On our second day at Hye, Vietnam, we set off to the Royal Tombs. Entrance to these were included in the 2-day pass we got when we explored the Hue Imperial Citadel the day before. Initially we planned on just taking a cab, but fortunately we consulted our AirBnB landlady and she recommended a car hire for us. Turned out to be a good decision as the tombs were pretty far and more remote than the Citadel, and we would have waited hours to get a taxi from there to go back.
On the way, we made a quick stop to the beautiful 7-storey Buddhist pagoda called Thien Mu Pagoda which was atop a hill overlooking the Perfume River.
Afterwards, we headed to the 2 Imperial Tombs: Lang Vua Minh Mang and Royal Tomb of Khai Dinh King. These tombs were built on strategic locations based on feng shui.
At the Lang Vua Ming Mang I admired the serene lake filled with lilies, and the well kept gardens.
It was a bit of a climb at the Royal Tomb of Khai Dinh King, which was a bit of a struggle in the mid-afternoon. From a distance, it was quite striking. Unlike the Lang Vua Minh Mang this was mostly made of stone.
On our way back to the BnB I contemplated the effort put through in building these great structures. It’s quite fascinating that centuries ago, royals of different countries across different geographies, prepared for their afterlife in a similar fashion. This was a common belief, despite differences in culture, traditions and languages.
Making Each Day Count 
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