Hue Imperial Citadel by Matt

After a 4 hour journey from Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, we arrived in Hue and stepped out into the humid afternoon to meet our new tour guide, Juan, another smiley fellow. Hue was once the capital for 150 years in the 19th century and the Citadel is at the heart of the city.

The main entrance, NGO Mon Gate, atop which is a viewing platform covered by a beautifully restored roof of yellow, gold and red decorative tiles, dragons and symbols. A giant bell, drum, emperor's throne and replica royal stamps of gold dragons in various poses also feature.

Surrounded by a moat and 10km of 2m thick walls it has 2 more layers, the innermost called the Forbidden Purple City reserved for the emperor, his concubines and eunuch servants, who posed no threat. Around that is the Imperial Enclosure housing temples, palaces, including the queen mother's, a theatre, offices and gardens. Most of it was destroyed during French and US invasions, bullet holes remain in some giant urns, but you can imagine the troops and their horses and elephants gathering for battle.

From the Citadel we walked a short distance to a museum containing royal artifacts, including games, robes, furniture and betel boxes, which they chewed with lime to protect their teeth. The others seemed most interested in the fans and air conditioning units, we were all feeling utterly drained by the heat!

We hopped back in the van for our last guided visit of the day to a local market.Read more