Natural Wonders of Vietnam

Welcome to Nicole Graham, guest travel writer, with part 2 of her series about Vietnam.

In my first article, Pagodas, Temples and Rickshaws I mentioned that Hanoi, Vietnam is a great base to see some of the other sights of Vietnam.

One of those sights is the beautiful Halong Bay north of Hanoi. It is a three and a half hour drive away so we stayed overnight as we didn’t want to rush around and miss the opportunity to stop along the way, take in the picturesque country-side, quaint towns and of course do some shopping.

We ventured into Bat Trang, a ceramic village where most of the people that live in the village make an array of ceramic goods from traditional tea pots and ornaments, to modern vases and crockery.  I couldn’t help myself; I have a love of elephants so we now have two large ceramic elephants that we use as side tables when needed.  I digress… as a wannabe artist, to watch the people work away moulding and painting was inspiring.

Then we continued on to But Thap Pagoda, which is situated on the dike of the Duong River, Thuan Thanh district, Bac Ninh province. The pagoda was built in the 17th century, during the late Le dynasty and its founder was the Chinese Buddhist Priest, Zhus Zhus, who died in 1644. There are 10 building on the pagoda land and the pagoda is very important to the local people in the province.

As we discovered, the Vietnamese people revere Guan Yin, Goddess of Compassion and Mercy. She had a special place in the But Thap Pagoda and she was gorgeous… the whole statue, including its pedestal, is 3.7m tall. Behind her there is a round back board, forming a circle 2.2 m in diameter. The circle has 14 layers of 789 arms with an eye in each palm. Forty-two more arms encircle the waist, making various mudras (gestures of the hands).

The next day we headed out to see some of the 2000 islands around the area and the natural caves of Dau Go and Trinh Nu. We spent 5 hours on the bay and enjoyed a fantastic seafood lunch.

Once we got to Halong Bay we freshened up, ventured out to look around the local market and have dinner at a local restaurant. As we expected, the food was fresh and delicious.

While out on the bay we stopped in at a Village with a difference… I had imagined a small village nestled into one of the many islands but instead all the local villagers live on the water in their floating homes (literally they are homes on the water; they are not living on boats). They even have a floating school which is funded by UNICEF. Many of the homes have dogs because they guard against anyone stealing the fish from their farm.

We also stopped at the Dau Go cave which is not only known for its beauty but also famed for its historical tie to the Vietnamese history.  The cave dates back to 1288 when a Vietnamese general, Tran Hung Dao fought against the Mongolian troops.  He used the cave to hide his force during the war.

The cave is huge and a natural wonder of Vietnam. While on the island, we climbed the 90 rocky steps to walk through the cave and admire its stalagmites, stalactites and water filled stone wells. To highlight the cave’s beauty there are coloured lights lit throughout. Our tour guide was able to point out different crystals, meanings and images of the shadows the cave displayed.
Later in the afternoon we headed back to Hanoi - we slept most of the way… being a tourist is tiring and it was better for the soul to sleep rather than watch the chaotic traffic on the trip back.

© Nicole Graham 2008

Nicole Graham is a success Coach, Facilitator and Online Entrepreneur.  Aside from managing her businesses, www.moderngoddessonline.com; www.moderngoddessgifts.com; www.moderngoddessmagazine.com, Nicole is an avid traveller and keen photographer.  All photographs shown in the article were taken by Nicole.