After visiting the Citadel we walked over to the Museum of Royal Antiquities. It was a pretty small facility with three buildings displaying items. The first is a large wooden building similar to those found in the citadel. It is constructed in the double turtle with spiral style using 128 columns. It contained possessions and clothing of the royal family. The second featured Cham sculptures and the last was dedicated to the artist and former emperor King Ham Nghi. He was exiled by the French in 1889. Then we headed back across the perfume river to the last royal tomb. Khải Định was the last Vietnamese emperor to serve until his death. His tomb was started in 1920 and completed in 1931 six years after his death. To say that this tomb is lavish is an understatement. While looking at it I was reminded of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Every square inch is decorated from the floor to the ceiling. We drove back to Da Nang via a different route, one that passed through forested mountains. A very beautiful drive and quite enjoyable.
Antiquities lie within
Flanked by bronze bells
Supported by dragons
A ring of cannons and sculptures
A big strangler fig
Destructive Majestic General is the name of the 310 mm caliber cannon. One of two cast in 1834
More cannon
Several bells surrounded the building
Carved nautical scene
The emperor does not ride, he is carried
It is so very fancy
There were specific sets of clothing for the many official activities the emperor attented
Hand embroidered with supreme detail
The border of many colors on the bottom is delightful
Carved wooden doors
Dragons holding up a celestial orb
A game in which the small sticks to the left are tossed into this jar
Actually they are tossed to a drum and bounced into the jar, falling through the jar and making a sound when they reach the bottom
Wooden crab
Superior decorations on this bronze
In the Cham sculpture wing
Not many items
But those that are here are of the highest quality
Cute elephants
Ugly ogres
Some serious dental work
The exiled emperor
Noce mustache
Very reminiscent of the impressonist style
His royal stamp
The design on the bottom
Out through the walls
The most overloaded motorbike of them all. She could barely pass through the gaps in the cars and many other bikes felt the need to honk at her
Boats on the river
Still have the New Years Decorations up
A fine fountain
Balloons and a play area
All in matching outfits
Turban woman
A riverside temple
Year of the snake
The flags waving in the wind
Passing this pagoda by
Starting to leave Hue behind
The tomb!
Some western elements
Guards made of stone
I had to get shorted to fit in with the stone men
Flowers and stone
The dragons all have exaggerated eyes
Green eyed monster
A bat that did not make it
The western style is apparent on top of the windows
This dragon has a bit of a nose
Not much color on the outside
The grand entrance
Color everywhere on the interior
The ceiling
Here he lies in state
Good lighting
Ceramic inlay on the walls
A photo of the emperor
A huge lamp hanging from the ceiling
Little scenes up at the top
Detailed scenes in the wall panels
So much going on!
A peaceful pose
A western style clock
Gold inlay on bronze
Very delicate
The emperor at work
A huge bronze piece
Some nice flowers off to the side
Some 130 steps to get to this level, 130 to get back down
Heading back out
A white stone plaque
Armed guards of stone
Sword at the ready
One final flight of stairs
Crossing the river again
No motorcycles, push carts, bikes, pedicabs, golf carts, pedestrians, horse drawn carts or tractors
We followed a river valley
Criss crossing the river
Some egrets
The mountains got taller as er traveled further
A dam on the river
Misty mountain tops off in the distance
Swaths of bamboo
Big trees
A jungle like area
No trumpets allowed
Getting towards sunset
A large viaduct ahead
A huge bus is in our lane and not giving way!
