Hi! I'm back from a business/leisure trip from Vietnam & just revisited Hue. I figured that your net-folk will appreciate this information.

Hue is Vietnam's enduring old capital. No other city in Vietnam that encapsulates the dramatic beauty, tragedy & resurrection of Vietnam's fortunes.

Like many independent travellers, I made my way to Hue by train from Danang. The clanking and deafening Saigon-Hanoi Express is not the most comfortable or restful of train rides in the world but the 16 hour stretch between Danang and Hue must rank as one of the scenically spectacular rail journeys in Asia. Much of this stretch of the railway desperately hugs the mountainous coastline. The old diesel engined train ride provides the stunning vista of superb sunsets in the glistening turquoise waters of the South China Sea while clinging to the craggy cliffs. This visual feast will go to great lengths to soothe the otherwise jaw-wrecking train ride. Along the way, at brief stops, your wired-up window will be constantly harangued by clamorous hawkers and food vendors who cling on to the side of the train carriages selling coca colas, conical bamboo hats & munchies.

Even though, I took the sleeper berth, the ride was frequently puncuated with roving swarms of commando-trained mosquitoes that will not be repelled by Off! or any other American insect repellant. Only the Elephant Brand mosquito coil appears to have any effect on these blood-thirsty, malaria-carrying mauraders.

Arriving at the Hue Railway Station, a gaggle of cyclo drivers (a cycle rickshaw) will home in on you with more accuracy than a laser-guided cruise missile. Any ride on any cyclo to anywhere in Hue will cost you = a princely sum of 10,000=D0 (about =A5110). Even though the Americans beat a hasty retreat in the 1970s, everybody's English is minimally conversant to "Wan doe-lah", "Cheep Cheep, I give you", or "You want woman sir?" Sadly, even the dollar- driven sex tourism that was pioneered in Bangkok and Pattaya has also reached Hue.

Hue offers an assorted range of travel accommodation. There are the usual guesthouses devoted to gaijin tourists, akin to the style of the many guesthouses in Thailand. I stayed at the French colonial styled Morin Hotel (US$4.00 per night) which has seen better days. The cavernous rooms and jalopy pre-WWII fan wasa scene right out The Lover. Be sure to patch the mandatory holes in the mosquito net with scotch tape or else make sure the Elephant Brand is handy.

Nevertheless, the Morin was a delightful stay with an excellent restaurant serving some of the best French baguettes this side of the Seine. This has to be the French's greatest legacy to Indo-China because one can get the greatest French bread & cuisine in Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Saigon & Vientiane. Sometimes, the locals will come in to the restaurant and partake in karaokay and a Huda or BGI beer.

Hue cuisine is also a must-try and the banh khoai, a more humble but no less delicious version of the crepe is a guaranteed belly-filler. This is a cr=EApe with bean sprouts, shrimp and meat is an excellent tapas like snack that must be accompanied by an ice-chilled Huda, the local Hue brewsky. The rest of Hue cuisine includes the famous sweet soup (che), Vietnamese spring rolls and banh nam (a flat cake of rice flour, meat, shrimp fried in a banana leaf).,

For those seeking pleasures of a more cerebral nature, the main highlights of Hue are its historical treasures that include the Citadel and Imperial City. This was the seat of power of the Nguyen Dynasty before the French began the onslaught of foreign conquerors of this once great city by the Perfume River.

The most imposing surviving structures is the complex of buildings that is behind the grand entrance the Imperial City. These include the Five-Phoenix Pavilion, the Hall of Salutation and the Palace of Supreme Harmony. These buildings are pretty tatty looking as years of warfare and neglect will diminish the luster of even the most regal monuments.

The Imperial Courts that are found in this Entrance Complex used to be thick with royal pomp and ceremony when the Nguyen Court held sway are now replaced with the frenzied activity with restorers fueled by conservation monies from Vietnam's previously uninvited guests, the French, Japanese and the Americans. Like all good Confucianist, feudal systems, the different levels of the throne room of the Palace of Supreme Harmony in front of the throne was proportionate to the standing of the mandarins and they too were differentiated in the social order of things.

The ornate blood red pillars with swirling fighting dragon motifs, gold walls and trimmings of just the entrance complex to the Imperial City speak volumes of what the actual Imperial City looked like before it was irrevocably destroyed by the travails of the siege of Hue during the Tet Offensive.

The spooky levelled remains of the Forbidden Purple City, the long overgrown elephant grass of the compounds, decapitated stone lions, scattered pieces of blasted stone, bullet pocked marked walls have replaced the splendor of the private quarters of Emperor, his courtiers, royalty and their consorts. The mammoth and stained Nine Dynastic Urns weighing some 1900 to 2600 kg each, symbolize the long-lost power and stability of the Nguyen court. The architectural beauty of Angkor delivers to the traveller, a message of greatness past; but the ruins of Hue delivers a less uplifting message of madness past.

The Imperial City is a crying legacy of grandeur and magnificence past. Perhaps the sight of Vietnamese, French, Japanese and American restorers working hand-in-hand, instead of hand- to-hand combat, in preserving & restoring the treasures of Hue will provide the much-needed closure of this scarred asian alcazar.

Fortunately, the lunacy of war spared the other great heritage of the Nguyen dynasty, the Emperors' Royal Tombs. The Vietnamese Emperors were greatly influenced by their Chinese counterparts. The Tombs of the Nguyen Dynasty was a perfect compliment to the vision of many rulers past, who wanted a lasting & temporal legacy to their rule on Earth.

The Tombs of the Nguyen Dynasty are a sprawling complex of tombs that are interspersed along the hills that flank the Perfume River that bisects Hue city into two. Most of the tombs can be accessible by car or bicycle (you better be fit!) Prices vary and a good deal for a car for all the tombs is about US$8.00 to US$15.00. But you got to be a real tomb fan to check out all them. I would only recommend the Tomb of Minh Mang and Tomb of Tu Duc.

Minh Ming's Tomb in particular is the best example of the architecture of these splendid burial sites. Vietnamese Emperors, in the footsteps of the Chinese Emperors, had ornamented their eternal abodes with embellished and silent stone elephants, lions and mandarins guarding and paying everlasting homage to the Emperor. These silent sentinels may not be as spectacular as the Pyramids but they provide a serene and regal retreat for dead royalty and a source of curiosity for the living visitor.

En route to Minh Mang's actual tomb, you will pass a stele pavilion bearing the Emperor's eulogy, three large courtyards and the Emperor's altar dedicated to his eternal prosperity and longevity. The tomb itself is a large mound of dirt with an aged bronze circular door (the main entrance) that represents the sun. The rest of the Emperors' Tombs follow this basic pattern and unless you are real tomb fan, the Tomb of Minh Mang and/or the Tomb of Tu Duc will suffice. Tu Duc's Tomb, in particular, is special for its near whimsical and fantasy-like landscaping with the island in the middle of the lake that is crowded with overgrown floating lotus plants.

Another must-see in Hue is the stately Thien Mu pagoda. Perched on a high hill overlooking the Perfume River, this pagoda is one of the most charming hallmarks of Hue. Dedicated to a 16th century female seer who declared that great prosperity will come to the land if a Buddhist pagoda was built on the site. Eager not to defy this oracle, the seven level pagoda was built by Lord Nguyen Hoang. The best way to approach the pagoda is by boat. A ride in the Perfume River will quickly alert the visitor that the Perfume River is no longer that perfumed but it does allow a peek at the lifestyle of some of the boathouses that dot the riverbanks. These families used to fish in the river and some try to eke out a living by providing river transport but most have surrendered their lifestyles to the cheap and notorious traveller.

My boat was berthed along a rickety wooden jetty of the Thien Mu Pagoda. Be nimble and quick when crossing the gangway which has clearly seen many better days. It is not that much of a toil to scale the stairs up to get the Pagoda, although at first glance, the stairs can look a little forbidding.

The Thien Mu pagoda is also another link to the tragic Vietnam War. The first monk to douse in petrol & set fire to himself in Saigon during the Ngo Dinh Diem presidency came from this pagoda. The quietly rusting blue Austin mini that he drove all the way from Hue to Saigon is a macabre memorial of that fratricidal conflict of the 1960s. There are also some grisly photographs of the immolated monk capturing one of the searing images of the Vietnam War.

For a more in-your-face introduction to the Vietnam War, one should simply visit the DMZ. Although, it is possible to take in the DMZ independently. Use a public bus from Hue's An Hoa Bus Station to Dong Ha (20,000=D0). Dong Ha serves as a springboard for exploring the DMZ. But I highly recommend getting a guided organized tour from many of the Hue hotels (132,000=D0) or at Dong Ha (110,000=D0). This may be more expedien= t; in view of the scores of live mines and unexploded ordnance, courtesy of the US military. Also a guide can give you an immediate grounding in Vietnam War 101 and make sense of an ordinary bomb crater to a historically significant bomb crater.

If you have this lust for death defying thrills, rent a motorscooter (US$10/- the whole day) from rental shops at Dong Ha & bike your way around the DMZ. Hopefully, you will live to tell about it.

Like most real battlefields, the DMZ is largely barren, desolate & forbidding (a little bit like Sam & Dave's on Tuesday night). With large bomb crater lakes dotting the rice battle scared soil. Names that resonate from all those Vietnam War movies, the Ben Hai River, Khe Sanh, Con Thien Firebase and the Rockpile are all within easy reach. But the most interesting relic of the DMZ is found north of the Ben Hai River, the Vinh Moc Tunnels.

I found this underground complex much more intriguing and satisfying as compared with the Cu Chi tunnels outside Saigon. The Vinh Moc Tunnels (admission 50,000=D0 ) was actually an underground city with a 2.8 km. network of hand dug tunnels burrowed 25m underground! The walkways would pose a commuting hazard to people taller than 1.5 m or wider than 1.2 m, effectively ruling out the entire population of the West, save for Danny DeVito or Dustin Hoffman. So be prepared to bend and wiggle your way around. The creature comforts included a maternity ward (with 17 miraculous deliveries in the most basic of conditions), a deep fresh water spring, family residences and utility areas. These tunnels are a monumental testament to the tenacity and resolution of the Vietnamese in the face of one of the world's most devastating onslaught of military bombing.

Back in Hue, one will see the rebirth of Vietnam, struggling with the fruits & evils of capitalism and modernization. Slowly but surely. Sadly, some of the seediness of Saigon is already visible in Hue with the cyclo riders hawking "You one whooman, Mister. Cheep! Cheep! Five doe-lah" and the many red lanterned shophouses with glassy eyed male patrons squatting in a queue. One finds the vital energy & reckless capitalism of Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the stately, cautious charm & tempered optimism in Hanoi. For Hue, there is the work-in-progress marriage of history's majesty and malevolence.