Vietnam and Cambodia Trip Report, 2025 Day 5: Drive to Hue: Linh Ung Pagoda Sơn Trà peninsula, Hai Van Pass, Lang Co Beach, Lap An Lagoon, Thanh Toan Bridge,
Day 5, Monday Apr 21
SIGHTS ENJOYED
Drive to Hue by Private taxi arranged by Hue Hotel, Linh Ung Pagoda Son tra peninsula, Hai Van Pass, Lang Co Beach, Lap An Lagoon, Thanh Toan Bridge, checked into apartment, then visited Hue Thien Mu Linh Mu Pagoda
CHECKED OUT [The apt guys conducted room survey before giving us the OK to leave!!]
When we checked in
at the Da nang apartment they made us sign a form where it stated,
we are responsible to pay for anything that gets broken in the
apartment during the stay; secondly they are not responsible for
anything valuable stolen from the apartment during our stay!
we found it a
little weird but the reviews on booking.com had not mentioned any
hanky panky from their side. So we decided to go ahead.
There was a
transparent clear glass partition between the toilet and the shower
area in the washroom. It looked like an area where people can bang
into that glass and break it because it was kind of unobtrusive.
Anyway we are always careful everywhere we visit [as well as at home
for that matter]. Maybe they can put a sticker on that glass to make
it visible and avoid unhappy accidents .
obviously we don't
leave valuables in the apartment when we go out for our visit. It was
just a two day stay there. They had still come in on the first day
and left fresh towels for us. Of course needless to say, all our
stuff was safe.
When we checked
out, the reception guy ran up and surveyed the apartment before
giving us the ok to leave. So all's well that ends well I guess!
at our Hue apt
where we stayed next also, they said they'll check our room before we
are given the ok to leave. We had a very early flight to Hanoi at
6.45AM. They asked us to come down some 10 minutes earlier at 5 AM.
The guy went up and checked and was down in a couple of minutes.
Basically they had some snacks and drinks which we had not touched [actually had placed them all out as we needed to use the small fridge for our stuff], so it was good there as well.
I'm mentioning
this here because we have travelled all over the world; nowhere have
we faced this but anyway it was fine
Private taxi Danang to Hue
Danang to Hue we had a private taxi arranged by the Hue Amy Hotel 1 million 430,000 dongs for 110km, [ little less than 60USD] for a tailor made schedule. it suited us fine.
Program was as follows:
Pick up at our hotel at 8 AM and visit Linh Ứng Pagoda
Go by Hai Van Pass Scenic road,
Stop at Lang Co Beach, Lap An Lagoon, Mo Stream, Thanh Toan Bridge.
private car (english speaking driver) : 1,4300,000vnd
we had a scenic journey, our bags were safe in the boot and we were more than happy with the arrangement.
If we had taken the limo it'd have costed nine usd per person but we would have gone through the tunnel and missed out on all these sites.
Of course Linh Ứng Pagoda we would have had to do on our own, it's right on the way. so it totally worked out.
CONFUSED BY MULTIPLE Linh Ung Pagodas
When we plan our itinerary to decide what places to include I usually look at the top sights in the area and look for pictures and videos and reviews to decide whether it will be our cup of tea.
For Danang, Linh Ung pagoda was coming up a lot and the pictures included the tall Gyan Yin statue but it was kind of confusing because there were other Linh Ung pagoda also popping up. All this was compounded by the fact that some reviewers will put the wrong picture in the wrong location and make things more complicated in the reviews.
I realised there are three Linh Ung Pagodas in the region.
Da Nang, Vietnam, has three Linh Ung Pagodas: Linh Ung Son Tra (Bai But), Linh Ung Marble Mountain (Non Nuoc), and Linh Ung Ba Na Hills. Each pagoda is located in a distinct area and offers unique experiences and scenic views.
Linh Ung Son Tra (Bai But) Pagoda: Located on Son Tra Peninsula, it's the largest of the three and famous for its towering Lady Buddha statue, which is 67 meters tall.
Linh Ung Marble Mountain (Non Nuoc) Pagoda: Situated on Water Mountain within the Marble Mountains, it's the oldest of the three pagodas.
Linh Ung Ba Na Hills Pagoda: Located in a theme park
We were not keen on visiting a theme park in Vietnam because we have done the best Disney World Parks in the US. We only wanted to do cultural sites in Vietnam. So we skipped Ba Na hills.
We visited the Marble Mountain Linh Ung Pagoda which turned out great.
The Linh Ung Pagoda at son tra Peninsula was the most popular in the reviews and we were wondering how to go there and again come back to Danang with a limited number of days in Danang. That problem was solved when we decided to include it on our drive to Hue.
Linh Ứng Pagoda, Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng
Linh Ung Pagoda is situated on Son Tra Peninsula, 639 meters above the sea level and 10 kilometers away from the center of Da Nang City to the northeast. The pagoda faces the peninsula, overlooking the East Sea. There is Cu Lao Cham Island to the left of the pagoda and a spectacular view of Hai Van Mountain to the right.
67-meter-tall Guanyin statue towers over the site. Surrounded by lush greenery, it provides a stunning view of Đà Nẵng Bay. The area also features a bonsai park, perfect for a leisurely stroll. A nine-story pagoda and a three-arched gateway, both facing the sea, enhance the site's beauty
During the reign of emperor Minh Mang,
Nguyen Dynasty, a Buddha statue drifted to the sandbank of Son Tra
Peninsula. Believing that this was an auspicious sign, the local
fishermen built a shrine to worship Buddha. Since then, the waves of
the sea became calmer, making it easier for local people to do
fishing work. The pagoda has an area of 20 hectares with a complex of
buildings including the main hall, the ancestor’s house, the
lecture hall, the library, the cafeteria, and the Arhat statue garden
The main hall is supported by sturdy pillars and decorated with a curved roof in the shape of a dragon, highlighting a traditional style of Vietnamese pagodas.
In the center of the main hall, there is a Sakyamuni Buddha statue. To the right of the statue, there is an Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva statue and to the left of it, there is a Buddha Tripitaka statue
Three arch entrance and Bonsai garden
Reclining Buddha
many smaller Buddha statues and intricate carvings throughout the grounds add to the spiritual and artistic appeal.
Avalokiteśvara
These are plastic flowers tied to real branches!!
Guan Yin/ Lady Buddha Goddess of Mercy statue at Chùa Linh Ứng
Perched on a hill overlooking the ocean, this massive 67-meter-tall statue is visible from almost anywhere along the coastline.
The most prominent feature of Linh Ung Da Nang Pagoda is the Lady Buddha statue, which is the tallest one in Vietnam with a height of 67 meters, equivalent to that of a 30-floor building. The Lady Buddha statue is placed on a lotus-shaped foundation with a diameter of 35 meters.
Inside the statue is a 17-meter-wide area that includes 17 floors, and there are 21 Buddha statues on each floor.
Bonsai
Arhats...Along the path to the main hall are 4 Guardians and 18 Arhat statues arranged based on their
spiritual significance. Each of the Arhat statues represents a human
emotion: joy, anger, love, and hate.
We went to the view point, saw lovely views of the bay and then went back to the entrance to board our car and resume our drive
Hai Van Pass
Hai Van means “Sea Clouds”, since the peak of the mountain is in the clouds while its foot is close to the sea.
The 21km that stretch over the Hai Van mountain pass is one worth taking. Hai Van Pass is one of the most scenic hillside roads in Vietnam. This is the highest pass in Vietnam (500m above sea level). This rugged pass is the final section of the Truong Son Range stretching to the sea.
On the north – south nation highway, Hai Van Pass is an impressive landscape. It is like a giant dragon, lying on Highway 1 on the border between Thua Thien-Hue Province and Danang City.
In the past, Hai Van Pass was known as the Thuan Hoa and Quang Nam frontier. In the early 14th century (1306), Che Man, a king from Cham Pa, offered two mountainous administrative units of O and Ri as engagement gifts to Princess Huyen Tran, daughter of King Tran Nhan Tong. Since then, Hai Van Pass has acted as the physical boundary between Dai Viet and Cham Pa.
After driving through several hair-pin curves, we reach the crest of the Hai Van Pass.
Here, if the weather affords it (which it often doesn’t), there are views to both the North and the South. We were lucky enough to have great views
The pass forms an obvious boundary between North and South Vietnam, and there are fortifications built by the French and then later used by the South Vietnamese and the Americans. which used to be one of the border crossings between two kingdoms. During the Vietnamese-American War, people called Hai Van Pass the ‘Street Without Joy’ since it connected Hue and Da Nang – the most significantly war-ravaged cities at the time.
HAI VAN GATE
. On the top of the pass are the vestiges of an old fortified gateway. The gate facing to Thua Thien-Hue Province is inscribed with the three words “Hai Van Quan” and the other gate looking down on Quang Nam province is engraved “the most grandiose gateway in the world”.
Lang Co Beach
Had a short stop at Lang Co beach; the lagoon far below with Da Nang spread out
Lap An Lagoon is located west of Lang
Co Bay and is famed for the oysters rearing farms for pearls
Thanh Toan Bridge
The Thanh Toan tiled bridge is an architectural wonder that has been standing since the 18th century. It is divided into seven compartments, each adorned with a glazed pipe tile roof in the old pagoda style .
Along the sides of the bridge are thick wooden platforms and railings for people to sit back and relax. unique style of "a house above a bridge", a total length of 18.75m (43 yards of wood) and width of 5.82m (14 yards of wood). Its roof is covered with lapis lazuli and detailed embossed soft curving dragons with pearl inlays add a vibrant splash of color.
This old design is quaint and charming. There's a small altar in the middle to commemorate Tran Thi
In the 15th century, 12 patriarchs of the Tran family followed Vietnamese King Le Thanh Tong and settled in Thanh Toan village in the south of Vietnam.
In 1776, Mrs. Tran Thi Dao, a sixth-generation niece of the Tran family and wife of a high ranking official under King Le Hien Tong, used her own money to build the bridge and donated it to the village to give the locals not just a bridge but also a meeting place .
To remember her contribution, King Le Hien Tong exempted the village from many kinds of collections. In 1925, Emperor Khai Dinh ordered people to set up an altar on the bridge to worship her.
on the hot day, sitting here in the bridge felt like natural air conditioning with cool cross breeze. No wonder, many locals were dozing away
Amy Hotel & Apart' Hue, Superior Studio
we checked in, had a meal
Free water and loads of snacks with a list of their rates.
Weird combo, but I rustled it up in a jiffy with left over veggies, it was tasty and filling😄
we took a grab taxi to the pagoda
Thien Mu/ Linh Mu Pagoda, Hue
The name of the pagoda derives from a special legend. Long time ago, an old woman appeared on the hill where the pagoda stands today, telling local people that a Lord would come and build a Buddhist pagoda for the country’s prosperity. Lord Nguyen Hoang governor of the province of Thuan Hoa (now known as Hue), and ruler of his independent state in central Vietnam was on a sightseeing tripand holiday to contemplate the seas and mountains of the local area , While galloping along the Huong River, he came across a small hill named Ha Khe jutting up by the blue river, resembling a dragon rotating its head. ordered the construction of the pagoda the “The midwife of heaven /Heaven's Fairy Lady” or Thiên Mụ in Vietnamese (also called Linh Mụ) The beautiful pagoda was built in 1601.
In 1862, King Tu Duc changed the pagoda’s name to Linh Mu because he feared that the word “Thien”, which means heaven, would offend heaven and prevent him from having children to continue the lineage. In 1869 he allowed the name Thien Mu to be reused as before. [and unfortunately, he was childless though he had 106 wives and countless concubines ]
Today, people call this ancient pagoda by both names .
One of the most significant restorations took place during the tenure of Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu (1691 - 1725). Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu ordered to cast a bell weighing more than two tons, which featured an inscription etched on it. Around 1714, he renovated other structures like the Tang Kinh Cac, the Thuyet Phap house, and the Thien Vuong Palace.
he also sent people to China to buy more than 1,000 sets of Buddhist scriptures. He also kept all the sutras in Tang Kinh Cac, with the old official documents of the Nguyen Dynasty. There is a very detailed set of scriptures about Venerable Thach Liem - a man who earned great praise for assisting the Nguyen Dynasty in reviving Buddhism in the Inner Land.
AMAZING BONSAI GARDEN AS USUAL
Par for the course in Vietnam.... we had seen bonsai in every site !!
It was a pretty scene with the Perfume river meandering by, the boats gently bobbing on it, dense trees swaying in the breeze and the ancient pagoda standing solemn.
We enjoyed the ambience and then took a grab to our apt. Bought some groceries
Sandwich for the next day
We arranged for the same taxi for 1/2 day the next day to take us to the royal tombs and then drop us at the Imperial city.
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