A quick update on my heel, I occasionally suffer from gout but have never experienced it in my heel that is until now. I have tablets which I am taking along with painkillers and hopefully it will run it’s course fairly quickly.
We had quite a bumpy night on our way to Chan May and as we were making our final approach conditions deteriorated even more. At 9:30 the captain made an announcement over the PA that due to port congestion our arrival had been delayed.
There was another ship occupying our berth that needed tug boats to assist with departing.
We eventually made it in but an hour later than planned and even though it was pouring down, everyone was dead keen to get off.
Today we joined 5 others from our Cruise Critic Roll Call for a trip into Hue to visit the Citadel which is where the last king of Vietnam, Bao Dai, stepped down on August 30th, 1945. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site covering a large area all surrounded by a large moat. Time was of the essence and we hurriedly made our way around the highlights with our umbrellas up. Much of it is not in a great state of repair and our guide said that this was down to the communist regime that took over when the king abdicated.
On the way to our second site, we stopped at an incense making shop to see how the sticks are made and the opportunity to buy direct from the manufacturer. It was very colourful and at least it wasn’t carpets!!
From there we then visited the tomb of King Tu Duc, which is said to be the most popular and impressive of all the royal mausoleums. It houses courtyards, pavilions, temples, and chambers. Our guide told us about its fascinating history and the king’s life of imperial luxury.
It wasn’t until the end of this part of the tour that it stopped raining and today, all the photos you see are from my phone, there weren’t that many of them to choose from either.
The drive back to the ship took 75 minutes and our late start meant we never got as much time as we had hoped. They were 60 minutes late in but only delayed departure by 30 minutes and darkness had fallen by the time we got back.
My heel held up and I was able to make it all the way around with the others but boy was it hard going. The weather didn’t make matters any better either but it was great to see another part of the world but it did feel great to get back onboard the ship today.
Oh, I remember the Citadel and the Imperial City of Huế. It was most impressive 17 years ago and judging by your photos is still on point! But the thing that really caught my eye was the fish. They were huge and everywhere! ‘Reminded me of killer fish in horror films to be honest!
‘Sorry to hear about your foot. ‘Hope it got better.
Good to see you’re not allowing the gout to spoil your cruise.
Nice to hear from you again Garf, I hope all is well with you. ????
We have been to Vietnam by cruise a number of times but never managed to get to Hue. You have some great pictures despite the rain. As a fellow gout sufferer, on allopurinol, I doubt your heel problem is gout (which mainly affects the toes) You may have strained the heel boarding the longtail boat in Bangkok. i was surprised you boarded on the main river and not taken to the actual canals. Still ,I hope that the pain killers keep you mobile enough to enjoy the rest of the cruise and visits
Fun day! Hope the gout goes away.
This brings back memories of Hue. We were on a Celebrity President’s Cruise and Elite members were invited to dinner and a show at the Citadel. We were greeted by costumed waiters and sat down for dinner in the courtyard. As they brought out lobster the rain began to pour down. The servers brought out umbrellas and kept us dry, but the rain became worse. Eventually the buses came for us and everyone ran. When we reached the ship we were handed dry cleaning coupons and the next day we found a DVD of the show we should have seen on our bed.