Got to be one of the best day tours we’ve done to date.
We started with a visit to Tràng An a UNESCO World heritage site, which includes Hoa Lư, Tam Cốc-Bích Động, and Bai Dinh Temple.
The Hoa Lu ancient capital sits within the heritage site, although all that is left are two temples in honour of the first two Kings of Vietnam.
Trinh Temple in Trang An is located at the foot of the mountain. The temple is more than a thousand years old. Due to the extremes in weather, the temple has been restored and repaired numerous times over its history.
Our next stop took us to Bái Đính Temple, a complex of Buddhist temples on Bái Đính mountain. The compound consists of original old temples and a newly created larger temple. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam and has become a popular site for Buddhist pilgrimages across Vietnam.
The bronze statues were immense and beautifully crafted and sat alongside the Buddha’s in the various pagodas.
The New Bai Đính Temple (Bái Đính Tân Tự) encompasses an area of 700 hectares, located within the Ba Rau hills. The complex includes a number of structures built from 2003 and finally completed in 2010. The temple’s architecture follows traditional lines, consisting of large halls, courtyards and enclosures. The rumoured cost of the complex is in excess of $100m.
The complex includes over 250 Buddhist sculptures, including one of the more famous ones, the Happy (big belly) Buddha. All have been rubbed at their feet and midriffs by locals seeking good fortune/health.
The temple was built in Dinh Dynasty, consisting of 2 floors with 8 roofs. However, the temple was rebuilt in 1998 on the original foundations. The temple holds the ancient bell with the words “Phu Nghi Tu Chung”. This was cast in the second Thiệu Trị era (1842). Next to the corridor of the temple grounds there is a stone tablet.
The modern temple adheres to traditional Vietnamese design aesthetics with curved finials and corner eaves soaring outward and upward, resembling a phoenix’s tail. The interior includes bronze sculptures from Y Yen, stone carvings from Ninh Van, wood carpentry from Phu Loc.
We visited several parts of this massive complex and were in awe at the array of gold Buddhas, bronze statues and figurines.
The pagoda complex has a numbers of claims to fame, with the longest Arhat corridor in Asia, the pagoda with the largest gold-plated Buddha statue in Asia, the pagoda with the largest bronze Maitreya Buddha statue in Southeast Asia!!
The female Buddha has over a thousand arms and thousand eyes, making her able to help everyone and see everyone.
After an enjoyable and interesting couple of hours visiting the temples and pagodas we headed for an early lunch before taking a short drive for a boat tour.
The boat trip from Ben Thuyen Trang took us along the stunning river basin.
There are three magnificent caves created by the Ngo Dong river flowing through the mountain and we got to visit all three. Hang Ca, Hang Giua and Hang Cuoi.
Our leisurely rowing boat trip, was a mammoth row for our Vietnamese ‘captain’ but he didn’t seem too overly concerned. We witnessed scenic rice fields and limestone mountains.
Going through the low ceiling caves was truly incredible and amazing to experience. As it turned out we were lucky to experience this, with the water levels proving to be too high the day before to allow the boats to pass through!
Amazing scenery that’s difficult to put into words, so we will leave the photos to tell the story and paint the pictures.
Our last stop was Mua pagoda and caves. The pagoda has a view to a valley of beautiful rice field creating picturesque views.
One of the best tours and a really enjoyable day. By the time we returned to the hotel at 6pm, we just had enough energy for a pizza and a beer, before settling in for an early night and our jeep tour tomorrow. Can’t wait!
@travellingwiththeateam 