Our trip to the islands was disappointing. We were longing for some white sand and clean beach but that wasn’t to be. Unfortunately, there was a considerable amount of garbage along the coasst of both the mainland and surrounding islands. Instead, therefore, we opted to visit a small fishing village. The boys had a ride in one of the round fishing baskets with a Vietnamese woman. On shore we saw locals making nets, harvesting fish, and going about their daily lives. In the islands, we visited the aquarium and learned about sharks, turtles, eels and the plentiful sealife in the China Sea. The aquarium is built from concrete to resemble a large, 3-masted ship!
In the afternoon we may our way to the Po Nagar Cham Towers where we were fortunate to see some traditional dancing. The Towers were built between the 7th and the 12th centuries. To this day Cham, ethnic, Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists come to Po Nagar to pray and make offerings, according to their respective traditions.
We also visited the Long Son Pagoda, founded in the late 19th century. We climbed in the blistering heat to the top of the hill where it is located to visit a huge while Buddha which can be seen from all over the city. It was stunning! On the way up lay a reclining Buddha that was simply massive. Along the way there must have been at least thirty vendors (from tiny children to the very, very old) selling water, fans, whistles, sweets, souvenirs, etc. We must admit that saying ‘no’ politely and repetitively (all are extremely persistent) gets exhausting!
We concluded the day in the pool and playing pool followed by dinner of ribs and wings at the Texas BBQ. Hard to believe, we are exactly one-half way around the world from Texas. Delicious.
In the afternoon we may our way to the Po Nagar Cham Towers where we were fortunate to see some traditional dancing. The Towers were built between the 7th and the 12th centuries. To this day Cham, ethnic, Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists come to Po Nagar to pray and make offerings, according to their respective traditions.
We also visited the Long Son Pagoda, founded in the late 19th century. We climbed in the blistering heat to the top of the hill where it is located to visit a huge while Buddha which can be seen from all over the city. It was stunning! On the way up lay a reclining Buddha that was simply massive. Along the way there must have been at least thirty vendors (from tiny children to the very, very old) selling water, fans, whistles, sweets, souvenirs, etc. We must admit that saying ‘no’ politely and repetitively (all are extremely persistent) gets exhausting!
We concluded the day in the pool and playing pool followed by dinner of ribs and wings at the Texas BBQ. Hard to believe, we are exactly one-half way around the world from Texas. Delicious.
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