I started a mini video project called “Hands of Huế” in December 2019. It’s planned to be a series of short footages featuring the hands of Huế people that move my heart with their passion and talent; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some other personal reasons, I am now focusing on the clever hands of my neighbor, Auntie Hương.
Videos
Scenting Tea with Lotus Blossoms
This lotus season is special to me as I have had a chance to watch my friend Tiên and her friends and tea-lovers scenting tea with lotus blossoms for the first time. I’m not sure since when Vietnamese people have made and drunk lotus-scented tea but it’s said that the emperors of Nguyễn Dynasty had […]
Wrestling at Sình Village’s Temple
Sình Village’s Wrestling Festival (in Thừa Thiên Huế Province, Việt Nam) takes place in this village every 10th day of Tết – Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The wrestling festival used to be organized in the front yard of Sình Village’s temple but since the last few years the official wrestling ring has been relocated at […]
Happy Pancakes from Chuồn Lagoon
Bánh khoái is one of the signature dishes of Thừa Thiên Huế Province. Bánh is a kind of cake or food made of rice powder or paste; and khoái means “smoke”, some say, or “enjoyable”, the others explain. I guess both of the explanations make sense to me but I prefer the latter so now […]
Lăng Cô – A Town of Water
Lăng Cô is truly a town of water. You can see waters everywhere you go in this small town. Water runs through it; water surrounds it; water reflects it. I was pampering myself in Suối Mơ (Dreaming Spring)’s fresh water in the nearby mountains, wading in the Lập An Lagoon‘s brackish water with the fisherpeople, and swimming and […]
Huế, Việt Nam: A Peaceful Ride
Sometimes I feel like I’m a traveler in my own hometown. There are many beautiful and serene villages in Huế I haven’t visited so every weekend I go out “discovering” a little bit more about my “heaven on earth”. Most of the time, I do it on my violet scooter but one Saturday morning […]
Huế: Suối Voi (Elephant Spring)
Can’t stand the boiling hot weather in Huế City this summer but get bored with ocean scenes? Suối Voi (Elephant Spring) is definitely a better-than-imagined choice you’ve ever made. It’s where you’re tempted to plunge yourself into the cold water to shake off the heat and relaxing in the giggling sounds of the spring running […]
Liễu Cốc Cham Towers to Wail for Help
In a village located about 12 km away from Huế City’s center, a pair of 9th-century Cham towers are silently collapsing and disappearing. Being recognized as a National Historic Site of Vietnam in 1994, Liễu Cốc Towers have not been well treated as they deserve. Trees and other kinds of plants overgrow here, which harasses […]
Huế, Việt Nam: Tư Lăng Complex
Located in Thủy Xuân Commune (about 7km away from the center of Huế City), Tư Lăng is a tomb complex of Emperor Đồng Khánh’s and his father Kiên Thái Vương Nguyễn Phúc Hồng Cai’s. While Kiên Thái Vương is Emperor Tự Đức’s younger brother, Đồng Khánh (aka Nguyễn Phúc Ưng Đường) is Emperor Tự Đức’s […]
Hue: No Market
I’m sure you notice that Nọ Market has a funny meaning when it is written in English “No Market”. This is a very traditional market with a lot of scenes to see: local people buying, selling, chit-chatting, eating, smoking, fixing clothes and even beautifying themselves in a tiny hair salon. It is located in Phú […]