Another day, another tour - this time I'm off to see the Perfume Pagoda - a mountainous area covered in Buddhist temples and shrines that the tour guide tells us is only accesible by river.
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| I guess the Jeeps just float around on their tyres... |
After arriving by minibus and buying some sexy vietnamese hats to save us from the scorching sun we prepare to pile onto long metal rowboats that are waiting to take punters down the river. In wonderfully typical Vietnamese fashion, as we are waiting for our turn to hop aboard, a huge argument breaks out (presumably over who gets take people next), and more and more rowers drift across the river to come and join in the fun.
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| Uh uh - Don't go there sister. |
Interestingly, the job of rowing tourists down the river seems to be exclusively reserved for women. There are also many more women who need work in the area than there are boats and so each boat lady only gets about two rides per year. This means that they rely on tips from tourists for their income so don't be stingy.
ProTip: Don't ride the boat with no pants on - the seats are metal and get very very hot.
This time of year in September the river is very quiet and serene and there are hardly any tourists here. The ride takes about an hour and our boat is powered solely by Woman.
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| And Woman is powered by Talking On Phone |
The boat ride is peppered with fishermen, tombs on the water, and boatmen rowing past using their feet to push the oars. Only men row using their feet here - apparently it's not ladylike for a woman to do it that way.
During the peak time between January and March when the country's largest festival is on around 1.5 Million Vietnamese people come from all over the country to visit the area - that would be quite a sight to see!
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| I had to settle for this... |
As is the law in asia, since this is a tourist spot which involves a hill or mountain, there is also a cable-car to take you to the top. I could easily catch the cable-car up and down but no - I am a hard man made of steel and pheromones. I begin the long climb up the mountain along a cobblestone path - past the gateway to a temple, and continue beyond the cable-car entrance. Walling the stone path are rows and rows of empty store-fronts as it snakes it's way up the hill. The entire 4 kilometer uphill hike is flanked by these stalls - it's hard to believe that they stretch the entire way up the mountain - it must be absolutely mad during festival season. Occasionally along the way I come across a stall that is actually occupied by an old lady or young girl and they are selling some fruit, water, plastic toy guns or other miscellaneous trinkets.
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| and small snacks. |
The only time you get reprieve from the store-fronts is when you take a detour off of the main path to one of the many pagodas strewn about the mountains.
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| The stairs won't give you any sympathy though... |
Finally at the sweaty top of the mountain I'm greeted with some picturesque stone steps leading down into a jungly cave.
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| Caution: Large Boulders |
It's nice and cool in there and a good end to the trip. The misty cave entrance is definitely worth the hike - even though it's a fraction of the size of the Surprising Cave in Ha Long Bay, I think it's more spectacular. Maybe it's the reward after the sweaty trek up the hill in the heat or the Indiana Jones feel to it - but it's great.
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| Just Great. |
More photos can be viewed here on Flickr
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