Our next stop was a large palace, The Imperial Citadel, that dates back many centuries. The perimeter walls of the fortress are well restored, but the interior grounds have not recovered from heavy bombing during the war. This site is very similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing. There are palaces for the king and his queens as well as separate structures for his concubines. The king was a busy man with over 100 concubines. As we visited the Palace of Supreme Harmony it was necessary to step over a six inch high threshold. As Alice put her foot down, something gave way behind her right knee. She could bend the knee,but she could not put weight on that leg. She would lean on me the rest of the day whenever we moved.
We finished this tour at the king's tomb. It is empty. He was buried with his treasure. He was so concerned about tomb raiders that he had arranged his whole funeral in advance. This included the execution of all in attendance as they left the temple. No one knows where he was buried, and no treasure was ever found.
Alice took a taxi back to the bus. The driver had agreed to a fare of $1. Even when 3 other passengers joined her he was willing to accept just $1. They decided to pay him $1 each and he was delighted. This region is very poor with an average worker earning just $3,000 to $5,000 per year.
Then we visited another temple before the long ride back to the ship.
Our tour guide was born after the war, and had relocated to Da Nang from Hannoi. He learned English in the university where he studied tourism. He had been steered to this as a way to make a better than average living. When you consider the tips he earns, he is upper middle class.
Our guide in Da Nang, Loi
It was 7:40 when we limped aboard. This was too late to visit the medical center. We hobbled up to dine in the lido. Then it was off to bed. Alice had a fitful night, but we were both glad to have made it through the day.
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