Quirks of Royal Tombs

Our lunch in Hue on the second day was filling and rather fascinating. We had sticky rice paste wrapped in banana leaves (not my favorite by any stretch of the imagination; the texture and taste reminded me of old raw oysters, YUCK) as well as delicious fried rice with vegetables ("the best fried rice I've had in Viet Nam" --Kiley) and spring rolls, which I'm always crazy for. The spring rolls (cha gio) here are totally unlike those in the United States. Here they are fried very delicately, are much less greasy, have more meat than breading, and are generally rewardingly wonderful.

Anyhow, the restaurant Lac Thanh was somewhat of an oddity. The sign outside (as you may be able to read in the photo provided) that the owner was blind and mute, but his daughter could speak and even speak English well.

Most likely popularized through the positive description in the Lonely Planet guide to Viet Nam, the restaurant has seen more than its fair share of international travelers. The walls are covered in red markered comments, ranging from dirty graffiti to glowing reviews of the food to poetic vignettes from people's time in Viet Nam. Lots of them were very nationalist, and more of them were not the sort of thing you'd like quoted at your grandmother's funeral.

After lunch we traveled to the tomb of fourth Vietnamese emperor Tu Duc, ruler from 1848 to 1883.

As you can see, his tomb's entrance is pretty darn fancy. The emperor built a small lake filled with lotus at the entrance to his complex. The small island in the center served as his personal hunting grounds, and the building directly on the lake was used for meditation/breakfast/storing hunting gear.

Every day his servants would go to the trees beside this building and collect the dew from the leaves, which they would then use to make his fresh morning tea. Talk about extravagance.


The complex also housed his collection of concubines, who didn't seem to have the best deal (see "renovated" housing quarters to the left).













The emperor's office, pictured to the right, seems far preferable to me.













The emperor placed a number of stone statues surrounding his tomb, adhering to the ancient idea that the stone figures would aid him in the afterlife (khiep sau). I have my doubts about an emperor who puts his reincarnated future in the rough hands of stoned soldiers. :)

Here are two of my pals showing off their enviable Chinese knowhow. Much of the Tu Duc tomb is engraved with Chinese characters, as these were used widely prior to French colonization, which brought about the Vietnamese adoption of the Roman alphabet and later quoc ngu, or the written form of Vietnamese.

Behind Pablo's intense gaze is the actual tomb of emperor Tu Duc, a slightly raised stone dais that locals argue doesn't really hold his body. Who knows?






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We then continued on to the tomb of emperor Khai Dinh, a far more impressive edifice than that of Tu Duc. The tomb/palace is situated in the midst of heavily forested mountains, and it is a striking contrast with the financially strapped community near it.









The inner walls are possibly the most gorgeous mosaic of glass, ceramic and polished stones that I have ever seen. Here's just a glimpse at the intricate artistry that speaks of the wealth and sophistication these emperors demanded.















Here is my friend Samson perched atop one of the giant stone dragon, one of the requisite protective guardians that defends the entryway to Khai Dinh's tomb.












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Not the best-quality photo I've ever taken, but the above shot lets you know just how jam-packed was the market we visited after the temples. Take your pick of any gewgaws, trinkets, baubles, tchotchkes, etc. The stalls are alarmingly full of items, and the vendors are even more alarmingly eager to snag a foreigner's arm and wring the cash out of their wallets through persuasion of many kinds.

I made it out (with no prior intentions to buy) with only two small items and an ao dai silk shirt, so I count myself among the lucky ones. :) My only defense was to helplessly state that I was just a college student (sinh vien!!! em hoc o truong dai hoc!!!! khong tien!), which somewhat put them off.

Finally, to finish out our wonderful evening, we decided to take rickshaw rides through the city of Hue. Our drivers were considerably jolly and unsurprisingly wiry and strong guys, eager to chat with us in Vieglish. The nighttime air was cool and breezy, probably thanks to being so close to the river that runs through Hue.

It's no wonder to me that the Vietnamese monarchs chose Hue as their home and imperial city.