🇻🇳 (5-Day Da Nang Trip for Intermediate Perfect Match Travelers) Day 5: Hue Imperial City Tour

Day 5 of our perfect-match Da Nang free trip I clearly wrote out the whole post last night and saved it as a draft... But it seems the draft didn't actually save, lol. Everything got wiped out. Trying to rewrite it, I just can't recapture that first spark of excitement I had, so please forgive me if this post feels a bit flat. This is the last day, day 5. On the final day, we booked a tour through the place. Right after, the Hue Imperial Citadel tour started around 9am, and we had about 3 hours before checkout. Looking up at the sky, it was full of clouds, so I found myself praying it just wouldn't rain.

Since our lodging doesn't include breakfast, we walked along An Thuong street and went to a Vietnamese home-style restaurant we had visited once before.

Anan Pho 24. It's a lesser-known restaurant. I happened to stop by last year and found out it had just newly opened. I remember it was so delicious. (Similar to Grandma's Kitchen.)

I ordered quite a lot for breakfast, but... it took a while for the food to come out. Everything else was fine, but the steamed dish was a bit lacking. In the past, the meat used to be steamed thoroughly and had a deep, rich flavor, but this time — maybe because it was too early in the morning — the meat seemed only briefly steamed. It lacked that deep flavor, so it was quite a disappointing taste. I think it would be better to eat it in the afternoon if you want it to taste good. The morning pho was good though.

Moving after the meal. I stopped by a bagel shop for a quick coffee break. The coffee was cheap and the bagels were tasty too. After resting a bit, I went to get some banh mi to take out.

Right next to the bagel shop — it's the most famous banh mi place on Ant Duong Street. It's about 7 in the morning, but there are already a lot of people here. I noticed many people stopping by for a light meal.

We placed an order for 3 packs to eat during the Hue tour.

Ha... it's finally clearing up weather-wise on the last day, lol. Well, the weather was great throughout the whole trip anyway ^^ It is May, after all, haha.

It's tour time and I'm checking out, but the tour vehicle already arrived at the accommodation at 8:30.

With the friendly driver we often met, and the famous guide Park Hang-seo!!! Since the tour started right after checkout, all our luggage was loaded into the vehicle and moved with us. So we never had to worry about our luggage throughout the whole tour, haha.

One drink per person at Kongcafe branch 3!! It's on the house!!!

Cool off with a drink while listening to the guide's thorough explanation, and off we go. Total of 11 people Our team: 3 couples, 6 people Parents and son, 3 people Two men, 2 people~ I was surprised at how outstanding the guide's knowledge was. He seems to know more about Korean history than most Koreans, haha On top of that, he even wove in the story of the Hue Royal Palace, which made for a really fun explanation. We pass by Danang Beach (the Mikazuki oceanfront) and head to Hai Van Pass.

This place was an important fortress with a painful history of war.

Guide Park Hang-seo, who explains so enthusiastically in Korean!!!

When you reach the top of the pass, you can beautifully see both Da Nang city and Hue (Lang Co Beach).

After hearing enough explanation, we're crossing over Hai Van Pass. A train is passing along the railway line that connects Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. It's a train passing through Da Nang.

Rangko Beach It's a place formed by sand gathered between the river and the sea. This is also a place you should visit at least once. I really hope to go there when I get the chance.

It was around noon when I arrived in Hue. It looked like a restaurant specializing in set menus. There was already a full table of food laid out. The food was just so-so~ Since I personally came to Hue, I thought a bowl of bun bo Hue would have been good too. But since presentation matters too!! this was still a great lunch overall!

Hue Imperial Citadel Let me give you a brief explanation. This was the palace grounds of the Nguyen Dynasty, the last dynasty to make Hue its capital, and it is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can think of it as similar to our own Joseon Dynasty in Korea. It's nice to think of the interior of the palace buildings as a miniature version of China's Forbidden City. As for its size, it is slightly smaller than or about the same size as Gyeongbokgung Palace.

The inside is spacious, so we move around by electric cart. Electric bikes are also available. Details will be attached. 📢"BEST post" 🇻🇳 This is a Hue Imperial Citadel tour experience post.

This is Thien Mu Pagoda. Built in 1601, it stands on the bank of the Huong (Perfume) River. In Vietnamese, 'Thien' means 'heaven/sky' and 'Mu' means 'lady/woman'. A famous story associated with it is the sky-blue car of Venerable Thich Quang Duc. At the time, in response to the pro-French policies of the South Vietnamese government, the monk is said to have driven this very car all the way to Ho Chi Minh City to protest the discrimination against Buddhism and demand recognition of religious freedom, where he set himself on fire. The car has now been restored.

Tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh. This is the tomb of Khai Dinh (1916–1925), the twelfth emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. Compared to its gray, plain exterior, the interior is absolutely magnificent once you step inside.

After finishing all the tours like this, we return to Da Nang city around 4 o'clock. We drive on the highway, but it still takes about two hours.

Our team had extra time before our flight, so we requested a drop-off at the spa we booked. We didn't have much time, so we requested delivery to Banh Mi House. You delivered it in person! Delivery fee 40,000 VND.

A completely satisfying Noah Spa!!! From start to finish, in every little detail, the service and everything else made it such a meticulous, careful spa experience.

I was able to get to the airport using the pickup vehicle.

Looks like your luggage is quite full haha

Got in fast through the fast track!! I filled my hungry stomach with banh mi I brought from outside and water I bought from the vending machine.

The flight back home!! VietJet!!! Narrow but cozy. I couldn't stretch my legs out, but the seats fit me snugly like an F1 cockpit!! It was such an enjoyable 5-day trip.

What I ate after coming back home was, as always, kimchi stew (jjigae) haha

That's the end of my 5-day intermediate Danang trip with my acquaintances!! Thanks so much to Mr. Hosidamtam and Ms. Hohokilkil who traveled with me! I can't write a lot, but my friend and I are getting quite teary-eyed. Cheer up!!! Let's go on another fun trip together next time!!!