The past two days were spent in Hue the last capital of Vietnam before the French colonized the country. The city suffered through the Indochinese war with the French and what is known here as the American war. The Imperial City or the community where the king of Vietnam lived was badly damaged. Much was destroyed by the fighting when the Americans tried to take Hue and a lot was destroyed by termites the damaged seems about 60/40. There as been some restoration with the funds coming from UNESCO, but it is difficult to find workers with the skills to restore such old buildings. The last king was not a good king to the people and very much in the pocket of the French. He abandoned the capital and went to Paris is 1956 leaving Vietnam in the hands of the French. This made the rise of Communism easier for the leaders of North Vietnam to manifest. These cities amaze me. They have modern buildings, pagodas that are centuries old, and cattle still freely wander along the waterways. We also visited the ancient tomb of one of the older kings of Vietnam. When he realized that death of coming, he asked some of his loyal followers to bury him in a secret place and to leave his tomb empty. Many many years when the French came they opened his tomb expecting to find hidden treasure. What they found was nothing, not even some bones. That King got the last laugh. There were many visual treats in Hue. The dragon drums and dance to celebrate the opening of a new dress shop. a boat trip down the Perfume River, snapping pictures of little children and watching their faces as they looked at them on our camera screen, schools children being picked up by parents on scooters, and an older museum guard demanding a high five as entered a museum. We had a wonderful time in HUe and ended it with ice cream covered in toasted coconut and a demitasse of espresso poured over it. Wonderful
