Saturday, June 16, 2007

Boat Trip Along Perfume River In Hue

Hue habour

While in Hue, we stopped at Khuyen Trang Cafe for a drink and to hire a motorbike. We noticed that they also sold tickets for boat trips for only 25,000Vnd so we decided to take a boat trip the next day. We got picked up at the cafe at 8am by two beautiful young girls who drove us to the boat dock on their motorbikes, where the adventure would start. We were part of a group of over ten people who were already on the boat, including the tour guide, Nghia. His English wasn't great but he was very friendly and a bit shy.

Thien Mu pagoda Hue

Our first stop on the trip was Thien Mu Pagoda. This is such an old and beautiful pagoda located on a hill, right on the right bank of the Huong River. We spent 45 minutes taking photos and listening to Nghia talking about the pagoda's great history.

Tu Duc tomb Hue

Tu Duc tomb was the second stop and this was the best stop for the whole trip because the tomb was amazingly beautiful, old and huge. We had to pay 20,000Vnd for a return trip from the boat dock to the Khai Dinh tomb by motorbike and 30,000Vnd to enter compared to 55,000Vnd for western tourists.

Khai Dinh tomb Hue

Khai Dinh tomb was the third stop and we stayed there over an hour walking around. The chambers inside the building were quite incredible, with lots of mosaic work.

Altars( Hon CHen temple) - Hue

Next up was Hon Chen temple which is not as interesting perhaps because I've been here before. It's a small temple right by the river, up about 100 steps. I think it was just a convenient place to get us off the boat so the staff could prepare and set up for lunch.

Minh Mang tomb Hue

Minh Mang tomb was the last stop before heading back to the city. This one is also surrounded by huge and beautiful pavilions and gardens. We spent about an hour here before the rain came down. All the way back on the boat, it poured. Lucky for us!

Boat trip in Hue

We had such a great day seeing the tombs and learning a bit of history for only 25,000Vnd, which included a lunch of veggies, eggs and meat. The tour guide had a tough day coping with all of our questions but we offered him drinks and a tip at the end. Thank you very much Nghia for a lovely day.

6 comments:

Preya said...

That simple meal sounds so wonderful to me right now. Em nho Viet Nam nhieu lam!

junebee said...

I want to be you!

Van Cong Tu said...

Preya, Hue food is great. Welcome back to Viet Nam!!!
GE, thanks for your kindness
Junebee, Lots of travelling for you hehe

viagra online pharmacy said...

Loved the tripon the Dragon boat ! Wonderful way tosee a stretch of this wide important river.See the Citadel from another angle and watch the long low boats carrying sand and other material upstream.Going under the bridges and away from the bikes and noise of Hue -it is relaxing to float up and downstream!

Vietnam tours said...

Hue is one of the most tourist destination in Vietnam

Vietnam travel guide said...

I love Hue, Hue beautiful...