Saying 'Bye to Hue

My last day in Hue was my favorite... I lazed about enjoying my great hotel room (and the AC!) for as long as possible, then I sucked it up and rented a motoscooter to check out some outlying tomb complexes.



Sounds easy, but let's just review the traffic rules in Vietnam... there aren't any, besides a loose awareness of the rare traffic lights, and the idea that passing anybody, anytime is okay – just make sure you let 'em know with a friendly toot of your horn.

Again, that means it's loosely organized chaos – that's surprisingly effective.

I clambered atop my trusty scooter, and strapped on my helmet. Oh, another quick aside... Vietnam is murder on folks with big noggins. Being a relatively small-statured population, finding hats, helmets, or anything else to fit me was always an adventure. In this case, the rental folks were amazed that even the largest helmet they had, merely perched on my cranium... I was rolling in high style, let me tell you!

Credit my experience navigating London traffic on my bike, but the ride worked out okay... I checked out the first of two tomb complexes, dedicated to emperors from the 17th and 18th centuries.



Tu Toc was big. Really big. With a maze of canals, a small forest, and a heap of quiet ponds, it was a great place to just walk around. Tu Toc wasn't even afraid to share his glory, graciously sharing his tomb city with smaller tombs for his sons, and even his four wives.





The next stop was Minh Mang – which involved a 8 km ride outside the city, that I turned into twice that length through a series of wrong turns over rice paddies and winding back roads.

Asking directions of locals worked surprisingly well - a combination of sheepish grin, “Xin loi” (excuse me), and saying Minh Mang with a puzzled look seemed to do the trick.



Whereas Tu Toc was a bit Venice-like, with a delightful maze of winding canals, Minh Mang was like Versailles. Organized, rigidly proportioned – it's a stunning display, with a series of three temples connected by walkways, surrounded by tranquil lakes. The actual tomb is at the peak of a small man-made hill, but alas, 'twas closed when I visited.



Victorious, I made it back to the hotel, dropped off the still intact scooter to the mild surprise of the staff, and they were kind enough to let me score a much-needed shower. (Have I said how much I loved this hotel?)

Dinner was a hurried two sandwiches from a street vendor – a mystery meat, chili sauce and Vietnamese vegetables, on a French baguette. For all of the clash of cultures – they went down a treat!

Then, I clambered aboard for another sleeper bus, this one an epic 14 hour trip heading all the way north, to the capital city of Hanoi...