, I saw the royal tomb of Khai Dinh from afar and I was awed.  What is this?  Khai Dinh, the driver said. Khai Dinh as a Nguyen Emperor Born Nguyen Phuc Buu Dao, Khai Dinh (ruled 1916-25) was the …

I had better hurry, for there were two more royal tombs to visit.  The taxi driver took me to the next royal tomb, the Royal Mausoleum of Minh Mang. Minh Mang as a Nguyen Emperor Mr. Truong, who took me to the DMZ, told me …

After lunch, I stopped by a convenient store to get some water.  The young man there spoke good English, so I asked about transportation to the royal tombs.  The ticket to the Imperial Enclosure enabled same-day admission to the three royal tombs of Tu Duc, …

Perhaps throughout this tour I was most impressed by every gate that marked the entrances to the structures of the Imperial Enclosure.  It seemed to me that protective walls surrounded every quarter and there would be a gate in the northern and southern entrances.  This …

The Co Ha Gardens  After asking for some directions, I found the Co Ha Gardens.  These gardens were developed by the first four Emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty.  Although, at some point in history, they fell into disrepair, the Vietnamese have restored most of them.  …

The Dien Tho Residence The Dien Tho Residence was where the Queen Mother of Vietnam’s Emperor lived.  The lives of women have always interested me, and so I chose to go westward for a walk.  Indeed, in this morning hour there were few tourists there.  …

I woke at 7:30 and had breakfast at the hostel.  Breakfast was an egg pancake (they called it an omelet), a bread roll, some fruits and coffee with milk.  At that point in my trip I still wondered, at every Vietnamese meal, why it was …

I do try, to the extent I can, to learn some Vietnamese. And I can only learn it by associating it with English, Cantonese and Mandarin. As the Vietnamese pronounce it, “Hue” is the English pronunciation of “hwei” the tone is a combination of the …