The time for us to leave came and went and still we didn’t move. And then came those dreaded announcements asking if certain passengers were aboard and if so could they make themselves known. You hope in those situations that it’s simply a computer foul-up failing to record the passengers returning to the ship but after repeated requests for this we then had an announcement that there would be a delay departing; we really did have some people who were still someone on the mainland.

The Elite Lounge was open by this time so we headed up for a drink while we waited. One drink turned into two and the light started to fade from the sky.

We resigned ourselves to the fact that we wouldn’t get to see those spectacular islets as we left Ha Long Bay after all and returned to our room briefly. With darkness now fully descended we then discovered that the big wheel and cable car towers that made up the Dragon Park theme park as well as the Bãi Cháy bridge were all lit up at night in rotating patterns of colours. The near-silence of our surroundings and the probing, pulsing light show combined to totally relax us (not that we really needed it).

We headed down to Deck 7 to see what was going on in any of the lounges and to grab another pre-dinner drink. While we were there we heard an announcement that the last tender boat was finally on its way back with the late passengers. Whether they ran into traffic problems in Vietnam or got their times confused or just figured the ship would wait for them we don’t know but we do know that this wasn’t the only time we were late leaving a port on this cruise because of late passengers and we also know the ones who were late this time were the same ones who were late at another port because on the second occasion there were loud groans from everyone who recognised the names being called out.

We headed out onto the promenade deck to watch the last boat arrive. There were some jeers from some passengers but we did the British thing and merely tutted quietly to one another.

In the video below (temporarily removed) you will be able to see some of the peaceful light show shot from our balcony as well as the tender boat being raised into position after letting the final passengers aboard. If you look in the background during the boat-raising you’ll be able to see an illuminated cable car gliding over the channel between East and West Ha Long.

And so Diamond Princess eventually got away and cruised through Ha Long Bay in the dark leaving us with no final view of those limestone islands.

We’d booked specialty dining for that night. We usually always dine once at the Crown Grill on Princess ships but Diamond didn’t have one of those, instead having the very similar (in fact, so similar you wonder why it has a different name at all) Sterling Steakhouse experience. The food was very good but the venue wasn’t. Rather than a special location the Sterling Steakhouse is instead simply a set-aside area of the buffet. I understand the logistical reasoning behind that but it suffered from a lack of atmosphere created mainly by having no dimmed lights. The specialness of the specialty dining was disappointingly reduced but, again, the food was very good.

This concludes our stops at Vietnam on this cruise. The next day would be spent at sea as the ship made its way towards Hong Kong.

We’d been in the position of not knowing where we’d be dropped off prior to actually arriving (the information provided by Princess Cruises the night before in our daily programme was vague). This is an area where cruise lines could be a bit more proactive and push that sort of information way ahead of travel so that passengers who want to do their own thing can plan a little better. I think we all can guess why they don’t. We didn’t know where we’d be, we knew we didn’t really fancy any of the organised trips for a change, but thought we’d be able to find plenty to see on our own regardless. During our cruise into Ha Long Bay we’d spotted a large, white thing in the distance in the gap between some islets and it had piqued our interest enough to set off in that direction.

We watched as the majority of fellow cruise passengers hopped off the shuttle bus and headed straight for the large building that housed numerous stores – each to their own – while we braved crossing the main road and made immediately for the promenade and its views: the nearest islands of Ha Long Bay and the many boats of locals anchored in something akin to floating islands themselves. There was no threat of rain but the angle of the sun was illuminating the thin veil of cloud like a horizon-to-horizon diffuse flash box and producing some challenging photo conditions.

We walked eastwards at a pace suitably low to try to eliminate the onset of sweating from every pore (a Sisyphean task) with plenty of stops along the palm-lined paved area to gaze out at the sights that nature provided. When we’ve travelled and come across views that to us are simply stunning like this we’ve often wondered if the people who reside in these sorts of places no longer realise how spectacular a place it is in which they live.

Despite the high heat and humidity there was quite a strong wind. It was not in the least bit cooling and obviously a regular occurrence due to the geography in this part of Vietnam as we spotted many of the palms had their leaves tied around the trunks of the trees to stop them being a nuisance to pedestrians or cyclists.

Most of the attractive sights were out towards the sea, of course, but there were still some things to be seen inland: an interesting gateway to a park, a mix of architectural styles in some of the buildings, and some of those fabulous limestone formations on land that pull in all the visitors.

Something we started to become aware of was the condition of the water in and around Ha Long Bay. We’d probably assumed that with such beautiful and natural views as far as the eye could see and the general climate of the area and the abundance of what was clearly a fishing-based industry for the locals that the water would be gleaming. It was far from that. It was very unpleasant to see. It wasn’t just that it was murky but that the exposed shore areas were completely littered with rubbish. In some cases there were signs that locals were possibly making tea then leaving broken crockery where it fell (although it could easily have had a ritualistic reason or have nothing to do with tea whatsoever; difficult to guess really) but we also saw what we had to assume was washed overboard cargo gathered up on the land. There just seemed to be no effort made to clean any of it up which was so sad to see. With a growing tourism industry Ha Long really needs to get on top of this situation.

With such bad conditions of the sea it was odd although also pleasant to see some wedding shoots taking place along the shoreline which are covered in this separate post: Ha Long Bay Wedding Shoot. It’s a strange thing to think of those beautiful pictures with the stunning backdrops yet know that a few metres away the water is lapping away filled with jetsam.

Very close to the wedding photography spot along Ha Long’s promenade we spotted a buddha head hanging from a young palm growing from limestone. It was equal parts amusing and creepy.

Hugging the coastline on our continuing walk we started to come into view of the large white structure we’d been in search of but first there were more of those natural formations to admire. There were a few in this area with wooden walkways around them leading us to wonder if it was possible to visit the places and explore them close up but we didn’t say any signs that there were people doing that or that it was actually allowed. The overall structures had the feel of James Bond villain lairs to them.

And so we came to the white thing, the structure that we’d seen from our balcony as the last of the morning’s drizzle had eased off and which we’d gone from suspecting was another cruise ship to some kind of super yacht to realising it couldn’t be either of those things and then needing to find out for ourselves. It was an Exhibition and Trade Centre. We were somewhat disappointed. Situated on the eastern side of an open square which likely gets used for events in the area there was no doubting the impressive architectural design of the building with its sweeping curves. The colours and shape felt very marine-like and fitting for a location close to the sea. However, there was nothing going on inside as far as we could see. The area was devoid of anyone else save one other couple who’d completed a similar walk to us and who were at this point posing for leaping photos for one another in the open spaces. We admired the shape of the building for a couple of minutes before making the decision to head back the way we’d come in search of something to eat.

As we’d neared the exhibition centre we’d passed a black glass building which had caught our eyes for a number of reasons: the modern, very square design was striking compared to what else we’d seen in our time visiting Vietnam; there was a café which had a prominent sign proclaiming the presence of beer (and we’re very fond of trying beers locally when we travel); there were a number of military artefacts outside. We knew this would be the place we’d stop for something to eat and drink but first to the objects of warfare. There weren’t many of them but if seeing aircraft or missiles or cannons up close is something that interests you then as a free, open-air activity if you’re nearby and likely to want to stop for lunch or dinner too then there’s certainly an appeal here. This was the second day in a row we’d been to a city in Vietnam and stumbled across military equipment for anyone to see with a larger display having been present outside the Imperial City at Huế too.

In addition to the weapons of war there were a few more cultural sights to see outside this building.

A quick nose at the memorabilia done we headed inside the My Way Café and ordered two locally-produced beers as well as two random elements from the menu. We didn’t find the service particularly friendly here but there was no faulting the food, whatever it was, and the drinks were so desperately needed by this point we were in the mood to forgive a lot. Something else quite exciting (definitions vary) happened here because there was no cutlery offered and I didn’t want to ask for some so had to endeavour to use the supplied chopsticks. Now, I’m sure a lot of people have no trouble with chopsticks but they’re an eating implement I’ve never been able to use properly. I’ve had people show me finger positions and how to use one finger as a spring between the sticks and how to hold them near the tip or near the base and it’s made not the slightest bit of difference to my inability to do anything but curse eastern culture for not embracing forks. However, somehow, magically, it just clicked in that café and I suddenly found a way to eat with them and really quite easily. Bizarrely, when comparing my eating style to that of my wife’s – who has no problem with them – it was completely different. Hey, whatever works, works.

Rested, a little cooler, happy that we’d eaten and drunk locally, and ridiculously pleased that I’d taught myself to use chopsticks we departed and continued our walk back along the Ha Long Bay shoreline taking many of the same sort of photos that had been taken earlier but with the justifications that the sunlight was different and you can never take too many photos of views like these anyway.

It seemed that the Vietnamese locals didn’t share our disgust at the condition of the water off Ha Long as we spotted a group of swimmers at one point. We even got a wave from one of them just after I’d stopped to snap a shot.

Now, it might well be that the state of the water around Ha Long Bay was only bad in the small area we saw, a consequence of tidal patterns, perhaps. Certainly, when looking at other posts regarding visits to this part of Vietnam the waters appear turquoise and clear and it may be that simply opting to take a more untouristy tour of Ha Long Bay will leave you with better memories of your time here.

As we approached the area where the cruise-supplied shuttle bus would be the waters filled with those boats again, the bulk of them clearly for fishing only but others looking more like houses at sea.

We could have stayed a couple more hours had we wanted but the heat and humidity had got to us and we’d walked a fair distance so felt it made sense to get back onboard ship early for once and see if we could get some laundry done before everyone else returned and thought the same thing. We wandered through Vincom Plaza and did some shopping for bits and pieces – mainly food – as much to use up the local currency we’d brought along as anything else. Our timing on leaving was perfect as we walked out, straight onto a bus, and were off within minutes to head over the Bãi Cháy bridge to West Ha Long where a tender boat was already waiting.

Showered, changed, and laundromat used we contented ourselves with poking our heads out of the balcony every now and then to see the various excursion boats depositing passengers from their tours and other vessels in the area passing to and fro. Our expectation was that it wouldn’t be too long until we would up anchor and cruise out of Ha Long Bay and we were keen to see how it looked from the other direction. That expectation would not be met and that will be explained in the next post from this final stop in Vietnam on our Diamond Princess cruise.

Our wandering-without-real-purpose led us eastwards along the main road that borders that part of the Vietnamese mainland and my main interest to this point had been directed out to sea and those incredible islets for which Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay is most famous. In steep contrast to our rainy approach to Ha Long earlier in the day the clouds had mostly given way to strong sunshine and a rapidly rising heat to go alongside that ever-present humidity so our pace was slow in order to preserve our energy and not force us to rely on the water we’d brought along too early. Taking yet another short breather to stand by the promenade’s railings and scan the area through my camera viewfinder in search of interesting shots I spotted a flash of very bright white ahead of us and close to one of the rocky formations by the shore. A wedding shoot was taking place!

It’s becoming not entirely unusual for us to happen upon wedding photography when we travel now although we’ve never been able to tell whether the brides and grooms are genuinely posing for their own upcoming nuptials or whether they are modelling for some service. Our suspicion is it’s mostly the latter reason simply because everyone we’ve seen has been ridiculously good-looking. I’m not saying that ridiculously good-looking people don’t marry one another but I don’t know any who have.

We took our time wandering past the couple being posed and photographed on the stone jetty jutting out into the water of the bay and entered into the shadow of the large, likely limestone formation nearby. This gave us some pleasurable respite from the sunshine but also provided me with a chance to get some photos with less risk of glare or ambient light affecting the camera’s shutter speed (I almost always take pictures in aperture priority mode to control light hitting the sensor so the speed can vary depending on the lighting conditions). This was when we saw a second couple in somewhat different wedding attire get dropped off by a car and make their way down to the same shooting location.

The contrast between the first wedding couple’s traditional clothing – the long, white dress and veil for her and the dark suit for him – and the second couple’s more modern take – less fabric for her and a fabulous blue-checked suit for him – was good to see. We also liked how the “groom” helped his “bride” get her shoes back on after she’d been forced to remove them in order to clamber down the slope to the jetty (a sensible move as it definitely wouldn’t have been something to attempt in heels).

We weren’t the only people taking photos of the wedding shoot – two other couples who’d been on the Princess Cruises-provided shuttle bus that had dropped us off in Ha Long were following in our wake and taking similar pictures of the events unfolding by the water’s edge – so we didn’t hang around for too much longer before continuing on our walk around the bay. We did search online for a little while after getting back, looking for wedding photo shoots in and around Ha Long Bay in Vietnam on all the usual photo sources just to see if we could find the professional pictures we’d witnessed being taken but to no avail. A shame, as I’d really love to see how they turned out with the sun at the backs of the models and no indication of flash in use.

The other thing you have to figure into your estimations when wondering when the best time to head for a tender boat is just how many Elite passengers are on a Princess ship and how likely are they going to be to want to get off the ship quickly. Once you’ve accrued 150 days aboard or completed 15 cruises you reach Elite level loyalty on Princess, one of the perks of which is that you can queue-jump for tender boats. You can see in the information from the ship’s Princess Patter below that Elite guests were informed to head to the library while the rest of us picked up tickets and waited in one of the dining rooms; whenever a boat would be ready to accept passengers Elite members got first priority and however much space was left was taken from the remainder waiting with their tickets.

After waiting for the first couple of boats to head to land we gathered our things together for the day and made for the dining room with Vietnamese landing cards to hand, picked up our tickets, and sat down for probably no more than ten minutes before we were called to head downstairs and off the ship.

Tender boats tend to have some seating on top while most passengers are inside the vessel. It’s the luck of where you are in the queue and what preferences the people in front of you have as to whether you can get up on top but as someone who always travels with my camera in hand I will always choose an outside view from the tender boat journey if it’s available and luck was on our side at Ha Long Bay. It can be cold if you’re outside even if the ambient temperature is high but the benefits of uninterrupted photo opportunities plus getting to disembark the boat first once you reach your destination are worth it.

We were then on our way, very slowly at first until clear of Diamond Princess, then a little faster on the way to land. It was still overcast but the prospect of rain seemed to have completely vanished and we could feel the gathering warmth. There were a number of different types of small vessels out on that stretch of water with us but it’s always hard not to be most impressed by the cruise ship herself especially when you get that prow-first three-quarters view.

Our short journey ashore took us alongside a long pier. We couldn’t work out if that was just used by ships that could get in a little closer to shore, perhaps those smaller than Diamond Princess, or whether it was in the process of being built to eventually supplant the need for tourist ships to use tender boats at all. You can see it in the photo below and in the short video clip of us using the tender boat.

The tender boat from the cruise ship took us to West Ha Long (Bãi Cháy), passing under the cable car that forms part of the Dragon Park theme park in the city. Taking a free shuttle bus provided by Princess Cruises, the prominent cable-stayed bridge would be the route by which we’d take the short trip across to East Ha Long (Hong Gai) in order to take in some of the sights on foot and that will be covered in the next post.

You can imagine our sense of disappointment, therefore, when we opened up the curtains in our room early in the morning on our approach to Ha Long Bay to discover rain and total cloud cover greeting us. It’s a very humid area of the world so rain should probably be expected but we’ve generally been incredibly lucky with the weather when we’ve travelled and our Princess Patter guide delivered to our room the night before had indicated nothing of the sort for our second day ashore in Vietnam. We quickly realised, though, that we were still some way out from land and there was still some considerable time before we’d be able to leave the ship so we mixed a little bit of hope that the increasing strength of the sun would burn off the clouds tempered with the acceptance that even if it didn’t we’d just get wet and still enjoy the experience.

The cloud and rain washed out a lot of colour from the impressive seascape we cruised slowly through and the more distant limestone formations were little more than ghostly shadows. The slow cruising speed of Diamond Princess added to that ethereal calm feeling that the views imbued upon us. It’s arguable as to whether what we saw would have been more impressive had the sun been shining.

You can get a feel for the gentle speed our cruise ship was undertaking in this short bit of video (temporarily removed) taken from our balcony. You’ll also be able to hear the ship’s horn sounding and echoing back off those gorgeous islets in Ha Long Bay.

Something that surprised us was the number of other ships in the area. While we were the only cruise ship approaching Ha Long this turned out to be a busy stretch of water for cargo vessels; the region has traditionally mined a lot of coal although the economy is shifting towards tourism. We’d discover once we got to land that the water in and around the bay wasn’t particularly clean at all with evidence of both the past and present big industries at fault and it’s a place that in our opinion could really do with some tender loving care.

So while we wouldn’t want to swim in the waters around Ha Long Bay we could still enjoy the pleasing sights of the many islands and their many forms – small, tall, short, long – and it’s certainly worth visiting this part of Vietnam for that alone. Even better, as hoped, the heavier clouds started to thin noticeably as the populated land of the bay started to come more into view and the rain eased off first to a light spitting before stopping altogether.

Closer to shore it was the smaller boats and local fishing vessels in particular that became more apparent. For the most part they seemed indifferent to the approach of our huge cruise ship, even to the point of one of them needing a friendly blast of the ship’s horn as it made little attempt to move more than a few metres away from the advancing prow of Diamond Princess.

Visibility increased with the brightening sky and lack of rain and we began to see the various structures along Ha Long Bay. If you take a look at a map of Ha Long you’ll see that the mainland is split into two areas: West Ha Long (Bãi Cháy) connects to East Ha Long (Hong Gai) by a cable-stayed bridge. The bridge as well as the cable car and large wheel that formed part of the Dragon Park theme park were very obvious draws for the eyes. It is worth noting as you look at the following photos that the land mass on the right of the photos, East Ha Long, is where most things of interest for the casual visitor are located but it’s West Ha Long where the tender boats from the ship drop passengers ashore. A free shuttle bus crossing the bridge was provided by Princess Cruises.

We finally felt the gentle rumble as the anchor dropped and Diamond Princess came to a stop in Ha Long Bay. There then proceeded a short wait while very little happened – at least from what we could see from the starboard side of the ship where our balcony was located – and we spent the time simply observing the other ships at rest in the bay or setting out from the mainland on some business, tourist-based or otherwise. We also spotted a large white structure in the distance between some of the islets that we at first thought was another cruise ship or possibly some kind of super-expensive yacht. We’d later discover it was nothing of the sort.

The wait was for Vietnamese immigration officials to make their way onboard.

With the officials on the ship and everything set up to let people start leaving we then spotted a number of small, local boats making for midships along the starboard side of the ship. There was obviously some coordination between them as they seemed to be moving in formation at first but the resulting squeeze as they all came together alongside us was almost comical with its near-frantic pushing and jostling for position. We hadn’t been certain what the boats were initially but we soon guessed they must be for organised excursions around the islands.

We wouldn’t be boarding any of those boats, instead planning to go ashore by tender boat to do our own thing, and that is covered in the next post from Vietnam and Ha Long Bay.

I have an aversion to taking photos through windows on transport generally because of the issues that come from the speed, vibrations, and potential for tinted views, all of which mean ramping up the ISO and opening up the aperture to get sharp enough shots, as well as the likelihood of dirt in the way and the problems of reflections which can completely ruin photos or make laborious the task of processing to clean images up enough for publishing. I keep telling myself not to be so fussy about these sorts of pictures but I am a leopard with a certain pattern of spots. However, some of these issues weren’t present for this early evening drive: the windows of the bus were clean with only a very light tint to them and with the sun either hidden behind clouds or the range of hills towards the western horizon but there still being enough daylight to not warrant putting on illumination inside the vehicle reflections were either not present or could be mostly worked with. It’s always nice to have some memories of the places you travel through, not just travel to, so the camera came out and photos were taken.

To start with, of course, we were on the outskirts of Huế so the roadside consisted of plenty of houses, shops, and cafés. I love these snapshots of local life, the people and places not being directly connected to or influenced by or even trying to appeal to foreign tourism.

As we moved further from the city the odd paddy field or fish farm would make an appearance. I loved seeing this great, concrete advertising billboard in the middle of one; it felt instantly American and southeast Asian at the same time.

One thing difficult to miss on any amount of journeying through Asia is the huge volume of motorbikes and mopeds everywhere. Our guide had explained on our outward journey earlier that day that it was a sign of independence for younger people and, of course, it was a lot cheaper to buy than a car. A few decades before most of the bikes that had been owned came from China and were fairly unreliable but these days Japanese-built vehicles were mostly owned and driven by Vietnamese people because they lasted a lot longer. The test to drive on a motorbike was considerably easier than that for a car as well although it was our opinion that some people perhaps hadn’t even done that based on the way they drove. Quite how we never saw an accident on one was something of a head-scratcher and there was one close shave in particular where a moped almost turned into the path of our bus but swerved out of the way at the last second.

I’m not entirely sure you’d get away with carrying your young child on a bike like this in the UK.

The signs of urban life started to drop away and at about the halfway point of our early evening drive towards Chan May the road started to track alongside the Cầu Hai Lagoon, one of a series of freshwater lagoons fed by mountains on the Laos border. The lagoons are generally fished in traditional and sustainable ways and are home to a very diverse range of species of fish, many of which are on endangered lists worldwide.

The slow dimming of the sky was very noticeable as our drive continued but a lot of this was because we were now passing the Bạch Mã National Park on our right-hand side (i.e. the side I wasn’t taken photos from). The steep, lush hills served as a barrier against any chance of the setting sun lighting up the surroundings and casting long, interesting shadows across the Vietnamese landscape but the sights of paddy fields along the shore of the lagoon in the deepening gloom had their own charm nonetheless.

Landmarks were few and far between along this stretch of the drive with one of those being that of Phuoc Tuong Catholic Church. Buddhist temples are pretty commonplace in Vietnam making signs of Christian worship stand out. Vietnam’s relatively recent history of intolerance towards certain religious groups and the bloodshed that inevitably followed features in my write-ups about The Pagoda of the Celestial Lady and the Tomb of Tự Đức so it’s nice that the country is experiencing a far more liberal phase now.

Not long after passing the church we turned off the QL1A road and took the Chan May road heading towards the port. A few, final pleasing views of paddy fields, boats, distant hills, and occasional buildings sprung up before we spotted our cruise ship in the distance.

We’d not had a chance to take a look around the port area when we’d departed the ship in the morning as we’d met up at the correct time for our excursion and simply walked straight to the waiting bus. With plenty of time before the ship was due to depart and us being dropped off about 100 metres from the dockside we had an opportunity to look around although, as previously noted on our arrival at Chan May, there wasn’t a whole lot to see anyway. The port seemed to be a reasonably small, industrial-leaning one. Freight facilities were not present and the only thing that could appeal to cruise passengers were a few stalls grouped together by one of the port buildings. We had a quick nose at them – just like almost everyone else from our bus and the others all rolling up at around the same time – but nothing jumped out enough to buy so we escaped the hustle and headed to the ship and our room.

Dropping off the bits and pieces we’d picked up I popped out onto the balcony for some more shots of Chan May from our elevated location.

Some people shower first thing in the morning, some last thing at night. Our routine on cruises is to shower before dinner and after a full day in the heat and humidity of Vietnam I’d recommend that for everyone. By the time we were freshened up the sun had properly set and darkness had enveloped the port. Diamond Princess, however, was going nowhere because some coach trips had run into traffic problems and were late getting back. We stood out on the balcony, gazing off into the distance in search of bus lights, occasionally spotting a group rolling up, thinking they were the last ones but then realising from the unmoving Vietnames immigration officials below us on the dockside there were still others to come.

One other thing in close proximity to Diamond Princess was a row of mechanical diggers and ploughs in a sorry-looking state. These wouldn’t ordinarily have been of huge interest to us until we spotted a port worker wander down and start clambering over them, opening panels, picking out bits and pieces from their interiors. Soon after that he crouched down and set a fire around the tracks of one of the vehicles and moved some pots nearby before heading off. Our deduction was that he was cooking some food for himself but the odd choice of firepit and closeness to our cruise ship was unusual to say the least and we weren’t the only ones fascinated and perhaps a little concerned by open flames nearby as we looked up to the wing of the bridge and spotted half a dozen bridge crew gathered around, looking down, peering through binoculars, and talking on their radios, quite likely making sure that this was nothing to worry too much about.

The last bus arrived, its passengers were pulled away from the market stalls and ushered towards the ship, and Diamond Princess finally undertook its sailaway from Chan May in pitch black conditions.

To conclude this post some photos from this evening’s meal in the main dining room.

The following day we would cruise into Ha Long Bay and posts from our second day in Vietnam will be the next ones to appear on this site.

Our coach parked more-or-less right by the attractive main entrance gateway to the tomb complex and we gathered there as a group while our guide went ahead to purchase tickets for our visit.

The fourth Nguyễn dynasty emperor Tự Đức lived in interesting times, many of them of his own doing. His ascendancy to the throne at his father’s wish immediately caused conflict as by Confucian traditions his elder brother should have inherited the title. This triggered a rebellion in which Tự Đức was victorious but was just one part of the troubles he faced. By continuing and expanding policies that saw Vietnam increasingly shut off from the outside world and intolerant towards foreign influences and non-Confucian religious practitioners (particularly Christians) inner turmoil in the country soon spilled over into the outside world and France stepped in to assert some order. European weaponry and tactics were more than enough to overrun Vietnam and even the Chinese coming to Tự Đức’s aid were only a slowing force. Tự Đức eventually signed away part of southern Vietnam to the French and agreed to become a colonial protectorate, acts that were not well received by others in his country.

Having been largely responsible for mass persecutions, contributing to rebellions, angering his own people, and signing away sovereignty it’s subsequently difficult to decide whether the peaceful, sprawling, yet still modest tomb of the emperor came as a surprise or not when we saw it. The tomb, built between 1864 and 1867, was designed by Tự Đức himself and was made to be a place where he could escape from the problems ravaging his country (even the building of it precipitated an attempted coup as it involved forced labour and increased taxation of locals) and wander the grounds in peace with his wife and concubines. Smallpox when younger had left him impotent so despite having over 100 concubines he fathered no children.

Upon entering the grounds of the tomb the first thing we came to was Luu Khiem Lake. As the sign above explains, the lake and its small island were artificially created. The island was regularly populated with small animals and the emperor would take a boat across in order to hunt them. The emperor himself was a small man, standing only 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall.

Along the left hand side of the lake as we walked further into the tomb complex there was a small boat landing area opposite which was the Khiem Cung Gate. This was the entrance to the Ritual Area which had previously been the palace in which the emperor and his concubines would reside when he was visiting. As a sign near the gate explained, the buildings in the palace were a scaled-down version of the Imperial City.

Passing through the gate took us into a courtyard around which were the buildings of Hoa Khiem Palace. These buildings house many of Tự Đức’s possessions, gifts, and furniture.

The two thrones were used by the emperor and empress. Interestingly, the smaller of the two thrones was the one on which Tự Đức sat. As his wife was somewhat taller than him already this arrangement served to further emphasise his small stature, the reason for that not being known.

Continuing through the palace buildings took us to the Minh Khiem Chamber, a theatre in which Vietnamese cultural plays were put on, many of them sponsored by the emperor. It is possible to pay a small fee, dress up as the emperor, and sit on a throne in the theatre and someone duly did just that while we were there.

We came out back through the Hoa Khiem Palace buildings and through the Khiem Cung Gate then turned northwards towards an entrance that ran parallel to the palace buildings.

This took us to the Necropolis, the first part of which was a forecourt lined with an honour guard of statues – elephants, horses, and mandarins – for the emperor. Just like his throne and the man himself, Tự Đức’s statues were smaller than is usual for this type of memorial.

Up a few steps was the Stele Pavilion which houses – as its name implies – a stele containing a biography of the emperor, written by himself. A self-written stele is an unusual thing in Vietnamese traditions with this typically being undertaken by a son but, of course, Tự Đức didn’t have any of those. The stele weighs over 20 tons and it is the largest stele in Vietnam. The emperor’s biography remarks on his childhood illness and admits mistakes he made during his reign although his dying words were allegedly curses against the French (probably quite common) so it’s not clear how much of that modesty and remorse in the inscription was genuine.

A common architectural addition to imperial tombs in Vietnam are towers which are there to represent the power of the emperor.

Beyond the Stele Pavilion was a small lagoon and a wall with a single entrance into the Sepulchre. In deliberate contrast to the ornate designs on the walls and around the gateways everywhere else the actual tomb of Tự Đức was very plain. Importantly, the tomb was a point of respect and worship but the actual remains of Tự Đức and his most favoured treasures are nowhere near it. Indeed, nobody knows where the emperor’s body was buried; the location and honour of burying the emperor was given over to 200 workers who upon completion of their duty were beheaded to ensure it remained a secret. Not the greatest job in the world then.

The views from the Sepulchre back across the lagoon and towards the Stele Pavilion and its flanking towers made for very pleasant ones.

This concluded our visit to Tự Đức’s Tomb on the outskirts of Huế and, indeed, our full day cruise excursion in the Vietnamese city so all that remained was for us to retrace our steps out of the Necropolis, head back past Luu Khiem Lake, and leave via the exit to our waiting coach for the journey back to Diamond Princess.

The location for lunch on this Huế excursion was the Hotel Saigon Morin on the southern bank of the Perfume River more-or-less where we’d crossed over to take a tour of the Imperial City earlier in the day. We were greeted by a large hall featuring entertainment from musicians and dancers at one end, lined along the windows with tables conveniently near blessed air conditioning units, and filled in the centre with a huge array of tables laid out for a buffet. The variety and quality of food was superb although with several tour groups arriving at around the same time and the concept of queueing apparently evaporating in the Vietnamese humidity it was a bit of a slog to fill a plate up.

There were meat dishes, fish dishes, vegetable dishes, and different types of rice, salads, and fruits to satisfy anybody’s tastes and there were a selection of chocolate and matcha cakes that I felt deserving of some taste-testing too. If you are taking one of the cruise excursions in Huế that includes lunch here then you won’t be disappointed.

Our final historical site for the day would be the Tomb of Emperor Tự Đức which was a fairly short drive from the centre of Huế and gave me a chance to fire off a few photographs through the window of the bus. As anyone who has regularly read any travel posts on this site (counts on fingers… nobody) knows I am not a fan of shooting photos through the window of a moving vehicle because the vibrations and bumps are bad enough but the inevitable problems with dirt and reflections drive me insane. Still, I do try to grab some on occasion just to see if any are half decent enough to warrant posting.

Getting something to eat might depend on the duration of your cruise excursion but one thing that’s almost always guaranteed is a stop at some sort of location for shopping. This is one of those areas where our views over the years have changed somewhat. When we first started cruising and heading ashore on organised trips we found the shopping opportunities something to barely tolerate; they seemed a bit forced, you always wondered if there were kickbacks to the excursion operators, they seemed like they were taking too much time away from the cultural things we wanted to see, and they often had nothing we could afford. To be fair, we’ve mainly cruised with Princess who edge into the more-well-off traveller market as a rule whereas we initially saved just enough for the experiences but had nothing left over for mementoes. As we’ve gained in age and weight we’ve also accrued a little more spending money so while we don’t come anywhere near the average fellow passenger in terms of personal wealth we have come to appreciate the shopping stops more especially as documenting our travel experiences has become the norm for us.

Our shopping stop on this particular excursion was just a few minutes away from our final destination. The trip notes had indicated we would be able to see local people making conical hats and would have the chance to buy one and we’d pictured a little village with a few huts and stalls for some reason. No idea why. The important thing is that was a terrible bit of guesswork on our part as we entered what was pretty much just a reasonably large store by the roadside next to a junction. Directly in front of us was a woman making incense sticks and behind her was another making hats; the remainder of the establishment consisted of pieces of artwork, bookmarks, packets of incense, statues, dolls, slippers, etc.

We would have bought something were it not for two cultural issues: firstly, the pushiness of the sales people. Upon walking in the store there were a number of local women who mobbed us as a group and immediately started asking what we wanted to buy. We wanted to browse first. The problem was the women seemed to work on a commission basis as it became very clear that the first one we said “Just looking, thanks” to insisted we come to her when it was time to buy and pulled away one of her colleagues a few minutes later who’d got close to us while we were looking at something else. The competitiveness was not a friendly one. The second issue was when we looked at some paintings. While the paintings were formulaic and similar in appearance (a temple with a bird and a river, or a boat on a river with the sun over the trees, or a group of women in local clothing and conical hats; that sort of thing) they were at least not mass-produced and so appealed to us as a souvenir of our time in Vietnam. The price we were quoted didn’t appeal, though, so we said no. And then came the “How much do you want to pay?” pestering. I’ve haggled before but this high-pressure pushing from multiple sources being dragged around to stop us from leaving, urging me to pick a price just didn’t make me feel comfortable.

So, not the best shopping experience but we accept what happened as something that occurs when you go somewhere you’re familiar with. All part of the reason to travel. We escaped from the turmoil of the shop and snapped a few photos of the greenery until it was time to board the bus for our visit to the emperor’s tomb.

Steep steps led up to the impressive seven-tier tower that marked the entrance to the pagoda complex but there weren’t too many of them so it should be climbable by most people. Each tier of the octagonal tower is three metres high and dedicated to a different Buddha. The pagoda was originally constructed in 1601 after the governor of the area heard of the prophecy of the Celestial Lady who foretold the building’s construction by a great lord. Over the intervening centuries the pagoda underwent expansion by different rulers but suffered considerable damage during a cyclone in the early years of the twentieth century.

In the area immediately surrounding the tower was a building containing a stone turtle with a stele on its back.

Beyond the tower there was a walled section with another stele out in front and decorated openings allowing people to pass through to the gardens and buddhist temple beyond.

As you’d expect from a place like this the area was very peaceful. The walls and trees obscured any sight of the city beyond and served to muffle any sounds of vehicles.

It was possible to go into the main hall of the temple if shoes were removed and there was a place set outside for the burning of incense, neither of which activity we engaged in; the former because it was a little crowded with everyone jostling for a view and the latter because I don’t do well around incense. I have a history of fainting when I smell it which I’ve always taken to be nature’s way of telling me to step away from the whole religion thing.

We only had a short period of time at the Pagoda Of The Celestial Lady but in fairness there wasn’t a huge amount to see. If you’re in Huế then it’s an easy place to find and visit and it’s free to enter but if you are pressed for time then it doesn’t have the range of things to see that might make you think it’s worthwhile diverting from where you are to take a look around. On the other hand, as a restful spot to seek out your inner calm there’s nothing to fault it at all.

One thing the pagoda also has, though, is some relatively recent historical significance.

From 1955 to 1963 Ngo Dinh Diem declared himself the president of South Vietnam following elections where more people voted than were registered to do so. That would probably get him some support today from political leaders in the UK and USA. He didn’t need to worry about an international backlash as he was a staunch anti-communist so could rely on American aid anyway. Diem was also Catholic and imposed his views on the country banning divorce and abortion, closing brothels, tightening adultery laws – that would probably also get him some support today from political leaders – but he also started to restrict buddhist practices in a country with a long tradition of them and his hard line against anyone who opposed him saw some of his foreign support wane. Weird to think that these days we’ve probably got political leaders who’d look at that sort of religious discrimination and ruthless approach to enemies as something to admire once again. Anyhoo…

Diem’s intransigence to Buddhist demands for equal treatment led to increasing numbers of protests – many in and around Huế – to the extent that anti-communist nationalist members of the ruling body and military began to talk about the need for a coup and stability after clearing with America first that it wouldn’t do anything to interfere or retribute. It still ticked their “Don’t Like The Commies” box so they said yes and another strong reason for that also ties in with the pagoda. In 1963 a protesting Buddhist monk – Thích Quảng Đức – was driven to a busy intersection in Saigon and set himself on fire.

The self-immolation photograph was seen all around the world and had a profound effect on the US president at the time, Kennedy, making the decision to back the coup an easier one to make. Hồ Chí Minh and the North Vietnamese leadership saw the backing of the coup as a further advancement of America’s imperialist desires in the region and, well, we all know what that led to within a few years. You can still see the car that drove Thích Quảng Đức to his symbolic suicide at the Pagoda of the Celestial Temple so if one of the key events leading up to the Vietnam War interests you then it’s worth visiting for that reason alone.

Even though I’m going to be mostly referring to this Vietnamese historical site as the Imperial City it’s really three structures, one inside another. The outermost structure is the Citadel comprising the thick walls and moat. Inside that and through ornate gateways is the actual Imperial City. Within the city is another, originally walled off area called the Purple Forbidden City, reserved for the Emperor and family.

Unlike its counterpart in Beijing the Imperial City is not aligned to face north-south but rather on a northwest-southeast direction in order to make use of the Perfume River‘s natural course as the first layer of defence. The city has a number of entrances and our tour would take us in through the main one in the centre of the southeast wall. The first thing we saw was the clearly defensive fortifications of the Citadel across the moat fed by sluice gates from the nearby river.

Over the moat and inside the Citadel walls via the Ngan Gate we then stopped by the Holy Cannons. There are nine of these in total set up in two lines of four and five where the group of four (nearest the gate we came in through) represent the seasons and group of five represent the elements (fire, water, earth, wood, and metal). Made of brass and about five metres in length the cannons are ceremonial and have never been fired.

We then walked towards the beautiful Cửa Ngọ Môn (or Noon Gate) to enter the Imperial City. Opposite the gate was the imposing presence of the Flag Tower.

The Trung Dào bridge passed over the Thai Dich lake and took us to the first building, Điện Thái Hoà (the Palace of Supreme Harmony). This palace was built in 1806 for the coronation of Emperor Gia Long and houses the throne that was the seat of power for thirteen emperors in Vietnam.

Beyond the Palace of Supreme Harmony we were effectively in the Purple Forbidden City. A large courtyard area that we first entered was flanked on either side by two buildings called Ta Vu and Huu Vu. While the buildings looked identical from the exterior they both served different purposes with Ta Vu dedicated to art and Huu Vu dedicated to military matters.

We then headed roughly northwards passing through two large courtyard areas known as the Can Chanh and Can Thanh palaces. The Imperial City at Huế attracted a decent number of visitors other than just our tour group but the wide openness of this area lent everything a quiet, peaceful look and feel right up until you looked more closely at the walls and ground where signs of past warfare – bullet holes for the main part – still lingered. It had a transformative effect, taking the tranquility and fashioning it into ghostliness.

It’s also worth noting – although it should be obvious from the photos – but there was very little shade in this area. Whereas we’d been hiding in the shadows of tree canopies or behind walls when we could this clearly wasn’t possible out in the open courtyards when our guide was pointing out interesting buildings he was describing. Just before we’d entered the Citadel at the start of the tour we’d been standing beside our local guide when he pulled out a handkerchief to mop his own brow and turned to us mentioning it was surprisingly hot and humid during our visit on that day. We replied that we’d noticed with a smile but if it’s hot for a local then you know it’s really hot.

Turning roughly westwards we then proceeded down the Long Corridor, a covered walkway in bright red that reminded us of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, albeit without any singers and musicians.

This brought us to Cung Diên Thọ, a couple of buildings used as residence and dining locations for the Emperor’s mother. Just beyond them was the western moat and the area had some well-tended gardens too. A very attractive spot indeed with some very nice decorative stonework on the buildings and walls. The main building housed some artifacts of historical note and there was also a small souvenir shop located here where we picked up a few bits and pieces. I can’t remember for sure because we had some and didn’t check but it was a small enough location that I think you need local currency here; I might be wrong, though.

After giving everyone time to pick up souvenirs and use the nearby toilets if they had need of them (and hadn’t simply sweated out any bodily fluids already like we had) our guide then led us on a roughly clockwise walk around the northern end of the Imperial City then back down towards the palace courtyards and into another walled-off area just to the southeast of them which was the location of the Royal Theatre. This is the oldest working theatre in Vietnam and was originally just for the Emperor’s family (as you could probably have guessed) though it’s possible these days to watch plays inside. The interior was restored in 2004 to be a faithful reproduction of the original design from 1826. We had enough time to look inside had we wanted to but it was a little crowded in this area and required us to take off our shoes and, quite frankly, we weren’t sure we’d be able to get them back on again thanks to the heat of the day if we’d tried.

This concluded our visit to Huế Imperial City so we left by the nearest exit which was the East Bastion Gateway, a gorgeously ornate piece of architecture as I’m sure you can see from the photos below.

Crossing the moat surrounding the Citadel we turned right and headed back towards the main road roughly to the south of the Imperial City and towards where our coach had parked up to wait for us. One final point of interest along this stretch of road – although we didn’t have any time to take a look at it on this organised excursion – was the Huế Historical Museum, an open air display of military machines: tanks, guns, helicopters, planes. If you’re at all interested in the Vietnam War aspects of history as they apply to Huế then this looked well worth a quick visit although it was possible to see quite a lot of it just from the roadside where we were.

In the next post I’ll cover the second historical site we viewed on this cruise excursion, that of the Thien Mu Pagoda (Pagoda of the Celestial Lady).