Sad to leave Hoi An, and sorry to part company with Alysha, but heading north to Danang. Danang (or Da Nang) is a modern metropolis on the coast and offers beaches and skyrises as well as an old city.
According to ancient folklore, a dragon emerged from the waters of Non Nuoc and laid an egg on the beach. One thousand days and one thousand nights passed until the egg hatched. When it did, out stepped a beautiful girl. The shattered fragments of the eggshell were left on the beach and grew into the five mystical Marble Mountains. They were named Water, Fire, Earth, Wood and Metal after the five elements.
These peaks, made of limestone and marble, contain tunnels and temples and caves to explore. I took a taxi from my hostel to the Mountains and climbed the 156 steps to Mt Thuy, the Water mountain, to discover the beauty within.
Many beautiful Buddhas and other religious statues, mostly made of (you guessed it!) marble await within secret caves and hidden grottoes.
My favorite cave was Hoa Nghiem. Towering inside was this gorgeous and peaceful marble Lady Buddha with her hand folded mysteriously. Carved in 1640 by craftsmen in Hoi An she stood solemnly in the cavernous cave.
After enjoying the mountain, I took a walk to the cold and windy beach nearby and bought a bahn mi sandwich. Bahn mi are different everywhere you go but usually consist of a crusty baguette split open and spread with spicy mayo and chili sauce and then filled with pickled papaya, pate and roast pork, and topped with lightly pickled cucumbers and a handful of cilantro. I found a spot on the chilly beach and shared my sandwich with two strays that looked pretty hungry.
Not much else to do in Danang except see the dragon bridge that lights up every Saturday and Sunday night at 9 pm. I had a delicious dinner at The Waterfront and watched the “show” from the bridge. It was not such a big deal…don’t know that I’d go out of my way to see it…
After my two night stay I headed up the coast to Hue (“Hway”), the former capital city of Vietnam from 1802 – 1945. A city of over 400,000 located on the banks of The Perfume River, Hue contains The Citadel, the Imperial City and the Forbidden Purple City.
At my hostel I signed up for a tour of the city and the temples and tombs that are renowned in Hue. The Imperial Enclosure is a citadel-within-a-citadel, housing the emperor’s residence, temples and palaces, and the main buildings of state.
Although we didn’t tour the Citadel itself, we were able to explore the grounds of the Imperial City and the temples within.
When I heard we were touring “tombs”I assumed a masoleum or perhaps a small memorial site. Nope. If you were a Vietnamese emperor back in the day, you planned ahead and began building and creating the glorious estate that would house your remains for all eternity. These three tombs were essentially amazing parks with temples built so that all who came after them could pay homage. My favorite of the tombs was decorated with beautiful mosaics made from broken pottery – very reminiscent of Portugal…
The rest of my time in Hue was spent wandering about exploring the old city, and enjoying dinner at Madame Thu, which offered amazingly delicious and cheap food…so good I went twice. The second time there, I heard my name called and was surprised to see Marie from Denmark standing on the sidewalk waving to me. We had spent the day together with two fun guys from Australia and Alysha riding the gondola over the lake in Hoi An. We shared a drink and dinner together before a big hug and an exchange of Facebook profiles and promised to stay in touch.
Thanks Hue; it was fun.
Onward from Hue to Phong Nga to visit the famous caves just north and a bit west.
We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize. – Thich Naht Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist
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