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The Imperial City
The Imperial City is, by far, the most prominent feature of the city of Hue. It sits on the Huong river, or the Perfume river as it popularly known as. It’s minutes away from the South China sea. And should be your first stop on a visit to Hue. The Vietnamese flag flutters atop the Citadel It’s exactly these features that caught the attention of Emperor Gia Long, the first ruler of the Nguyen Dynasty. Its proximity to the surrounding mountains also made it an ideal location. He went about setting a new capital in 1802, making Hue the administrative and military center of Vietnam. However, when the monarchy came…
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DMZ
All is quiet on the DMZ now. The bases and bunkers are no longer there. The country is one. And the area is a major tourist attraction. View of the Ben Hai river when driving However, it wasn’t always so. When the world’s powers convened in Geneva to try and sort out the mess the French had got themselves into in Indochina, Vietnam was split in half along the 17th parallel. A strip of land, running about 5kms on either side of the Ben Hai river separated a nation and its people. During the ensuing Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese and US-supported South fought ruthlessly, trying to gain an advantage…
