I decided to book a trip to the Perfume Pagoda which is about 60km southwest of Hanoi.It is a complex of Pagodas and Buddhist shrines built into the limestone cliffs of Huong Tich mountain. Vast numbers of Buddhist pilgrims come here for the lunar new year which was due in a few days. I chose the scenic river trip.Which is retrospect was a big mistake because it never stopped raining for the whole trip. Basically four people sit in a little tin boat that is rowed for an hour by a young woman.
But we felt very vunerable because we were in a tin boat, on water, in a thunder and lightening storm!!!!!. There were about six boatloads of us on my trip and we all kept trying to see the funny side of it, even though we were freezing and wet.The waterproof capes they gave us were more shower proof than waterproof! I am the first one in purple on the left of photo. I also have nearly the entire contents of my rucksack on underneath to try and keep warm!!
But we felt very vunerable because we were in a tin boat, on water, in a thunder and lightening storm!!!!!. There were about six boatloads of us on my trip and we all kept trying to see the funny side of it, even though we were freezing and wet.The waterproof capes they gave us were more shower proof than waterproof! I am the first one in purple on the left of photo. I also have nearly the entire contents of my rucksack on underneath to try and keep warm!!
The main pagoda is about 4km from where the boat drops you off. Thankfully two years ago they built a cable car sytem so we all voted to go on that rather than walk along the slippery path.
At the top it was beautiful. We decended into caves where the pilgrims go to pray.
There are various rock formations that signify things like male of female offspring. Many young women pray for the sex of their next child.There was one giant rock that you are supposed to hug if you want a rich man.Well as you can imagine they had to prise me away from it!!!!!!! I clung on like a lampit!! only kidding its what they are like not what they have in their pocket! (yeh right)
There are various rock formations that signify things like male of female offspring. Many young women pray for the sex of their next child.There was one giant rock that you are supposed to hug if you want a rich man.Well as you can imagine they had to prise me away from it!!!!!!! I clung on like a lampit!! only kidding its what they are like not what they have in their pocket! (yeh right)
On the way back we all refused to go back in the little tin boats for an hour and we paid a bit more to get a boat with an engine.But it was still open to the elements so we got soaked again.But Some of the Irish tourists gave me a bottle of beer and we all just sat at the back of the boat singing in the rain, with rain dripping off our noses, and it was good fun!!
When I got back to the guesthouse they had a little heater I could rent. I was thrilled. I sat for a couple of hours hunched over it drying my clothes out.I did wonder what the heck I was doing, but it is all part of the experience!(I know I am using a lot of exclamation marks,but Vietnam makes you like that!)
I then met up with the Irish lot afterwards for a fantastic Vietnamese meal.
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