Our first stop of the day was the picturesque seven story Thien Mu Pagoda, the unofficial symbol of the city of Hue. It was built in 1602 by the first of the Nguyen lords.
After witnessing several nasty falls, Walt and I do not like to climb steep, uneven, old stone steps that do not have a handrail. Instead of going up with the group, we admired the pagoda from street level and then sat watching the dragon boats come and go. Although we were approached many times by women asking us to buy a ticket for a boat ride, we kept refusing and eventually they gave up.
When the group returned, we began the main activity of the day - a cooking lesson with a local chef. We traveled first to the public market where we met one of the chef's assistants who took us around to various stalls and told us about the items which were being sold. He also pointed out the absence of flies and the cleanliness of the stalls.
After the market tour, our bus took us to the chef's home, which is also her vegetarian/vegan restaurant. It was quite an impressive building surrounded by a large garden. The chef, a descendant of Vietnamese royalty, showed us around the gardens and the building that houses the altar honoring her ancestors. She spoke exceptionally good English and told us many interesting stories.
Near the entrance is an area where pieces of art are displayed outside. Although it was difficult to find an artist who would agree to having his works displayed outside, she did eventually find one who liked the idea.
We arranged ourselves into groups of three, and prepared spring rolls according to the chef's instructions. I wish I could make them again, but unfortunately the main vegetable in the recipe does not seem to be available in the U.S. We ate the rolls at lunch in addition to several other vegetarian dishes. I confess that even though I really enjoyed the vegetarian lunch, all I wanted for dinner that night was a hamburger. We took a group picture with the chef before we left.
The street outside our final stop of the day was lined with incense shops. We stopped in one and were given a brief lesson on how incense sticks are made. One member of our group accepted the invitation to make a stick of her own while I took the opportunity to take a picture of the shop cat.
We finished the day at the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc who ruled from 1848 to 1883. It was enjoyable to wander around in such a peaceful, wooded place. There were not many other people visiting the site this late in the afternoon.
Most of the work in the complex was completed many years before Tu Duc's death so he and his 104 wives and concubines were able to enjoy a lavish lifestyle here. They spent their time boating on the lake, hunting on the small island in its center, and composing poetry.
Unfortunately, the construction work had required a lot of labor and extra tax money so there was a coup against Tu Duc, but he prevailed against it. Another misfortune was that he was unable to father a son despite his many wives and concubines, possibly because he was sterile due to contracting smallpox.
When Tu Duc died, he was actually buried in a different location, and the 200 laborers who buried him were all beheaded so the site would remain a secret.
I really enjoyed our time in Hue. I think it is my favorite of the cities in Vietnam that we visited.