Day 8 of North Vietnam Trip, Da Nang on January 15, 2018
Last day in Vietnam, we would visit Linh Ứng Temple and Hải Vân Gate on the outskirts of Da Nang before heading off home.
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But first, I will post some photos of My Khe Beach that we took in the previous two days roaming around our hotel.
Buddha Statue from Linh Ứng Temple in the distance.
In the last photo, Linh Ứng Temple with its huge Buddha Statue was very visible on the right, while street lights along the winding country road up Hải Vân Pass resembled an ascending path to heaven on the left. I never expected myself to summarize this day in one photo like this.
So on the morning of Jan 15, we checked out of hotel, filled the motorcycle that I rented yesterday with gas and headed out for Linh Ứng Temple. The country road up there was full of relaxing breeze from the sea and largely free from traffic, making it an enjoyable ride through the hairpin turns to the temple's parking lot.
Linh Ứng Temple
I guessed that's Ba Na Hills in the background.
One nice aspect of Linh Ứng Temple was its geographical location, backed by forest overlooking glittering sea. Its view was just spectacular.
It's actually fishing net that make the bow exaggerated. It certainly got style though.
It's said that Linh Ứng Temple started out as fishermen worshipped a Buddha statue drifted ashore during the reign of King Minh Mang. The current temple with its iconic giant Buddha Statue was finished in 2010. Wikipedia reference in Vietnamese.
Giant Buddha Statue
At 67 meters high, the statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was said to be the tallest in Vietnam. It seemed that 17 was a lucky number for local Buddhists, so the statue was 17 meters wide in diameter and had 17 internal floors. Although it seemed visitors and worshippers were only admitted to the first.
Pillars and room for prayers.
Wow that's lovely.
After that, we made our way along the curvaceous Da Nang Bay and up Hải Vân Pass. For the last part, the opening of Hải Vân Tunnel in 2005 diverted most of the traffic, so again, we only had soothing breeze and ocean sounds as our company.
Hải Vân Pass
Linh Ứng Temple was located on the other end of that peninsula.
Those poor fella looked so bony.
I really appreciated how I Photoshopped this one.
Hải Vân Gate
Hải Vân Gate was a set of defensive structures dating back to Nguyen Dynasty. It sits at the highest point of Hải Vân Pass and divides Hue and Da Nang provinces, and for many people, north and south Vietnam.
To signify its importance, Hải Vân Gate was carved on one of the Nine Urns in Hue Imperial City. (See my post of Jan 11)
Today, ruins of Hải Vân Gate could hardly rival its parking lot in size, and unfortunately it didn't have great views of ocean to offer. At the same time, surrounding mountainous terrain was a constant reminder of its historical significance.
This room was where the small window in the previous two photos were located. I made a few jumps to reach this room, which was probably a little bit too far for a tourist.
With inscription "天下第一雄关" (Most imposing gate in the world).
After that, we rode back to Da Nang and went for a final (and only) shopping round at Big C Supermarket. I stocked as many dried fruit as I reckoned my suitcase would hold, and my mom did the same with perfume. Oh, Vietnam's also famous for its coffee but neither of us were coffee drinkers.
Oh, and they were one of handful businesses in Vietnam that didn't have credit card surcharges, besides Uber and Grab, which merged later in 2018.
But I think the biggest takeaway of Big C was its underground motorcycle parking lot (no, I didn't see a parking lot for cars). It's a metered lot, although I paid with the smallest denomination of Vietnam currency I had during our entire trip. And they didn't scribble around my (rental) motorcycle with chalks, like other manned parking lots around touristy destinations in the country.
Oh, judging by how unprofessionally the orange bike was park in the left side photo, you could tell it's my bike.
Da Nang Cathedral
After our shopping trip and since there's still time left before our flight, we took a stroll in downtown Da Nang. One of the remaining tourist attractions was Da Nang Cathedral, which was built during French colonial period of 1923 as the only church in Da Nang. Its distinct pink color made it frequently to the city’s post cards. Unfortunately, by the time we were there, its interior was closed.
Da Nang Cathedral
After that, we rode back to hotel, picked up our bags and headed for the airport, which concluded this trip to Vietnam, almost.
END