For the past few weeks, Pinky and I have been looking forward to Da Nang ever since her sister Anny said she would come to visit us for a few days! We decided to take a few days off from work and to treat the week like a real vacation: no work, spending a little more for real hotels, and eating three meals out per day - living large! Finally, the day arrived, and Pinky and I headed to Da Nang Airport and ordered a coffee at the hilariously communist Star Cafe to wait for Anny to land.
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| Da Nang Airport |
We knew we only had a few days, and it was Anny's first time in Vietnam, so we hit the ground running to show her around Da Nang! The other day, Pinky and I had seen a bright pink bus driving around town. We looked it up online, and found out that it was the Coco Tour Bus, which runs from Coco Resort all over Da Nang.
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| waiting by the Han River Bridge for the Coco Bus to arrive |
A ticket on the Coco Bus is good for 24 hours, and you can hop on and hop off anywhere the bus runs. Buses run every 20 minutes, and it's an awesome way to see the city! We hopped on, bought our tickets, and rode in air-conditioned comfort through the city.
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| the bus is here! |
We were actually the only riders on the bus at that time! We just told the driver and the English-speaking guide where we wanted to stop, and they took us there! We wanted to go to the Son Tra Peninsula - also known as "Monkey Mountain", which juts out into the sea forming a big bay just north of Da Nang. It looked like it was so hard to get to, so when we saw that the Coco Bus would run that route, we couldn't pass it up.
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| riding in style through Da Nang |
We drove past some of the most beautiful beaches we had seen so far in Vietnam. Past a fishing village where dozens of colorful boats were moored up waiting to head out again at dark. Up the steep, winding, verdant hills of the peninsula. And finally, we arrived at the Linh Ung Pagoda, the Lady Buddha Temple.
When we arrived at the top, the driver and guide told us that they would wait for us for one hour! The Coco Bus really did have awesome service.
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| Linh Ung Pagoda |
The "Lady Buddha" refers to the huge marble statue of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of mercy, the female mother goddess of love and compassion in Buddhist and Taoist belief, who stands tall looking out over Da Nang. Before we went to see the impressive statue, we visited the temple itself, complete with the marble carving of a reclining Buddha.
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| reclining Buddha |
Although the day had been hot, bright, and sunny when we left the city, by the time we arrived on the hills of the peninsula, the wind was whipping against us, feeling strong and cold. Dark clouds were rolling in far faster than I could even believe - it was going to storm, and soon.
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| yo! |
The temple complex had many incredible marble statues. I was really happy to find a big statue of my favorite Budai, the "Laughing Buddha".
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| saying "hi" to Budai |
Even though most westerners think of Budai as Buddha, he's actually an entirely different figure. Budai is not Buddha, but is actually a Chinese Buddhist monk, believed by some to be an incarnation of the Future Buddha. Budai is always happy - he's a symbol of luck, fortune, joy, happiness, wealth, and always keeping a positive attitude. I may not be Buddhist, but I can definitely appreciate what this guy represents! I always like finding a statue of him.
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| not sure why the kid is poking his bellybutton - for luck? |
Then we came to the statue of the "Lady Buddha" herself - Guanyin stood tall on the hillside, looking out over the bay. The statue is so tall that you can see it from the beach far below.
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| Guanyin herself (and Budai just chilling below) |
The sky rapidly became darker and darker, and the wind began growing stronger. We haven't had much rain since leaving Hanoi. I'm not sure when the rainy season will stat here, but this was definitely going to be a big storm!
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| dark skies rolling in over Da Nang |
There was a lookout point, where we could see Da Nang City far below. The sea was already looking rough!
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| looking back over the city |
When we got back on the bus, the first big heavy raindrops were just starting to fall, and it began pouring as we drove back down from the mountainside and back to the city.
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| the bus was waiting for us |
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| look at those dark clouds! |
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