Day 3: Perfume River

Today was mostly a short sightseeing day because we had to catch a flight in the evening to Ho Chin Minh (Saigon). 

After breakfast, we took a boat trip on Perfume River. It is a river the crosses the city of Hue; in the autumn, flowers from orchards fall into the water, giving the river a perfume like aroma, hence the name. 

Personally, visiting forts and palaces are my least favorite thing to see and do when traveling abroad. In my opinion, once you've seen a fort or palace, you've seen them all. I say this because they tend to be so similar. However, there are always some differences. Today, we also visited the Citidal from the Imperial Nguyen Dynasty of 13 Kings which was the last feudal family in Vietnam. The weather was hot and very humid in Hue city so the only thing I recall from our guided tour of the palace was that if anyone, other then the king, wanted to enter the area where 500 of his wives lived they had to have their penises chopped off first and then they could enter. Ouch!! 

Below: I got to be the king for a few seconds. 

My most favorite part of the palace was probably the gardens. There were many beautiful flowers and trees. Below are some pictures of them. 

After the fort/palace we made a quick stop to a Buddhist Temple. We removed our shoes as a sign of respect and took a look around. Below are some pictures of the entrance to the temple and Happy Buddha. 

Our last stop was at the Dong Ha market to do some shopping. It was interesting to see all of the different types of fruits and vegetables displayed in the market for locals to purchase. The market seemed endlessly large as we were guided through a labrynth of clothing, food, and other every day items. Below are some pictures of the market. 

Tomorrow we will be exploring some places in Saigon. Thanks for visiting my blog and learning more about the beautiful country of Vietnam. Good night!