Hue, Vietnam, The Imperial City: A Photo Diary

---

I think one of the reasons I fell so absolutely in love with Vietnam, my first Asian country and my first solo backpacking trip, was because it is ridiculously diverse. If you’re from the United States or have traveled around the country extensively, you know that anything you could possibly want is within the country’s limits: mountains, big cities, sprawling countrysides, vineyards, deserts, prairies, beaches. The list is endless.

But…but wait. This is a post about Vietnam, not the currently shambly United States of America. True that, true that. My point here is that Vietnam is a lot like the United States in that it is diverse as hell. If you want a big city where motorbikes are speeding at you without slowing down and there is always a rooftop bar open at any time of night, it’s there. If you want a white sand beach, it’s there. If you want rolling sand dunes, they’re there. If you want a week-long trek through gorgeous mountain ranges, THEY ARE THERE. And Vietnam is nothing compared to the size of the United States, so it is frankly even more impressive, and far more affordable to get around from landscape to landscape.

Hue (pronounced “hwey,” not “hue,” so don’t embarrass yourself) is a different kind of city than any of the other cities I visited in Vietnam. It is right smack dab in the center, only about 30 minutes from Da Nang, a former French colonial port city that is now the hub of central Vietnam, famous for its beaches and the surrounding Marble Mountains. Hue isn’t like Saigon or Hanoi or Da Nang or Dong Hoi in that it is a little bit calmer, a little bit more relaxing, a little bit more mysterious (not to mention home to bun bo Hue, a spicy noodle soup dish specific to this central city that captured my heart and soul forever).

Browse the best deals on hotels in Hue here!

The Imperial City of Hue is perhaps its claim to fame, a massive walled palace that was once the imperial capital of Vietnam. Construction originally started in 1804 by the Nguyen dynasty, and was home to Vietnamese emperors up through the mid-1900s. In 1968, the Battle of Hue destroyed almost 95% of the structures within the imperial city, so much of the city is ruins, but as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, rebuilding is continuing as I type! Yet another reason to loathe war and also humans.

If you’re going to go to Vietnam, I think learning about the history should be a priority (as it should be when you visit any country, otherwise why are you even traveling?). I didn’t myself research anything about Vietnam prior to going, and I regret it a bit. I had no context visiting the Imperial City, and I decided to save the money by not using a tour guide, so the experience was less enriching than it could have been. Still enriching, though, including the acquired knowledge of needing a tube of sunscreen on my person at all times as the sun baked me alive and my t-shirt became drenched under the weight of my massive camera bag. I love that Vietnamese heat, if you cannot tell.

I walked to the Imperial City from my hotel, where I treated myself to a private room and an excellent night’s sleep, much needed after all the biking and shopping and gorging and alcohol consumption that occupied my days in Hoi An. My hotel in Hue was on the opposite side of the Perfume River, but the city is relatively easy to walk, as the roads are far less infested with zooming motorbikes than in some other cities. The walk alone was enough to make me want to throw myself into the river. That HEAT is not messing around, and for some reason I decided to eat the hottest, spiciest bowl of bun bo Hue right before the walk (which was delicious, a meal that introduced me to a very kind local who lengthily expressed his longing to visit Little Saigon in San Francisco one day, which is now on the top of my bucket list).

When I arrived, I purchased a ticket for 150,000 VND (a little more than $6) at the kiosk out front, the entrance fee for the entire Imperial City. Another enriching moment: be assertive when standing in line in this country. Western culture is nothing like Eastern culture, and if you politely wait in line chances are you will be overtaken by a massive family of locals who didn’t even notice you standing there. You have to be quick on your feet. Being small and meekly polite won’t cut it here, sorry Robin (as if it’s every cut it anywhere).

The entire city is surrounded by a giant wall 2.5 kilometers in perimeter and moat routed from the Perfume River. Inside the Imperial City is another, smaller walled city: the Purple Forbidden City. This was once restricted to only the imperial family and their servants, and drew influence from the Forbidden City of Beijing, which the Emperor Gia Long wished to replicate upon building the citadel. It is easy to see the Chinese influences in the structures all around inside the wall.

If you know nothing about the city’s history and are exploring it on your own as I did (my guide for my Hoi Van Pass tour between Hoi An and Hue the day before offered to take me on the back of his motorbike and teach me a little bit about the city, but I was trying hard to stay on budget so I politely declined), then you’re in luck! There is not a lot of information online about the various structures and buildings, but there are signs all over the city with information about the temples, the living quarters, the theaters, and the gardens, giving you the chance to enrich yourself should you so desire a self-paced history lesson.

My favorite thing about my visit was the absolute serenity inside the Imperial City’s walls. Even being there in the middle of the day, wandering around in Hue’s most touristy spot in one of Vietnam’s most touristy months, I always was able to find some private moments to myself to enjoy the bright colors and still quiet, to pretend that I was living in a different time. I spent an exorbitant amount of time sitting in the gardens and didn’t see another soul for at least 20 minutes. Backpacking in Vietnam certainly makes a goddamn moment to yourself a goddamn luxury.

Some hot tips for visiting this citadel that I MYSELF will keep in mind for any future visits I may want to take (one of the only times I’ll only take my own advice, by the way. The number of boyfriends I have lectured about flossing right before falling to sleep on day 268 of not flossing is alarmingly high):

• Wear sunscreen, for the love of all that is holy. There is very little shade within the city’s walls and the sun in Vietnam is a ferocious beast.
• Bring water, also for the love of god. Where there is hot sun there is not only fried arms and legs, but also heat stroke and melting into a puddle of stank that even the strongest of noses will not be able to bear. Remember to hydrate (and wear deodorant); you can find giant water bottles with little plastic handles for easy transport pretty much everywhere in Vietnam for only about 10 cents each.
• Take lots of pictures. Obviously.
• Expect to spend several hours here. It is very expansive and there’s a lot to read, so if you really want your $6 to go the distance, carve enough time out of your day to do this fascinating place justice.
• However, if you are on a time budget, don’t expect to need to spend days and days here. I cut my planned time in Hue in half and was only there for a little over a day (tearing myself away from Hoi An was nearly impossible), and I was not too sad to move on after that.

If you’re a fan of history and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this one’s for you. As much as I wanted to stay in Hoi An for my entire trip, I didn’t quite mind taking a day to explore the ancient imperial city of one of my favorite countries in all the world.