26th December Hanoi to The Perfuum Pagoda VIETNAM

Hanoi - 26th December 2015

After our Christmas Day time off for good behaviour we were back to the active exploring on Boxing Day !

First was a 2 hour drive in the Hanoi rush hour traffic to get to the river as it started to rain.

The monks built the pagodas out in remote areas so they were always too far away to have their life disrupted.
Ting was in full guide mode and off we went to visit the Perfume Pagoda little knowing what was in store…, secret and inaccessible areas so many, like this one, are in remote mountainous areas with little access. There is no road and only non motor boats are allowed, so we decanted into the smallest tin can of a flat bottom boat you have ever seen for a 1 hour row up to the area where the pagoda is. This was all Janette’s worst nightmares come at once especially when Paul slipped getting into the boat and ended up with 1 leg in the river and a wet bottom !! Finally we all got on board, sat on the wet seats ( the rain was getting heavier..) and set off.

There is always some to photograph you when you do not look at your best 

It really was the prettiest, most peaceful trip with sightings of no less than 3 Kingfishers on the way. When we got to the landing stage, we then had to walk uphill using very steep stairs made from stone that was very slippery due to the rain to the ………..cable car (which is Mandy’s worst nightmare !) We decided we needed lunch first which probably wasn’t our best idea as we then had to hoist ourselves up to the cable car station which was a steep uphill climb !

The view from the cable car on the way up was very atmospheric, with lush tropical vegetation amongst the high karsts and mist.From the cable car another climb and then down into a cave in the karst where the monks in the 15^th Century had built the most amazing pagoda deep in the rocks. It was just stunning and we were then very glad we had made the trip. The atmosphere was very serene and the views dramatic.

Hot baths and tired travelers tonight but a worthwhile day…

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The serene river waters - the pagoda site was an hour by boat from the road

A Kingfisher keeping watchful eye on us

River like a mirror

 The map of the hidden temple site. Its obviously not possible to see every temple due to time and terrain.

Flags for the 5 elements of Budhism - earth, fire, water, land and forest

Inside the cave of the perfume pagoda. One of the most spectacular things we had ever seen.  Moody and spiritual nad so big it was difficult to know how to photograph it.

It is thought that the first temple was a small structure on the current site of Thien Tru which existed during the reign of Le Thanh Tong in the 15th century. Legend claims that the site was discovered over 2000 years ago by a monk meditating in the area, who named the site after a Tibetan mountain where Lord Buddha practiced asceticism.   A stele at the current temple dates the building of a terrace, stone steps and Kim Dung shrine to 1686, during the reign of Le Hy Tonh, at around the same time that Chua Trong was being constructed. Over the years some of the structures were damaged and replaced. The original statues of Lord Buddha and Quan Am were cast from bronze in 1767 and replaced with the current statues in 1793.  More recently, damage was done during both the French and the American wars. Both the gate and the bell tower at Thien Tru Pagoda were destroyed, the bell tower rebuilt in 1986 and the gate completed in 1994.