Ordered in room breakfast. Muffin with ham,egg and cheese is quite nice. So is the harshbrown and scrambled egg. They forgot the jam for the toast. Going to Hue later so will go for its coffee as the coffee is not so good onboard.
Arruved at Chan May Port. Going to Hue today.
Arrived at Chan May Port
Photos taken when we were at Danang. We went to Hue after.
There is free shuttle bus to Lang Co.
Met our guide Sue and driver. A long but pleasant walk to the car at the entrance as the weather is! cool. Shuttle bus only available to Lang Co and not to main entrance. Sue said we are first to be out.
I have been engaging Lily Linh from uptravel WhatsApp +84 868 505 608 for all my private tours in Vietnam as she is very reliable and her guides are very proficient.
Sue told us that there are 650,000 people living in Hue. It has a tropical Monsoon Climate with the rainy season end of year. There was a severe flood last month and she was trapped in her house for 8 days without electricity and wifi as her house submerged in the flood!
Will be visiting Dong Ba market, Eu Nuch Pagoda, incense sticks and Conical Hat making. Also visitinc King 12 tomb which is a mix of Vietnamese and French and of course the first place which salted coffee originated in Hue.
Hue contains the feudal 1802 to 1945 there are 13 kings in total Nguyen. Nearly 50% of Vietnamese have the same surname Nguyen.The city is right at the centre.
The land which Hue s today used to belong to Champa in the past till 1832. They worship Hindu and Buddhism. They used to be migrants from India who are good in trading such as ceramic, pottery and silk. 1306 a Vietnamese princess who married to the Champa and Hue and Da nang given 1306 to Vietnam as wedding gift. Vietnam still survive due to Geography as it is Rice growing delta with fertile soil surrounded by mountain. 2nd is political reason Champa is a much divided nation. Vietnam build more unified. 3rd reason military Champa famous for fast raid and does not own land. Champa lost land to Cambodia and Vietnam.
Vietnam invaded bu the Chinese for almost 1000 years 11th century to 938 and thus very influenced by the Chinese. Festivals originate from the This was followed by the French in 1858 to 1954 almost 100 years. 19 century French chose Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao. The Dutch chose Indonesia and the British Singapore, Malaysia
On the bright side, Vietnam gotten Banh Mi , railway, bridges, school from French. Latin way of writing invented by Portugese missionary, Alexandra. French made it popular reduce the dominance of traditional Chinese and Confuscious scholars. Though there is forced labour and poverty.
Japan came in 1940 to 1945. 1945 almost 2 million people died due to famine. The Japanese forced farmers to grow jute and also took the rice. French came back after 1945. Indochina war between Vietnamese and French from 1945 to 1954. Divided by 17th parallel. Hue is in the South. North by Ho Chi Minh communist. Vietnam war lasted 1954 to 1974. USA due to cold war war to stop the spread of communism. North won the war and was united.
Different accents from those living in the North and South of Vietnam.
I think Sue will make a good History teacher.
First stop glass noodle and Pho in Hue city. Their glass noodleis made from starchy roots and is low in calories. I took the chicken glass noodle and hubby the beef Pho.¹special with the garlic slice and bean sprout and mint like veg. The soup is boiled a long time with pork bones and vegetables I like the soup.
Top is today's date and bottom the date on the Vietnamese Lunar calendar.
The famous bridge build by Effel.
11km long wall to protect the city
At Dinh Tien Hoan where salted coffee originated in Hue. You stir it and scoop up the foam like coffee. Lighter but equally fragrant!
The place has a very rustic design.
At Dong Ba market, largest market im Hue. Pork is still the number 1 consumed in Vietnam followed by fish and chicken. Bought 4 packets of home made white candy, 3 peanut 1 ginger. The chickens are displayed with feet up. The households will buy the bunch of bananas for the kitchen God and anchestral altars.
Bought 4 packs of the candy, love the ones with peanut.
Many households will buy the whole bunch of bananas for prayers at home for their ancestorsand the kitchen God.
Pork is still the number 1 consumed meat in Vietnam followed by fish and chicken.
Look at how the chicken was displayed with legs up.
Du Hieu pagoda expanded by a king for a monk who had shown much filial piety to his mother.
As written on the columns, filial piety should not leave the nature of a true Buddha.
He was believed to be born under this canon ball tree which offered protection.
The Conical Hat are made from the leaves of this palm tree.
The tombs of the Eunuch buried here. The monks living here will continue to offer the incense sticks.
Champa flower which is also the frangipani was not in bloom.
Du Hieu pagoda is a very peaceful place. A place to worship a Buddha whom have shown Filial piety shown to his mother. Googled why the pond was semi circular in shape rather than full circle. The semi-circular, or crescent, shape of ponds in Vietnamese royal tombs, such as the New Moon Lake (Trung Minh Ho) at Minh Mang's tomb, is a deliberate design choice rooted in the principles of feng shui and the philosophy of Yin-Yang balance.
Yin-Yang Balance: The semi-circular pond symbolizes the moon (Yin element), which is designed to complement the circular shape of the tomb's burial mound (Yang element). This pairing of contrasting shapes creates harmony and a perfect balance of opposing forces within the mausoleum complex, a core tenet of Eastern philosophy.
Symbolism of Progress and Renewal: The crescent shape also symbolizes progress and renewal in Vietnamese culture, fitting for an emperor's eternal resting place.
Hubby fed the catfish which are gigantic with the crackers bought from an old lady.
Incense sticks making.
We learned how to make the incense stick.
Tomb of 12th King Khai Dinh built in 1920. He died in 1925 and construction continued till 1931.
The statues of the minister and towers which follow him afterlife.
During the reign of 4th king, the French took over and the kings after that have very short terms.
12th king loves parties etc and needed much money.
13th king abdicated and give power to Ho Chi Minh in 1945.
Love the food at An Phu Garden. Ordered the set and added a steam fish which is awesome also ordered the banh loc which I missed so much from the last trip.
Love the chicken with egg soup.
Very crispy fried calamari.
Glass noodle with beef soup.
Salad which we did not take as we prefered fried veg.
Nice Sautéed chicken.
Very nice fried noodle with veg and.seafood.
Our least favourite fish in wine which tasted like sardine.
Nice chicken but earlier one better.
Love the steam fish!
So happy to eat this local cake Banh Loc again 2 years later. Miss this cake with dried shrimp wrapped in Banana leave. Had drip coffee which taste good and concentrated. The green banana is actually ripe.
Drip coffee took a long time to process. Should have ordered when we came into the restaurant. 😅
Back to the ship. It was a 1.5 hr ride back to the ship.
I saw this banana flower and a flower near the entrance of the port on the way back to the ship from the gate.
There are some vendors set up near the ship.
Magic with Steve Marshall. I preferred acrobatic and Broadway performance.
Dinner at Santa Fe. Nice seafood bisque and pork dumpling. Hubby love his roasted striploin. I like the fried rice but not so for the grilled chicken. Love the cocktail tropical Hawaiian. Took the ice cream with apricot and hubby fruit plate.
Photos by Photographers on the ship.
Day 14 sea day
Day 14 patter
Reminder for tomorrow
A spring onion with a heart shape suddenly appeared as i sprinkled the spring onion to my porridge. Put in some of the dried chicken floss Kho Ga I got from Halong Bay.
I think expresso double shot with hot milk is still the best coffee on the ship. Chilling with coffee, tea with hot milk at the Grand Plaza. Quietest moments as music performance will start only at 1.15pm.
The sea and sky look beautiful today. The small waves are like silver fishes dancing in the water and there are 2 shades of blue.
Went to Santa Fe for lunch. Ordered the seafood salad (extra charge of USD 24). Love the cocktail aperol spritz recommended by Rizza. Also took my favourite roll. Didn't like the fried calamari as it didn't taste fresh. Hubby love the bee hoon that comes with the Thai spring roll.
Finally gotten my juices antioxidants. Was out of stock last few days. Ordered Danatello ice cream. All inclusive in the package.
Tequila sunrise with sunshine Daiquiri at sunshine bar as hubby took some rice and meat from the buffet.
Cartoon drawing today with Mako. Brought my Zentangle to complete it. One last workshop on sea day the day after tomorrow.
Hubby got the land and sea which is steak and lobster tail. As it was formal night, there is no extra charge for the steak and lobster. I gotten the sweet and sour pork. Both are equally good. The escargot and crab bisque are good too. Love the cocktail Recommended by Riizza and Red wine by Noel.
Gotten hot chocolate and hot milk from the Good Spirit bar at Level 5.
Michael Cornell performing stand up comedy and juggling.
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