International Treasures

Legend has it that the countless rock formations dotting the seascape of Halong Bay are the result of a prehistoric dragon's crash into the water, the dragon sent by the gods to protect the country from an invading army. Whatever the explanation, the result is magical.

Halong Bay is one of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites we are visiting on our journey. As of 2012, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization lists 962 sites around the world that are "of special cultural or physical significance." Explore the UNESCO link to discover remarkable places!

In Hue yesterday and today we visited the complex of monuments (the Imperial City, the Forbidden Purple City and surrounding grounds) designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1993. This historic example of the Vietnamese feudal empire, at its height in the 19th century and ending in 1945, brought an aspect of the country's history vividly to our attention.

We are so lucky that someone, some organization, has said: "Hey, dudes. This is important. Pay attention." I feel this way about the National Parks in the United States. Important cultural and physical places are highlighted for everyone to experience. We are so lucky.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Thien Mu Pagoda

This morning (10/15, if my gmail is to be believed) we woke to clear blue skies and the sound of a million scooters and motorbikes passing the Saigon Morin Hotel in Hue.  We walked across an adjacent park to the Purple River, where we enjoyed a leisurely cruise down the river in a broad boat clearly intended for tourists.  Never missing an opportunity to encourage tourist trade, the boat was full of tchatchkes for us to purchase.

Around several bends (and many photos later of low-sitting barges carrying gravel up river to construction sites) we cam to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a seven-story octagonal tower called the "Source of Happiness Tower."  According to my guidebook, this pagoda was founded in 1601.

Walking into the compound, one comes upon a wonderful shrine, where a Buddhist monk occasionally strikes the large brass bowl shown below. Those wanting to pray enter this space, while the rest of us tourists stand back but are allowed to take photographs. The sound of that deep gong resonated throughout. 

What I didn't know was that this was the home monastery of Thich Nhat Hanh.  Young monks were quietly walking to their quarters while tourists streamed through the very restful retreat.  A collection of bonzai trees sat within a courtyard.  Young pines provide shade at the rear of the property, where fencing is reinforced with rusted barbed wire.

The unexpected emotional whallop was the car, shown below.  This is the vehicle driven to Saigon by monk Thich Quang Duc and his brother monks in 1963.  The plaque in front of the vehicle, and the photo behind it, honor this monk who, surrounded by the other monks, immolated himself in protest against the Diem regime.  For those of us who remember the news of this event, this quiet memorial within the peaceful setting had a powerful impact.

Impact of war

Striking to me is how little we see of the devastation from the war, despite knowing that Hue in particular was subjected to intensive street-to-street fighting, particularly the two months following the Tet Offensive.  Yesterday (Sunday 10/14) we visited the Imperial Citadel, home to the last (puppet) emperor of the Nguyen dynasty, and there could see the demolished walls and open spaces where the majority of this compound had been destroyed completely.  But the degree to which Vietnam has rebuilt itself over the past 35 years is remarkable.

Part òf Citadel that hás not bêen restored.

 

Lush vegetation covers remnants of what had been the royal 

headquarters òf the last emperor of the Nguyen dynasty.

Driving through the mountain range that separates DaNang to the south from Hue to the north (Hue is halfway between DaNang and the DMZ), I noticed that the vegetation while quite lush seemed very young.  Even the fast growing bamboo and pines were small in diameter.  Huy confirmed this: the area had been a dense jungle, easy for Viet Cong ambushes, and thus was bombed, strafed, otherwise demolished.  He mentioned returning to this region with a Vietnam Vet and his Vietnamese driver who had made the trip between Hue and DaNang at least three times a week, firing his automatic weapon continuously for the entire way.

View from rest stop enroute to Hue

One lasting legacy surprised me: the US flew overhead and dropped seeds of a very fast-growing (can we say, invasive?) vine that quickly took over the area.  This vine -- with its dark green leaves and silver undersides -- could quickly telegraph any movement through the terrain.  So yet one more environmental legacy we've left -- a vine that continues to grow throughout the area.  Maybe not as devastating as the impact of Agent Orange on the wildlife which will suffer for generations from mutation and extinction, but still...