firth1974

The 3 kings tombs - The Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc. And finally............................ Tu Duc is the only Emperor who moved his household into his own tomb, building a Forbidden City of his own on the grounds, making this tomb the most opulent of all royal tombs. The guy builds himself a beautiful little Citadel to house all his family, and this photo ends up being his tomb that he is incaserated in!!!!....................

The 3 kings Tombs - Emperor Khai Dinh. The 2nd tomb of the day was the Emperor Khai Dinh, who i have a feeling was one of the last Emperor's of Vietnam. Apparently, the guy had about 8 wife's, no children though, as he loved to smoke a bit of bloke whenever he could.(That means he was gay!!) An unrepentant Francophile, Emperor Khai Dinh ordered a tomb that has heavy French elements within its design. Compared to his predecessors’ tombs, Khai Dinh’s final resting place is more “monumental” in style.

Booked another day trip through the hotel again, this time the trip was the Hue city tour. The trip took in the 3 kings tombs south of Hue, a Voi An karate class, then back into Hue to visit the ancient Citadel and finally onto the Thien Mu Pagoda, which was the home and temple of Thich Quang Duc, and now the resting place of his historic and (in)famous car. We finished the day of by taking a Dragon boat from the temple back into the centre of Hue. I will split all of this day up into separate threads, so i hope you dont get lost. The 3 kings tombs - Part 1 - The Minh Mang Royal tomb. Minh Mang Royal tomb reflects the emperor’s staunch traditionalism – laid out in a classical Chinese scheme with a symmetry that no other royal tomb approaches

Good shout. Thread now moved.

Yep, absolutely correct.

Thanks Bluechef. I do what I can to keep the members happy. But my camera has taken a big dump, so it might be time to upgrade soon, once I can afford it.

Hmmmmmmm, I'll let you off if you vote green on one of my it her posts somewhere

I would be double checking your departure terminal if I was you, as it won't be the new terminal then. Signs in LHR this afternoon just stated end of August.

Agreed. Wouldn't mind a few hours with her. Werner Herzog

Thanks mate. Not sure what they do or use to look after these old machines. If it had being Korea, i would be posting from a Gulag right now!!lol

The former Doc Mieu firebase, now an NVA cemetery................................ The last remaining reminder that this was once a Marine base........................

Crossing the Ben Hai river and the 17th parallel............................... The Vinh Moc tunnel complex..................................

The DMZ Tour. (I would love to hear any stories of these places from any Vets that we might have on the board). This tour i was really looking forward to. This is everything i had heard, read about and seen in movies, and it was good to actually put places to these names. It was just unlucky that it absolutely dumped it down all morning, so much so,that the rain seeped into my camera, forcing it to go tits up!!! (never really took any photos using the monitor screen anyway, so no loss to me). Started the day with a 07.00am pick up from my hotel in Hue, then drove all the way up to Quang Tri to pick up our guide for the day.(It is actually a good 2.5 hour drive there). Drove up highway 1, stopped to have a look at The Rockpile. Then more up Highway 1, turning off onto Route 9 and to Khe Sanh. Stopped at a bridge(sorry forgot its name) which was the start of the Ho Chi Minh trail in South Vietnam. Just driving down this road, you could see just how rugged the mountains are, and wonder how anyone managed to build a secret road or build a combat base, never mind laying siege to the place!!!! Afterwards, drove off for lunch somewhere. After lunch, we drove back up Highway 1, into the actual DMZ(a 5km area clear of military, either side of the 17th parrallel), and over the Ben Hai river( which marked the border). Driving in this area is like driving on the moon. It is completely flat, and pock marked with bomb craters all over the place. Then drove onto the Vinh Moc tunnels, which were used by the civilian population to escape the bombings by the US. These tunnels are DEEP, and some have been widened to allow western tourists to enter, but not all of them. This place was bombed badly in the 60/70's, due to its proximity to the island of Con Co,that had a defensive position, stopping the US ships in that area from entering the Gulf of Tonkin.(the beach at Vinh Moc was were the boats to the island took men and weapons and supplies). After the tunnels, we headed south again, over the river and stopped at the former Doc Mieu firebase, which is now an NVA cemetery. Stopped here for around 30mins, then carried on south again and dropped the guide of at Quang Tri, and headed of back to Hue and the end of very long day. The Rockpile. One of the main observation posts overlooking the DMZ into the North......................... This bridge now marks the start of what was once called the Ho Chi Minh Trial on Route 9.......... Looking down the Ho Chi Minh Trail................ Walking onto the Khe Sanh Combat Base....................

Thanks Forny. Just had that one answered on another board, apparently it is a MI - 6

I think we will have to agree to disagree, it wasnt really funny at all. Rosamund Pike.

You can even sit in the cockpit of a MIG-21, and realise just how much of a squeeze it is in there. How there managed to dogfight, i have no idea at all!!!.............

This is one big ass helicopter. Does any know what its name is?................. Compared to the cars, you can se just how big this monster really is...................... Surprised actually, that most of these jets on show still have their engines inside.................. Uncle Ho gets everywhere........................ Believe it or not, this is actually a bomb shelter, and if you could actaully see just how thick the rope is, you'll realise just how tight it must be in there........

Military history buff time again.(For those that like war related things). I paid a visit to the Vietnamese Air Force/Air Defence museum in Hanoi. Stroke of luck finding this place really, as i came across it whilst reading some reviews of other places in Hanoi on Tripadvisor. That website is fantastic for research. The museum is located on the old disused Bach Mai airfield, and located towrds the south end of Hanoi. You would think even having a map (written in vietnamese) and the address written in vietnamese script, that a taxi should have no problems finding this place. Wrong! Apparently its not easy to find, and after driving around a bit, and me fantically pointing at aircraft on the side of the road, my driver found it!! Entrance fee i believe was only 15,000 VND, and like all other museums in vietnam, closes for lunch and doesnt open again on time afterwards. Security guard had to call the museum for the girl to come and collect my entrance fee. Had to wait 15 mins for the girl to turn up, and in that time the guard gave me his seat in the shade and a glass of ice water. Who says communists arent friendly people, i felt touched by his act of kindness. Tripadvisor says allow 1 hour here, but i would say 2-2.5 hours is enough to get around it all at a steady pace. No restaurant inside, or even drinks machines, so amke sure you have your own water with you. Bad mistake on my part not having any this time. Propaganda at its best!!..................... Every museum you go to have some kind of shot down aircraft junk, this one is noexception!!..........

The Worlds End.

Mrs Doubtfire

Good morning, Vietnam.

Vietnamese weddings. They seemed to be all the rage when i was there a couple of weeks ago. All these young Viet couples having their pre/post wedding photos done. Must be an asian craze thing! Even an American couple were getting in on the wedding act as well....................