Today was an interesting mix of travel and sights. We started in Hoi An on the road to Da Nang and were able to see what we missed on the night ride in construction. The Da Nang coast is being rapidly developed as a tourist destination with resorts and hotels. There is much debate about how this may help a depressed community.

Our first stop was at the marble mountain outside of Da Nang. The mountain is home to many Buddhist shrines and it was here that we learned that the buddha was given life when a white elephant visited his mother in her dreams. Nine months later, he cut his way out of his mother with a sword. the marble mountain complex is vast and the stairs and pathways to connect the sites are uneven. Still it was fun to walk around and discover the buddhas in their grottoes.

We next stopped briefly at a beach on the South China Sea. It was not the official China Beach, but was very representative of the scenery. Unfortunately we could not continue up the cloudy pass since the weather had turned and it was raining. Instead we followed highway 1A north from Da Nang to Hue. The road wound through some scenery that is the stereotype for Vietnam. You could look out the windows and see rice paddies from the bottom of the foothills to the edge of the sea. Since it was still drizzling, everything looked greener and more lush. The road itself was in good condition and the drive passed without incident thanks to some information the bus driver received at lunch. It appears that cops all over the world like to speed trap. We didn't speed until we were past!

After three hours on the road, we reached Hue. We immediately headed to the forbidden city (The Citadel)- the seat of the Vietnamese emperor until 1954. Vietnam had been ruled by an emperor for centuries and the forbidden city encompassed those functions which were necessary for the emperor.

We entered through the massive Ngo Mon Gate which had five portals. The emperor always walked through the center flanked by his mandarins to the right and left portals. The outermost portals were for animals including elephants. Once through the gate, you enter a courtyard where the mandarins stood by rank to receive training. The education is based on a Chinese system and unless other matters prevented it (war, famine) the exams were administered every three years with the emperor himself announcing those who passed.

From the courtyard, you enter the palace where the emperor sat on a raised throne behind a thick curtain of incense. This was for his own protection as well as to enhance the perception of his godliness. The emperor would be attended by many eunuchs who acted as gatekeepers and his mother (if he was not old enough).

Behind the palace lies the domestic household of the emperor which was strictly forbidden to outsiders. There is not much left of these buildings because they were bombed during the Tet Offensive. Many Viet Cong troops took refuge in the forbidden city complex and were bombed, destroying the buildings. Now, with the help of UNESCO, the buildings are being rebuilt and the entire complex is being restored to it's former glory.

Our final stop in the forbidden city was the section devoted to worshipping the emperor's ancestors. This is the most ornate and beautiful part of the entire complex. It houses a huge building that contained the remains of emperors past.