Thursday, April 14
We drove already at. 7.00 by car from Marble Mountain. Henning and Erik went up by a whole lot of stairs and then some pagodas on the way up. We could see there was becoming tablet a lift, but it was not quite finished. The thermal leather now Marble Mountain, but will in turn lift a lot of difficulty walking up and won.
Marble Mountain Danang
Marble Mountain Danang
New elevator Marble Mountain
We decided not to take the last piece of the mountain, since we both had trudged through the mountain in 1998 (Erik) and 2001-2004 (Henning). Downstream of the Marble Mountain, there was a lot of business with marble. The car drove away, and we reached Havan where there were so many vendors as before. There were no clouds But the view would be fantastic. The car drove to the Riverside Hotel in Hue. a grand hotel with river views. Lunch was taken at The Deaf Restaurant, where the host entertained with close up 3 beers at once. We cycled to the Citadel with the Royal Palace and so thoroughly. In one of the pagodas were Khoa, Mau and Little Minh Chau photographed in mandarintųj. In bya pm. 20. we're going to dinner. We are now Khoa, Man, Minh Chau, Henning and Erik.
Imperial Palace in Hue
Erik in the royal palace
Khoa, Man and Minh Chau
Pictures from the Royal Palace and Citadel
Friday, April 15
There must be much, why we start early. Cl. 6.30 we ate breakfast. We biked from the hotel at. 7.00. We were sailing on "Perfume River". Henning used the same ship 15 times previously. We had bikes on board. All took a plastic chair and enjoyed the view and the activity on the River. There was a lady on board who sold silk and other things. Silk clothes are very popular and cheap. It is one of the good shopping places. The first place we stopped at was the Thien Mu Pagoda, a peaceful place.
Thien Mu Pagoda
More on Thien Mu Pagoda
If we had time we could sit here and philosophize. It is also a historic site. There was a monk who drove to Saigon and from there drove up in front of the presidential palace and went out on site and poured gasoline over himself and lit himself on fire. The international press took pictures of it and they went round the world. It was in 1963. The war was a turning point. It was President Diem fall.
The burning monk in Saigon
Public opinion turned against the war in both the U.S. and Europe. At that time there were approx. 750000 Allied soldiers in Vietnam. Now everything breathes peace and tranquility. Next stop is the Minh Mang mausoleum. It is a very fine mauolęum in a beautiful park, which many take to an outing. Emperor Minh Mang was one of the last powerful emperors, although he lived while the French had occupied the country.
By Minh Mang mausoleum
More about Minh Mang
It is said that he had over 100 children and so many wives. We sailed across the river and took the bikes out and rode 3 km up to Khai Dinh mausoleum. It is a completely different mausoleum. Minh Mang lived in the 1800's and Khai Dinh in 1900 '. Khai Dinh's son was the last emperor and he died in France in the 1950s. This mausoleum is built on a hill with great views. It is a large stone colossus. There are so many stairs. When you come right up waiting for one a spectacular sight. There are many mosaics and a beautiful bronze statue of Khai Dinh.
Khai Dinh mausoleum
By Khai Dinh mausoleum
More on Khai Dihn
Hat with Google Earth. possibly right-click
Back to the boat. The bikes were on land. We go aboard and get a nice lunch. Now the bike back to Hue. It was a tough ride, because it is bad bikes. Erik had an accident with the chain that jumped off. He was offered through a fee understood. So the problem was solved. We all have bath before heading to Hanoi by train. Henning and Erik biked and Khoa drove a motorcycle. All managed to get asked. It's just really hot today. Henning gave a children's sweater for a vietnamesermor who could not say which country Hennings flag came from, although she was employed by a Danish company in Vietnam. She was a little embarrassed. But now we sit (Henning, Erik, Khoa, Man and Minh Chau) in the train and air conditioned. This time our trunks thicker than usual so they can not go underneath the beds. It is not the beds that have been lower. We can not blame the vietnameske railways. Now we relax until we are in Hanoi. Khoa was playing English words into Minh Chau (4.5 years) while we sat in the compartment, so Minh Chau, a large number of vocabulary words in English. We had enjoyable. Khoa, Henning and Erik got rum and cola before bed.
Erik on the bike after the chain was put again
A child receives a jersey in the waiting room
Man and Minh Chau in train compartments
Khoa in train compartments