The front desk staff of the Hilton Hanoi Opera arranged for me to join a tour to the Perfume Pagoda. The Perfume Pagoda is actually a complex of pagodas and Buddhist shrines built into the cliffs of Huong Tich Mountain (Mountain of the Fragrant Traces). It doesn't really have anything to do with perfume, but this was the English translation of the name, referring to the fragrant flowers growing in the area. It was on several lists of top things to see.
After a quick breakfast, I was met in the hotel lobby by an energetic young man who would be our guide for the day. He introduced himself as "Phil," then said his Vietnamese name was Lòng. He escorted me out to a small bus with several other passengers already on board. The aisle between the seats was the narrowest I'd ever seen - I had to shimmy through sideways to an empty seat near the back. Lòng had me write my name, age and nationality on a roster. I observed there were already a few other Americans and two Canadians on the list; I enjoyed trying to guess which ones were which.
It was a long, hour and a half drive, with a short stop at a snack and souvenir shop along the way. I loved seeing the many, many flocks of white ducks in their little pond-side pens; so reminiscent of The Story of Ping. And the emerald green of the rice paddies adorned our route. Approaching our destination, we drove through a small town of narrow streets where nearly everyone was on bicycle; many children navigated on oversize bikes. I remember that "barely reaching the pedals" feeling from my first bike.
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| rest stop |
Perfume Pagoda is only accessible by boat, and motors are not allowed on the water, with a few exceptions for official business. We seemed to get the "deluxe" boats - eight molded plastic seats and a canopy to shade us from the sun. Each boat was powered by a small woman who rowed from the back of the boat with what looked like handmade oars. They didn't have the big muscles I would have expected from someone who rowed boats for a living, and seemed to need minimum effort. The boat trip was a lovely, meandering hour amid limestone cliffs on the Day River, a nice opportunity to chat with my boat mates.
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| economy section - they had to make their own shade |
The gentleman next to me was a magazine publisher, and was snapping photos for his travel magazine, Asian Journeys. He was one of the Canadians, now living in Singapore. A young man in front of us was from Ireland, and was on holiday from his job dispatching helicopters for emergencies. He had been given a trip around the world when he graduated from university, and we shared our favorite places; we both had an affinity for New Zealand.
Upon reaching our destination, we passed several food stands with the skinned carcasses of suspicious-looking animals - we all thought they were dog. Our guide pointed out a fox at one place.
A Vietnamese couple who rode in one of the other boats approached me because I was carrying a USC backpack. He was wearing a UCLA cap - this turned out to be two of the Americans on the bus, now living in LA.
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| yep |
We climbed the first of what would turn out to be hundreds of steps, visiting the first set of pagodas. (Our guide pronounced it PAH-go-da, sometimes correcting himself, but mostly not). He said many people mistake pagodas for temples, but they are not the same thing. His explanation had to do with the worshiping of Buddha, which I think makes it a pagoda. Temples can be devoted to ancestors, Confucius, national heroes, etc. But don't quote me on this.
The first pagoda was Thien Tru, or Heaven's Kitchen - it had three different halls, including the Ancestor Hall and the Mother Hall. Vietnamese have a strong devotion to the Mother Goddesses. One hall had an angry-looking, red-faced figure who discouraged bad behavior. On the other side was a kinder, lighter-faced figure encouraging good behavior. A Vietnamese Goofus and Gallant, if you will. A brown-robed monk reminded me to remove my hat as I entered. We had come at the end of the religious festival that brings pilgrims from all across the country, and some worshipers were still present.
Back down those stairs, and up more stairs and inclines, we reached a big food hall where we would have our lunch. Food was served family-style, and everyone got a rice bowl and some chopsticks. We dined on rice, fish, tofu, eggs, stir-fried meat, cabbage, watermelon and french fries - something for everyone. I stayed away from the meat, but sampled everything else.
To reach the Perfume Temple, or Chua Trong, located in a cave deep in the mountain, one can either ascend the mountain by foot or ride the cable car. Having already climbed so many stairs, I was happy to have chosen the cable car route. One hearty soul from our group was going by foot, and so headed out early, needing a good forty-five minutes to reach the destination. The rest of us still had to climb a good distance uphill to reach the cable cars. I enjoyed chatting with a woman from Malaysia, married to a Brit and living in the UK. They were in Malaysia for a family wedding, and were spending some time on holiday in Vietnam. A couple of young Asian girls bemoaned the fact that they were not properly dressed for the outing. An older Chinese man, who I don't think spoke English, stayed on the edge of the group, smiling politely when eye contact was made. Billions of people in the world, each with a unique story.
Shops selling souvenirs and snacks lined the walk up to the cable cars. Many stalls were pushing sacks of what I think were taro crackers. Young men hauling bundles on poles passed us by on our climb. You can imagine I was gasping by the time we reached the cable car station, only to be confronted with yet another set of stairs. Made me realize how much we spoil ourselves in the US by making everything "easy access." Little or no consideration is given to handicap-accessibility here.
The cable cars seemed suprisingly modern, but our guide mentioned how the cables had overheated and "exploded" before, shutting down the ride for three hours - he mentioned this as we were riding hundreds of feet up in the air. It was a nice view. We could see the tin roofs of shacks all along the route up the mountain. Lòng said all the people who live on the mountain pay rent, and the funds are shared between them - a co-op of sorts. I rode in a car with Lòng and a couple of young Vietnamese girls, who were giggly and chatty, taking selfies. They asked if they could take a picture with me, too. Lòng said Vietnamese who don't live in the big cities rarely see white people.
I thought the cable car terminus would be the end of the hike, but more climbing awaited us. We finally arrived at what was called "Heaven's Gate," and it truly was heaven, because the cool air from the giant cavern below greets you at the entrance. Then it was 125 stairs down to the grotto, a massive opening likened to the mouth of a dragon. This is an extremely sacred place to the Vietnamese, and devotees worship Buddha shrines here with incense and flowers. We walked clockwise through the cave, as is the custom, and admired the rock formations while enjoying the blessedly cool air.
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| Heaven's Gate |
Then it was back up those stairs...
We enjoyed a cold drink back at the dining hall and waited for the walkers to return. A huge tank in the hall held several dead animals. Our guide said this was rice wine! No, I didn't partake. From travel.cnn.com:
Ruou thuoc (medicine wine)At last, the group was all together, and we once again boarded the boats for the trip back down river. At one point, the Irishman reached into the water and pulled out paper money that was floating on the surface! I went to take a picture of another boat as we passed, but one of the guys shouted, "No photos - we are gambling!" Must be their version of a riverboat casino. Later, another member of our group scooped money out of the water. I can't help but think the floating money and the gambling were somehow related.
“There are more than 100 kinds of ruou thuoc,” says Ha Le Hung, a local expert and owner of the Forest Restaurant in Mui Ne. “Each is prescribed for a different ailment -- one for old men with back problems, another for women after childbirth, one to aid digestion or circulation and so on.” Enhanced male sexual virility is a dominant, recurring theme.
Ruou thuoc, or medicine wine, is a potent form of distilled rice alcohol infused with herbs, fruits, spices, and wild animals like snakes, geckos and seahorses. Many endangered species are poached for use in ruou thuoc, including bears for their bile, and dear for antlers, hooves and fetuses. Some herbal varieties are indeed tasty and may have health benefits derived from traditional Chinese medicine. I find others taste horrid and most certainly provide only superstition-induced placebo effects…
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| Some boats had rowers standing at the back, like a gondola |
When we got into the boats to head back, they made certain the same people got on the same boats, which I found odd. Then it became apparent when, at the end of the ride, our rower said, "Money!" They each wanted to make sure they got their proper tips.
Back on the bus, we slowly made our way back to the city in the evening traffic. After the heat of the day, I saw many young men had emerged to play volleyball or soccer along the way.
After meeting the group in the lounge for evening drinks and food, Tim and I wandered over to a nearby Binh Minh Jazz Club. We got a little table near the stage, and a quartet soon began their first set. The saxophone player was quite good, clearly the most talented of the group, but he would only play for a short time, then let the others go for a while. The pianist wasn't bad, but the bass player seemed to stumble through and the drummer was off on his own, overwhelming the sound. Maybe just new to the dynamics of a quartet. Ah, well, it was a fun experience anyway.
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