Day 12 - Hoi An : My Son ruins and relics, snorkeling, Cham Island

         Out we go to My Son to see the ruins and relics.  My Son is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples.  They were constructed between the 4th and 14th century AD by the kings of Champa.  

The temples are made by a reddish brick which were fit together.

There are decorative art that were carved directly onto the bricks.

The buildings have their own unique shape
 but I have no idea what this building shape would be considered O_O.  

There were some relics left at My Son.  This is a statue of Shiva.

More relics...

Holy water was made by pouring water on this stone linga.

     
        When we reached the other temples, they were in ruins.  Bombs were dropped during the Vietnam War and destroyed almost everything here.  There are a few scattered pieces of brick from the walls and a couple fallen pillars.  It's such a pity.

       

        Looking out from the Harbour at Cham Island.  We took a speedboat to Cham Island.  Along the way, we did some snorkeling.  Every time we left an area by bus or boat, our guide would count the number of people AFTER we left.  Some poor soul would always get left behind.  It's funny until the person that gets lost is you.  Getting left behind sometimes happen and this is why you should always being a traveling buddy.

    

        Cham Island covers an area of 235km.  We will alter eat at one of the islands that surround these waters.  A feast is to be had, yay!  There are eight islands that are apart of Cham Islands and they are known as Hon Lao.

        

Some squid being baked in the sun.

After our dinner, we relaxed on the beach. 

Everything was perfect except...can you see what I see? Yup, warships!

Day 11 - Hoi An - Ancient Town and Night Market

We flew from Nha Trang  .. 

 to Da Nang.

Hoi An.

After we unpacked, we rented a bike and went to the Ancient Town.

This is the view from our balcony.  

You can see the river and t garden below is where the chefs get the herbs.  

There's about fifteen main areas of interest where the public can go into.  There's many beautiful places to see including the Japanese Bridge and a few temples, pagodas, meeting areas and houses around the town.

I like how this place had a pond in the circle of the house with an open roof, it's so zen XD

Night time in Hoi An.

         I felt like I was in the movie Spirited Away when I went to the night market.  Everything was so pretty.  Food stalls were everywhere and were cooking up a storm.  Couples are everywhere in Hoi An, holding hands or biking.

The lanterns shops here were so alluring. 

The lanterns were made out of paper and came in all sizes and colors.  

They lit up the streets and my spirits.

 There was a giant dragon lantern floating in the river O_O holy molies!

Day 10 - Nha Trang: Festival Bien

      Just in front of our hotel was the beach and I would always wonder why it seemed like nobody would swim or be on the beach during the daytime.  I learnt that aaaaalot of people do swim but only when the sun is partial out.  There are rarely locals that sun tan on these beaches.       

 Around 5am.

 Later in the morning...everyone left!

        This morning I spent the day at a spa.  At first I wanted to go to Thap Ba for a hot spring and communal mud bath but the thought of sharing mud with a bunch of people kinda turned me off. I ended up booking a spa treatment from head to toe that also included a mineral mud bath for myself only, har har. I got steamed, baked in a sauna, soaked in a tub of mud, messaged, manicured, pedicured, had my face mushed and got my hair done. By the time I made it to the jacuzzi filled with floating rose pedals three hours have already passed O_O. 

        Later in the evening we wandered and did a little shopping.  We tried various dishes cos deep down inside I'm a little foodie.  We had  spring rolls, glutinous steamed stuff with shrimp in banana leaves and sweets called che.    If anyone knows what those two other dishes are called, please let me know!

       For the rest of the night, we spent following a people and enjoying Festival Bien.

Day 9 - Nha Trang: Long Son Pagoda, Reclining Buddha, Lotus Seat

        We took a taxi from our hotel to Long Son Pagoda in Nha Trang.  The pagoda is found at the foot of Mount Trai Thuy.  Our goal is to reach the Lotus Seat.  The Lotus Seat is a large white statue of Sakyamuni Buddha sitting on...well, a lotus of course!

This is the entrance.

        There are over 150 steps from  Long Son Pagoda to the Lotus Seat (Also known as Kim Than Phat To Statue).  There are many things to see and do here.

Around the grounds are plaques with words of wisdom.

       
        Inside the temple lies two worship areas.  One is the Buddhist area.  Do you see the candles? Eeeeee, they are gigantic!  Apparently these candles will be lit up next year on New Years and will  burn for up to 3 months.  Isn't that crazy?

Here is a pic of the other worship place I mentioned.

This is the Hindu worship area.

        I greeted the head monk inside the temple.  He gave me prayer beads.  The prayer beads are the traditional tools used to count the number of times a mantra is recited when meditating.   He is such a kind old fella.      

After visiting the temple, we went to the Shrine Bell where we...

crawled underneath the bell...

sat...

and prayed...

while a person was hitting the bell and began to chant a blessing. 

 Oh my goodness @.@!!!

 They said that inside the bell, the ringing wouldn't be loud but I dunno.  I really wanted to cover my ears but it would have been considered bad luck.

This is what the inside of the bell looks like.

Later, we went to the Reclining Buddha.

It was kinda funny that everyone that made it to the Reclining Buddha wanted to touch him.  This reclining Buddha has reached nirvana.  I love how he has this huge grin on his face.  It's like he's having an good dream.

Finally, we made it to the Lotus Seat. 

The small climb was definitely worth it. 

The statue is 24m high not including the pedestal. 

        The pedestal itself is 14m high and has something special about it.  If you go behind the Lotus Seat, the pedestal has an entrance which leads to what used to be a library.  How cool is that? 

Day 8: Nha Trang - Mun, Mot and Tam Islands

        I was so excited when we landed in Cam Rahn.  Our final destination - a coastal city called Nha Trang which was a 20 minute drive away.    On our way there, the air smelt so sweet and refreshing.   

        Nha Trang  is widely considered to have one amongst the world's most beautiful bays.  The area has beautiful beaches and is a popular place for scuba diving.  For today's agenda, we're going to mun, mot and tam island to snorkel and laze on the beach. 

We arrive at Cau Da harbour and sail out!  That's Mun Island.  

        The first diving sites are located around the bay of Nha Trang.  After an hour of boat riding, we arrive the islands of Hon Mim, and Hon Mot where I get to swim and see all the fishes.  The water here is extremely salty Q_Q I can only imagine that this is what it must feel like if I were to be swimming in Alice's tears.

        

        One the rare occasion, you will see people in these boat devices.  It's kinda cute.  I wouldn't dare try to steer in that round boat though.   I would totally go in circles and get sick.

        

        By the time we were reached Tam Island, I had some bbq seafood on the boat.  We can the option to grill if we caught any fishes while on the trip but nobody caught anything!  

 

After a few hours in the sea, it's nice to relax on the soft sandy coral shores of these islands.  

       There are many islands in Nha Trang.  There are a few islands that will charge you a very small entrance fee and you are free to use their  amenities from lounge chairs to water skiing.

Day 7: Tay Ninh - Out in the Boonies

       I stayed over in the capital of Tay Ninh province.  It is famous for being the hometown of the Cao Dai religion.  I stayed at a place that was mostly surrounded by farmland.  A nice change of pace from waking up to the buzzing noise of the city to  quietness of the boonies.    

        Around the house was a pool filled with goldfishes and the never ending longan fruit orchard.  I can also see Ba Den mountain (A.k.a Black Virgin mountain) from a distance.  The mountain happens to be the highest mountain in southeast Vietnam.

There was also mangosteen and lychee trees there too.

      

        Lychees grow on bushes while the mangosteens grow super high in the trees.  I had to poke them a stick to get them down.  I collected a batch of fruit.  Victory for me! 

           

       Separate from the house I stayed in was a kitchen area (right) , what seems like a large gazebo  and a storage building.   I absolutely love places with thatched leaves for roofing.  They could be made out of  banana leaves or grass, it doesn't really matter to me because they've saved me from the sun and the rain.  They are surprising sturdy and oddly enough I like the smell.  Reminds me of sleeping on a bamboo mat or something, it has a really earthy and natural smell that is really pleasant.

      I got to feed some chickens that day as well.  When you look around, you see baby ducks and a few adult chickens wandering around the orchard but barely any smaller chicks.  That is ...until you scatter food.  They just start running and waddling out of nowhere O_O.

Some looked like tennis balls, soooo fluffy.  I love it when they chirp chirp chirp, it's so cute! 

         There was not much to do in Tay Ninh except for going to the Cao Dai Temple and the local markets.  I went to say hi to the neighboring houses in the afternoon.    They were extremely nice and chill.

You know you're in the boonies when people start offering you moonshine in broad daylight!  Oh gosh, bless these kind souls XD

Day 6: Tay Ninh - Cao Dai Great Temple

      We went to Tay Ninh to go to the Great Temple.  It is the main place of worship of the Cao Dai which unites some of the world's major religions.  

The temple itself was built in 1880 and is set within a large complex of schools and administrative buildings.  

     I managed to catch one of the many ceremonies that occur during the day. 

      The ceremony was lovely. In the video, people worship in prayer and song.  Cao Dai priests are dressed in white and black turbans while priests done in red, blue and yellow robes signify Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.  

   

 I wandered on the area and saw more of the grounds. I meet some very  nice people ...

and monkeys chillin in a stadium.

Hmmm, is that who I think it actually is in the portrait?

 
        On the grounds there are many smaller temples for worship.  It is customary to take off your shoes and avoid walking in the center aisle unless you are there to worship.

When I came closer to the alter I noticed a variety of props.

Here is an example of what an alter in a smaller temple.  Alters vary depending on which building you are in.  In this one, the alter depicts a man on the bottom right fanning the deity  towards the sky.