Perfume Pagoda
The Perfume Pagoda (Chùa Hương) is about 60 km southwest of Hanoi. It's an
important place of pilgrimage, and certainly one of the most scenic. Everything on the way is remarkably photogenic, except, of course, the
Perfume Pagoda itself, which is in a cave at the top of a mountain that it takes
2 hours to climb.
The trip starts in the village of Đức Khê, where there are rowboats manned by
women. The boat trip takes about an hour, through karst country that looks a lot
like Guilin in southern China. The mountains form odd shapes, and the locals
have names for each of them. There are two complexes of temples, the most
important being Thiên Chu (Leading to Heaven), and then the 4 km walk straight
upward in that direction.
* = Duyên's photo
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Đức Khê village
The starting point on the trip. There are steps to leading down to the
river, where women with boats row to the Perfume Pagoda. |
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*The boats in question |
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Yen river
I believe this is actually on the way back, but why let facts interfere
with a story? |
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Fishing
The boat is a sort of aquatic snowboard. Along the river there are also
fish farms, rice fields and ducks. |
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Small pagoda
flanked by karst mountains |
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Another small pagoda
with rakishly inclined millinery. |
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The first set of temples
where we didn't stop because of the time |
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The gate of Thiên Chu
where we did stop. Built in the 17th century, it's still in use, with
monks' quarters on the premises. |
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Small building at Thiên Chu |
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Stylite with inscriptions
in front of the monks' quarters. Before the Roman alphabet, Vietnam
used Chinese characters to write its language. |
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Thiên Chu, facing the temples |
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More of the same |
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From the other side
A courtyard with plants, sculptures and pillboxes with statues. |
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A Vietnamese Beefeater
The gin is made in the bathtub on the left. |
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Someone you shouldn't mess with – porcelain or not
In London tourists enjoy tormenting the guards, who aren't allowed to move.
Despite the fact that this fellow can't, I'd stay away from him anyway. |
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Temple altar, with offerings |
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*The Perfume Pagoda
Not a pagoda, but a cave. It takes two hours of climbing to get here. |