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| a nice view from above |
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| it's a long cable ride, around 15 mins |
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| blue cable car |
When we reached the top, we had to walk for 5 minutes and then climb their 100-150 steps to the pagoda. There we saw a temple being built that houses Buddha's and other deities. We climb a few steps more and saw some tomb towers and grottos.
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| welcome to the pagoda |
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| a temple being built |
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| a tomb tower |
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| Roch with a Buddha |
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| a view from the top |
I was hesitant to take picture of myself with the statues since this is a sacred place for Buddhist but then we saw others taking their shots so we also did.
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| QuanAmBoTat |
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| ADiDa |
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| Tam the Buddhas |
Then finally, we saw the group of Tam The Buddha's: ADiDa, QuanAmBoTat and DaiTheChi; all of these statues are about 7 meters high, with mild faces looking over the whole world as if they were ready to save and support human beings (source:
http://www.binhthuantoday.com) Naks!
We stayed there for a while to rest and at the same time reflect. We talked about Buddha's teachings and Roch mentioned that the one thing she remembered was Buddhist are afraid to do bad things because they'll pay for it in their next life (Karma).
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| reclining buddha |
Roch asked where is the reclining Buddha and I said it's there lying in front of the feet of one of Tam The Buddha's and she said that's it? Apparently, she saw a bigger one in the pictures when we booked this (I wasn't aware of that) I only learned that there's actually a bigger (biggest in fact) reclining Buddha in the pagoda after ... and we missed it :( We should've climb a few more steps. Sigh.
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| souvenirs |
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| on the way down |
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| nagpa-picture talaga sa cable car. :) |
Anyway, we enjoyed the view and the place. If you're into faith, spirituality, temples and nature, don't miss this when you visit Phan Thiet. And don't miss the biggest reclining Buddha in Vietnam. Lol.
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| the Ta Cu mountain |
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| dragon fountain? |
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| i was trying to make a star out of my hand to mimic Vietnam's flag |
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| kung meron sa cable car, dapat sa trolley din. :) |
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| Roch enjoyed the purple reclining chair |
After we took more pictures and sip a sugarcane juice, we headed back and look for a dragon fruit plantation to visit. There's actually a lot of plantation in the area but Mr. Sang chose a bigger one for us to see. I was surprised when I learned that dragon fruit is actually a type of cactus.
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| dragon fruit plantation |
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| i like this pic |
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| Roch and I with the dragons |
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| dragon fruit much? |
I'm not really a fan of dragon fruit but theirs is juicy and very cheap. I know it cost around 100 pesos per piece in supermarkets in the Philippines but they only sell it for 7,000 dong (around 18 pesos) per kilo. If I could only bring a lot and sell in Manila. :)
After the dragon fruit experience, we went to a supermarket and bought some local chips and yummy roti :) We were supposed to go to Cham Tower but since it's already 12nn and our bus going back to Saigon will pick us from the resort at 1 pm, we decided to go back. We just saw the Cham Tower from the road. :(
On the way, Roch asked Mr. Sang to stop to see a better view of Mui Ne beach.
It's better than what we had in the resort but still nothing spectacular. After some shots, we went back to the van and headed to the resort.
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| photo op at Mui Ne beach |
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| strike a pose |
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| one more |
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| another one |
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| ang tsinelas ng Hoang Hai resort |
At the resort, we were informed that our bus will pick us at 1:30 PM instead. Sayang yung Cham tower! We just used the time to explore the resort and of course to have those kodak moments captured. We also met a father and daughter from Prague having their vacation and shared our experiences in Vietnam (so far)
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| our tour coordinator's office |
At this time also, we got a very great news from the Philippines. Roch was accepted in the company she applied for and will be reporting the third week of October. Yay!! :)
From the hotel, we walked to the 23/9 park and had dinner at Pho 24 (beside Ben Thanh).
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| at the park |
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| on the way to Pho 24 |
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| at Pho 24 |
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| Pho - All |
I had Pho-All (60,000 dong) which contains beef, dumplings, and everything. This is my first take of a Vietnamese noodles. I was overwhelmed with the serving, it's actually good for two. The noodles is very tasty and as a whole, I liked it. Nomnomnom. :)
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| GPOMS@S - gratuitous picture of me on a Sunday at Saigon |
After some strolling in the park, Roch took a cab to her house and I went back to the hotel. :)
nice dekdek! next time sama kami ;p
missu ;)