Nha Trang, Vietnam 4/21/24

Nha Trang, Vietnam

Welcome to Vietnam. Mickey was lucky when he was in the service that he was not stationed here. It does bring up memories of some of the young men I went to high school with, who served and never came back. But this city is thriving - we took about a 30 minute tender into port to meet up with our tour group, and off we went to an action packed day.

First up was a visit to Po Nagar Temple and is one of the most attractive and popular sites to visit. It is extremely artistic and an unusual architectural work of the ancient Cham people. Hinduism was still worshipped here in the 7th to 13th centuries, when the temple was being built. Ponager means "the mother of the country" and it certainly is an amazing sight to see.

The steps behind the altar are more like a ladder than a staircase. They lead to an upper temple but are closed off because of the difficulty of the climb. The altar is regularly refreshed with flowers and incense.

The pottery and artwork around the grounds is beautiful and the garden areas are meticulously kept up. It was quite crowded today - it is as popular a site to visit with the locals along with us tourists.

These are from the shrines at the top of the site. I was only allowed to take one picture in each of the temples, and these do not do them justice but it's the best I could get. There is a small museum to help understand the Cham culture and these are some of the gowns used in their ceremonies.

What was most interesting was the families that were enjoying their dinner on the grounds. Some of the food stuffs were for sale but there were quite a few groups enjoying a day at the temple. As you can see, the food looked amazing.

Lots of native costuming with many groups - these folks were happy to let me take their pictures, and the ladies invited me to pose with them.

Long Son Pagoda, a pagoda known as Chua Long Son is situated in the municipality of Nha Trang at the foothills of Trai Thuy Mountain. Not my pictures - grabbed from internet. Mine weren't so good but these show you the beauty of the temple.

This is my shot showing the buddha on the hill behind the temple.

A large white Buddha statue on the mountain peak is the temple's most famous landmark and can be seen from anywhere in town. It is the world's biggest buddha statue, according to the Guiness Book of Records but I think that information is a bit outdated. I swear the Big Buddha in Hong Kong is larger than this one. They say you can see the buddha from anywhere in the city. The day we were there, there were what appeared to be scout troops enjoying a visit and holding an award ceremony.

This is one of the most ornate temples I have seen on our journey. Each one has been amazing, but this was incredible. I wish I were a better photographer so you can see the majesty of the temple.

I tried to find the significance of the warrior statues that were ensconced by the main temple but have not been able to identify them. Same goes for the carved wooden statues. They must have been protectors of Buddha, I am thinking, similar to the warriors lining the walkway to the Big Buddha in Hong Kong.

This is the buddha on top of the hill that can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. The reclining buddha is also a beautiful piece of art that is at the 54th of 144 steps to the big buddha. The lower left picture is the first flight of stairs. The lady and her child were selling souvenirs at the temple.

Next stop, Nha Trang Cathedral, popularly known as the Cathedral of Christ the King, is a Gothic-style church built of stone. Constructed in French colonial style, its steeple's three inner bells provide tremendous melodious tones. Unfortunately, being Sunday, and late in the day, we were unable to enter the church as services were being held at the time we were visiting.

It has been a tourist attraction in Nha Trang for years and Nha Trang's Dam Market is the city's oldest and most prestigious trading center. Everywhere we went in Asia, there were these types of open markets. I found some sea pearls here, so I was a happy girl.

She had had a hard day!

Chong Promontory, The square-shaped granite block rests on top of a flat, big boulder. A large number of hand-shaped depressions are visible on the seaward side. Absolutely a beautiful spot, and we stopped for a quick drink before heading to our next stop.

We were entertained by these lovely ladies, playing the traditional Dan Tranh instrument.

Hon Chng Promontory has a giant hand deeply embedded on the rock. Legend says a giant went fishing there and a huge fish took the bait and pulled away. He had to hold the fishing rod with one hand and held on to the rock with the other leaving the imprint. Always interesting to hear the local stories.. The views of the city were lovely.