A quick bus ride took us to the Phu Hoi region of Hue, where we boarded to take a quaint boat ride along the Perfume River while surrounded by central Vietnam’s greenery and environment under the guidance of tour guide Martin.
A few steps took us to the beautiful Thien Mu Pagoda, featuring the car used by Buddhist monk ThÃch Quang Ducin his fatal demonstration protest against the persecution of Buddhists in South Vietnam.
After a tour around the site’s natural scenery and Buddhist structures, we were taken to the Hue Historical Citadel, guarding the Imperial City of Hue with its towering walls and cannons. The site served as the residence of the Vietnamese Royal Family prior to the country's Republican period, featuring dining halls, courtyards, and theatres, all utilised by the family prior to the end of the monarchy in 1945.
While having sustained serious damage in the war against the French and the Vietnam War, the citadel has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, securing the future of the infinitely impressive site.
After a hot and long day, we visited a local restaurant for lunch and took some time to relax and recharge in our hotel.
To me, today has been significant in reminding me of the non-human casualties of fighting and warfare.
Environmental suffering mirrors human suffering too; when we engage in needlessly fatal combat, the structures and land around us fall into disrepair, losing potentially hundreds of years of history.
In visiting these monumentally significant sites, this has been clearer than ever, for all of us on this trip.
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