A couple days ago we hired a driver to take us back to Da Nang today. We had flown there from Sai Gon but left right away to visit Hoi An. We had planned this part of our Vietnam itinerary around being in Da Nang specifically tomorrow night (i.e. Saturday) as there's a special event that only happens Saturday and Sunday nights.
It's only a 45 minute drive up the coast to Da Nang so we got to our hotel about 10ish.
Sad to say goodbye to the lovely staff at Hoi An's Hoang Trinh Hotel but we were sure looking forward to a larger room with fewer frou frous!
Alexander: Saw this sign for the first time as we entered Da Nang but have seen it a few times since and think of you each time of course!
There are 2 major sights in Hoi An, one 8kms south and the other 8 kms north of where we were staying in Da Nang, the optimistically named Da Nang Beach Hotel. We had hoped that we could rent a motorbike or scooter so we could get to both places under our own steam. Unfortunately, once the fellow above took Steven to pick up a motorbike and realized Steven needed some (i.e. lots of!) help figuring out the controls, etc, he said Steven couldn't rent a bike. So that left us having to hire a driver for 400K VND (about $18) through the hotel as there were no taxis nearby to take us to both Marble Mountain and Lady Buddha.
Da Nang is known for its vast number of marble statue and monument building enterprises. We saw just one vast place right after another with each showcasing their 15'-30' works of art in the open. Our first destination with the driver was Marble Mountains, 5 large hills that had once been one colossal mountain.
Nestled in the hills was this temple at Marble Mountain - we couldn't wait to see it up close rather than from a distance away by car.
Some smaller marble pieces for sale where the driver parked his car. We were encouraged to stop in and look here and every other marble store or factory we walked by but said no as we sure didn't need to lug even a tiny marble piece home!
It was another very hot and sticky day so we decided to save ourselves some energy and take the cable car up the mountain. Time was also somewhat of a factor as we only had the driver for 3 plus hours to come here and also to take us to the second attraction, Lady Buddha. It's the only time this trip that we've had a driver for such a short time frame and I know I felt we didn't have the time to truly enjoy Marble Mountain because of not knowing how much time we needed to allot to getting to and then seeing Lady Buddha because of always having to keep and eye on our watches.
Map of Marble Mountain sights. All the tourist sights are located in just one of the mountains or outcroppings but the others are visible below in the photo I took from the one called Marble Mountain.
The five outcrops that exist today are the result of the mountain being carved out for marble and each one is named after the five elements of earth.
Photos of Marble Mountain:
The mountain is made up of temples, pagoda and caves to explore. You can just see Steven at the bottom of the steps of Xa Loi Temple above. Once we got closer, we walked around the separate towers and shrines on different levels.
Thank goodness we still had the energy to tackle climbing these steps since we had taken the easy way up.
The caves at Marble Mountain were once used by the Cham people (from My Son, remember?) and now shelter altars dedicated to Buddha and local deities. We decided to enter the cave although we didn't know what lay ahead.
Photos of Van Dong Cave:
It was very tough climbing through most parts of this narrow cave and reminded me of our time in the Cu Chi tunnels outside of Sai Gon a few days ago.
BUT the views overlooking the sea and countryside around Da Nang were eventually worth it.
Once back on flatter ground, we walked next toward the highest cave where we could hear sounds of nonstop dripping water.
Photos of Huyen Cave:
Entered the cave and saw pretty far below us this incredible shrine visible in the light beams from the holes in the roof above.
What a mystical sight seeing the rays of light.
Walked on to discover more of Marble Mountain's sights.
Kept thinking of you, Mindy, as we walked down these very high and narrow steps back to the entrance as they would have been bad for your knees.
Back in the street, walking back to the car and seeing lots of places to spend money!
Our only other stop of the day that we could make with the driver was to see Lady Buddha also known as the Goddess of Mercy, a stunning landmark located about 14 miles north of Marble Mountain on the Son Tra Peninsula.
It was very hazy as it's been for far too long but we were still able to make out the distinctive 67 m tall statue from the road along the coast. We were amazed to see one major resort after another and golf courses on the major boulevard on the way to see Lady Buddha. There certainly had been nothing like either the beautiful wide open road or world class resorts back in Sai Gon.
Photos of Lady Buddha:
The Buddha is situated in the grounds of the sprawling and mystical Linh Ung Pagoda complex.
Photos of Linh Ung Pagoda:
Gorgeous marble statues and vases but what a shame the latter were filled with plastic flowers.
There was an unmarked hallway we just happened to take behind the 3 'altars' above. We saw even more shrines back there.
Very touching was the memorial above which included many photos of men as it made it more personal for us.
We saw a number of monks at the Linh Ung Pagoda.
We were so lucky we had walked down that hallway and thus happened to come across this beautiful area of buildings, shrines and courtyards.
What intricately carved furniture the monks had in the open areas of the pagoda.
We'd been sidetracked long enough so finally decided to wander back to Lady Buddha and see her before having to return to Da Nang - after all, she was why we had come!
The base of Lady Buddha above and a view of her from behind, below,
There are several entrances to the Buddha but all accessed via walking around the base. The draw of the Buddha is its immense size and dazzling location on the peninsula because there is nothing significant once inside the small space.
The small shrine inside the statue.
As I walked around in a circle inside, I noticed these 2 people praying or mediating while listening to taped prayers or music.
There were different panels between the 10 entrance ways.
Lotus flower as befitting a pagoda.
We walked down to the Buddha's original entrance so we could see her form another angle.
Had hoped to get a glimpse of Da Nang but it was too hazy.
In front of Lady Buddha there were several other statues including one of a smiling Buddha as well as a small fountain with mini statues nestled among the lily pads.
We probably saw several hundred marble benches while walking around the pagoda and Lady Buddha with each one stenciled with advertising.
At the bottom of the steps to the Buddha before we walked back to the car and were driven back to our hotel.
It was still early enough so we walked a few blocks over to the beach from our hotel so we could relax and lie there for a bit.
Photos from the beach:
Looked like some team building exercises going on in various spots on the beach.
Great sign!
Lady Buddha just visible in the background.
Sandbags in lieu of steps!
Much easier using ponchos as towels on the beach: lighter to carry and clean up more easily!
Don't think we've ever sat or lain on such densely packed sand before - it was hard as a rock. Not 5 minutes after sitting down, elevator music began playing over the huge PA system strung up and down the beach. We didn't mind that too much but weren't keen on what sounded like the news or political commentary for the next hour or so!
We had been the only Westerners on the beach til shortly before we left and 2 Russian men asked us to look after their gear while they swam.
Had a tough time finding a restaurant that appealed to us. At this one, customers pointed out the fish they wanted and the guys 'fished' it out of the container!
Interesting chicken selections on this menu: see the chicken fried with citronella?!
We ended up eating dinner at the King's Beer Restaurant where we were the only customers except for a group of abut 10 men who had about 30 bottles of beer on their table and on the floor around them.
Posted on 10/23 from Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Lady Budda sure was lovely. You sure have gotten religion on this trip... Lil Red
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