Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Hue Day Tour End, Dinner, Marou Dessert and Banh Mi O Tho Supper

 

After the tour, and having a short coffee break at Cong Caphe, it was around 5pm by then. We don't really have any place else we wanted to go to, so we decided to have dinner. I wanted to eat some rice and this looked like a rice shop! I can recognise the word rice in Vietnamese :P

The name of the restaurant. We were so early we weren't even sure if they are opened for business yet. But we were welcome in, and it was rather empty inside with just us.

A friend of ours recommended we try some of the local beers in central Vietnam, so I ordered a Huda to try. We were given 2 glasses so my friend tried some as well. 

Dinner was simple. My friend did most of the ordering. I told her I just wanted to sour soup. She ordered fried fish, and some fried prawn fritters. I think she miss Chinese food, lol. If it was me, I would never order something so ordinary!

The sour soup was not as sour as I had hope it to be. They used tomatoes and pineapple instead of tamarind to make the soup. My friend doesn't eat the pineapple so I got all of it. Compare to Cambodian food, I think I prefer Cambodian sour soup for sure!

I did like the prawn fritters, mainly cause it reminded me of those I had when I was a kid and attending some family dinner at a restaurant. But again, the version here kinda lack something to it.....

After dinner, it was still pretty early. We walked around exploring the small shopping street and came across a chocolate shop called Marou.

They sold chocolate macarons inside, and my friend suggested we get some to share as our dessert. How could I say no to chocolate macaron in a lovely chocolate shop!

Look how lovely they serve it! The plate itself was so pretty! It wasn't cheap though, but it was a very nice experience to sit in a chocolate salon to enjoy these little bites of delight! Sometimes, it is nice to be able to afford small luxuries like these :)

I love the plate!

The coaster was so pretty too! I suddenly regret I didn't take it home with  me. Marou chocolates can also be found in Singapore at the more 'atas' supermarket. They are considered fine chocolates and are actually made in Vietnam from beans grown there.

After dessert, we head back to our hotel and on our way home, we stumbled upon this riot at a Banh Mi shop. Although I'm quite full, of course I wanted to buy one and try it. If a riot of Vietnamese is queueing (or not quite) up to get these, you can bet I would want one too!

It was quite a struggle to buy these, cause everything was in Vietnamese, and people were buying a number of them, while I only wanted one! There was also no queue, you just have to fight your way to get our order in! Lol.

The ingredients. Mostly meat! I finally managed to put in an order and eagerly wait for my Banh Mi.

Once back at the hotel, I dig in! It wasn't the best I had, but I can understand it's appeal. It was very cheap, and very very meaty. I tend to like mine more on the pate side with lots of vegetables. But no regrets! I am glad I tried it cause now I know there are different types of Banh Mi exist! I love Banh Mi after trying it for the first time in Ho Chi Minh, but I would never buy them outside of Vietnam. It is so cheap here, yet these cost like 7sgd to 15sgd in Singapore or even Malaysia. When I do have craving for these, I would rather make them myself. 

Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Hue Day Tour End, Coffee Break at Cong Caphe

Lovely coffee scene of Vietnam. This is Cong Caphe, a coffee place just like Starbucks. But Cong is local, and serves lovely Vietnamese coffee. I've actually tried Cong before when I was working in Ho Chi Minh. My colleagues love it, so I was dragged there to also try it. But the shop in Hue was so much cooler with the low seats placed outside all over the shops. This view is so uniquely Vietnam cross with French culture!

We got back to our hotel around 4pm. My friend asked what I wanted to do, so I told I wanted to go drink my daily cuppa! I knew there was a Cong within walking distance away, so I recommended that we go there for coffee cause I knew it would be a decent place.

The shop has 2 storeys, and not air considered. After placing our order, we choose to sit upstairs. There were outdoor seating upstairs too, but somehow we ended up sitting indoor....

Some of the lovely seats upstairs. I would have preferred these type of seats looking out. The deco on the wall was unique too, made up of threads! It was so colourful! And I also love the wood and glass combination vibe of this cosy area. Drinking coffee in Vietnam, or Europe is more of a people watching experience, as well as the art of conversation. 

There are seats where a group of friends could also relax and catch up with each other.

I like it that it felt so local. The furniture, the colours. None of that Starbuck vibes or a thousand cafe that looked all alike with their minimalistic decor. Ugh. Can't tell the difference between one cafe from another.

We sat indoor at a darker section. There was a small window I could looked out at.

I ordered a coconut milk coffee, and it was so creamy and coconut-y! Maybe I should consider going back to Vietnam again. I used to hate going to Vietnam. I hated the traffic, hated the language, not a fan of their food either. But on this trip, I somehow felt very comfortable there. I mean, I still hated the traffic, but I picked up some Vietnamese and practised it while I was there. I felt chill everywhere I went and it kinda started to grew on me. 

Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Hue Day Tour Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh (4/4)

 

We had some time while we made our way down to the road level where our bus/van would be waiting, so I went back to the guardians at the 1st section to spend more time with them. Above, an army of them.

A side view of them.

Looking up at the hall where the tomb is.

I also found this little creature with the most mesmerising eyes. I think the eyes were green, that's why I took a photo of it. And I wasn't sure if this was a baby dragon. But it looked cute, so I wanted to remember it here. It was guardian of one of the steps. 

I also took more photos with the guardians. 

And of course the baby dragons :)

The view outside. I was sad to leave this place. The air was fresher here too! Especially after the rain.

Time to end our Hue Day Tour. You can check out their tour from Klook, which was where I booked mine. It cost around 60sgd, and lunch is provided, so I think it's super worth it. Plus they picked us up and drop us back from our hotel. All entrance tickets were also provided, so yes, totally worth it! I had a lovely time here. 

Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Hue Day Tour Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh (3/4)

And finally, we reached the tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh, and it would just takes your breath away. I think, this is the most beautiful tomb I've ever seen in my life! The tour guide told us the mausoleum was gothic in nature, dark and gloomy, but she said that for this mausoleum, we could actually see the emperor's tomb itself unlike the 1st mausoleum we visited. When I asked what the tomb looked like, she told me I will know when I see it, that it combines a thousand colours inside..... When I enter this tomb, I immediately understand what she meant, and totally agreed with her description of the place.

I mean, I don't know how to describe it. I knew that it was a tomb, but it was decorated in so much colours and decorations. And the lighting inside lit everything up so beautifully. The statue of the emperor sits on his throne, or tomb looking out into the hall, and into the mountains. It looked so delicately sculptured, like it could stand up and walk right out if he wanted to.

You could walk around it to see it from every angle. I went in to the room twice, because I felt that it was the most beautiful room here and deserved more time inside for me to admire it's beauty.

Here is a closed up look of it. How the mosaic dragons on the ceilings and high wall are so detailed and lovely.

I took a souvenir photo of myself with Emperor Khai Dinh. Happy to have visited his tomb. I've only found out about these mausoleum like a month before the trip when I was planning for it. And when I read about Hue and its mausoleum, I immediately knew that I wanted to see this for myself. So I am so happy and glad that I managed to do so, even though I had to engage a day tour to get here. The day tour was totally worth it. I would recommend it to anyone. 

Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Hue Day Tour Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh (2/4)

 

Continuing on our journey up, to the gothic tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh.... Lovely view of the running clouds here, dark and gloomy looking down on the 2nd hall of the mausoleum.

At the upper level, also known as the 2nd section of the tomb, was meant to be a place for worship and prayers, to the gods and ancestors. Unlike a traditional Vietnamese building, these here were made of stone, with fine carvings of  dragons to represent the emperor.

The carvings were so detailed! The french windows were made of wood and glass though, and they somehow blended well together, with a traditional lamp illuminating the inside of the hall.

And when you stepped inside, you are instantly blown away by the deco. Especially the dragons on the ceiling. The grey tiled floors. It was not gloomy inside at all, but looked like a french palace, but decorated with an oriental flare. 

It was beautiful. With the lights shinning into the hall that was painted gold, everything reflecting off it. It didn't feel like a tomb at all. It was surprisingly airy, and bright, and oh so beautiful.

At the center of it was the altar, and here too it wasn't a typical red altar you would normally find in temples. Here, it looked more like an antique old grand mansion's altar, with mosaic decorations and bronze or brass statues of peacorks in front of the altar.

I mentioned that the hall was painted gold, or maybe it was yellow. I can't really tell, lol. But it suited the place. I think I love this place more than the Hue Imperial City's big house palace. There was something just very elegant about the decor here, not quite chinese, not quite french, yet something coming all together.

The vertical wall decoration was itself something to be admired! It was rather

They looked like they were made of mosaic. 

There were some side halls that you could also wandered into. The high ceilings and the high door frame made everything seems to elegant and slim. I bet this is what walking into an elves palace felt like. Everything so tall, and glittering.....

I love the yellow door with it's carvings.

I also love these windows that let in so much light! They also looked out into the mountains.

If this was my house, I would sit here everyday looking out into the horizon. Letting the cold wind blowing in, while I sit to read or sip some tea. It would probably very dark when the sun sets, probably cold too. But it would be so lovely to remain here, for eternity.

Views from outside one of the side doors.... so spacious, and I don't know, minimalistic?

View looking out.....