Everything Random

I asked my wife and kids in an online survey which areas in Danang they would like to go to while we were there. Unfortunately, the Golden Bridge did not make it to the list (though I would have wanted to go there). I think they find it too touristy, and that it did not add anything to our knowledge of place, just an instagrammable place to visit. So here’s what they voted in the list:

1. My Son Sanctuary, the UNESCO world heritage site, home of the Champa Kingdom.
2. Marble Mountain, an eco-spiritual destination with magnificent views of the city
3. Lady Buddha, a Buddhist sanctuary overlooking the Danang coastline

So I studied the three locations and acted as my family’s tour guide. I hired a driver to drive us around the three locations and did a bit of research so I know what to say, what we will do, and how I will instruct the driver in terms of where to go and how many hours to wait for us in each location. It ended up as a very cost-effective option for me and my family, plus the fact that we don’t really have to join other people as we have our van all to ourselves.

First stop, the farthest one, My Son Sanctuary. I will post my pictures here, but for a full guide, you can find it here done by Anthony, an American who has lived in Ho Chi Minh and Danang. Yes. Somebody has already done it, so why bother?

Stop 2, the Marble Mountains. Again, here is a complete guide by Anthony, but posting my pictures here still. The elevation and the trees around makes the place feel cool. There are a lot of places to explore including caves and temples. You can easily spend two hours here without even covering the whole place.

Stop 3, the Lady Buddha Sanctuary. Officially know as Linh Ung Pagoda Son Tra Peninsula, a sacred site for Buddhists in Vietnam, visited by both tourists and locals. The view is magnificent even on a cloudy day. Again, Anthony’s complete guide is here, so take a look. But my pictures are below:

So we had a good day and I did not run out of things to say. So is it worth the research and taking down of notes from the blogs of Anthony.

Will I do it again? Probably. Not that I know what is happening in all those places that we went to, but having a little bit of info is enough to know the place. The rest of the time we spent walking around the places we visited and talking with each other than having to rush the visit because the tour guide of the booked tour has a strict schedule to follow.