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Chan May, Hue
Chan May port is the gateway to Hue and Danang. We took a taxi trip to Hue with a Canadian-German farmer Willi, and his sister Ushi (Ursula) who still lives in Germany.
It was Valentine's Day, and we were a little surprised to see that the day was being celebrated here with a large number of street stalls selling bunches of roses.
Our first stop was the imperial palace which covers acres of ground, and was substantially damaged during the Vietnam-American war.
It was possible to get an idea of the grandeur of the place even though many of the buildings were gone, and what was really impressive were the large prints of photos of the Emperors, their families and the events surrounding them dating back to the 1860s. Also interesting was the large number of Vietnamese visitors, especially young people wearing traditional costumes especially for the occasion.
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| Entering the palace |
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| It was wet and overcast |
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Famous 9 symbolic canons made
from melted down weapons |
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| The Imperial Palace is extensive |
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| One of the many coronation ceremonies |
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| Arial photograph |
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| A temple inside the grounds |
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| A hidden garden |
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| Inside the main palace |
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| Vietnamese couple |
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| They were very friendly |
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| Quite a few tourists |
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| Ushi and Willi |
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| Ric & Frances |
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| Strong symmetrical design |
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Car of the Buddhist priest
who Self immolated |
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| The main shrine |
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| Bell |
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| A modern Vietnamese lady |
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| Entrance |
The driver then took us to what we thought was a small car park which had a small collection of market stalls, so we thought we were visiting a market. Because our driver spoke no English, it took a little while for us to realise that there was in fact a historic temple a short distance away on top of a hill.
It was the Thiên Mụ Temple (meaning Temple of the Celestial Lady, Vietnamese: Chùa Thiên Mụ; also called Linh Mụ Temple) is a historic temple in the city of Huế. Its iconic seven-story Phước Duyên pagoda is regarded as the unofficial symbol of the city, and the temple has often been the subject of folk rhymes and ca dao about Huế.
The temple sits on the Hà Khê hill, around 5 kilometres from the Citadel of Huế constructed by the first emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty on the site of a pre-existing shrine and sits on the northern bank of the Perfume River.
It also contains a stele which is positioned on the back of a large marble turtle, a symbol of longevity and education.
It appeared that little was remaining of the original temple, but within the complex was an amazing collection of quite large bonsai trees of many different species.
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| Front of the shrine |
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| Rear of the shrine |
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| Warrior at the entrance |
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| Stele on the back of a Turtle |
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| Golden Buddha |
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| Small shrine at the rear |
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| Bonsai garden |
As headed back in the taxi, along the river and past rice paddies, we managed to ask the driver to take us to Chan May beach, around the bay for the port. The beach was pretty derilict and deserted but we could see the ship in the distance across the bay.
Frances was keen to have a Vietnamese iced coffee and managed to get one at the Hula Hula cafe - although the flavour was not what she expected.
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| River boat for tours |
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| Typical rice fields |
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| Ushi on Chan May beach |
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| Looking back from Chan May beach |
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| Hula Hula Cafe |
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| Frances has a Vietnamese iced coffee |
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