What to do when it’s Sunday and sunny? Go on a road trip of course!
Luke and I decided to take a little road trip. We headed towards Da Nang, and continued along the mountainous jungle path until we reached our goal. In the middle of nowhere is a national heritage tree, which is about 1000 years old. It is 26m tall, 10m in circumference, and its gnarly 26 rootlets are impossible not to dumbfound you, along with the intricacy of the tree’s branch system. It is very special to be so close to something so old, but sadly, like with almost any other thing ancient, it was covered in people’s names, inscriptions and declarations of love. Sigh.
After marveling at the Banyan tree, we headed on to Vietnam’s version of the Rio de Janeiro’s Christ statue: Lady Buddha. The crispy white statue, also called Bodhisattva of Mercy, lights up the mountainside where it resides, and is easy to spot from miles away.
This 67m tall giant is next to Phap Lam Pagoda, which is also very worthy of a visit. Surrounding the pagodas plaza are several statues, each depicting a different version of Buddha. Inside the pagoda is a gorgeous, dark wooden sculpture of one of the laughing Buddhas, and inside the Lady Buddha statue are 17 floors, with each one worshipping a different Buddha. It’s like a Buddha-mecca!
Observing the religions of other cultures and peoples is always fascinating, everything from the relics to the symbols, traditions and rites. I really enjoyed my time there.
Lastly, we stopped off at one of the beaches in Da Nang, and basked in the glorious sun! Coming from Denmark, where Summer is “the best week of the year”, I don’t think I will ever get enough of the sun!
We were completely alone on the beach, except for a few fishermen who were out in the water with their nets, and enjoyed not doing anything, just being. Which sometimes is quite hard, but so worth it!
