Xung Khiem Pavillion

This is where Emporer Tu Duc is said to have sat to read or compose poetry. It's at the site of his tomb.

We were proper culture vultures today. We did a motorbike tour of Hue for the day and it was chilly but DRY!!! The two drivers (I'll say they're middle-aged because they're about the same age as my folks and I'd hate to call them old!) had their own stories to tell. One served with the Americans during the war and the other had been a monk for five years. We saw the Imperial City as well, which was huge! A really interesting day, which included a walk around a working monastry and an impressive pagoda too. I found the Imperial City really similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing.

So, Emporer Tu Duc had the longest reign of any Nguyen monarch (1843-1883) and he also had 104 wives. Yes! A hundered and four!!!! I thought I'd mis-understood our guide initially but no, the Lonely Planet verifies what Bill (my driver!) told us. A bit of a lad!!

******

Off to Hanoi now! The last leg of our epic adventure! We're flying this time - well we've done train & bus.....