Ironwulf En Route
The fort passage framing the Danang Bay view
One of the “must-see” in Vietnam is the Road from Da Nang to Hue. In fact, National Geographic included this scenic route as one of the 50 Places of a Lifetime under the Country Unbound category. And passing by this route twice, first via a train to Hue (which the experience warrants a separate entry later) and on the back of a motorcycle on our way back, it definitely is a road worth tripping.
One of the watch towers at Tomb of Khai Dinh
Taking off from Tomb of Tú Ðúc in Hue, we drove of for a few minutes up to a hill top where another Tomb is nestled among its lush greenery. The impressive Tomb of Khai Dinh, with intricately dragon-adorned tier of stairs, gates and structures, is one of the well preserved tombs in the area. Constructed for over 11 years since 1920 (though Emperor Khai Dinh ruled only for 9 years in Vietnam during), the tomb has some Western influence since the emperor himself was able to visit France.
Stairs leading towards the Khiem Cung Gate
Still part of Hue’s UNESCO sites are the numerous Royal Tombs scattered along its area. Most of these are form the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) which is the last of Vietnam’s Royal families. There were 13 kings then but for some reasons there were only 7 royal tombs constructed on the hilly regions just south of the Imperial Citadel. In order to access to these tombs, you can hire a scooter or a motorcycle to drive you in each tomb, most popular though are the Dragon Boats which will cruise you along the Perfume River. Dragon boats, which are the leisurely way to travel, cost about $3 USD per pax for a whole day including lunch. Downside here is once you docked on different points; you still have to hire a xe om (scooter) to take you to the tombs since. And you know you have to haggle for a really good price and a good price starts around $1 USD and in addition to that is the 55000 Dong in each of the tomb entrance. It takes a couple of days to see all the tombs. For us however, having only limited time, we were able to visit two tombs, via motorcycle (which we contracted for the duration of our trip). Our first stop it the Tomb of Tu Duc in Hue.
Thian Hock Keng Temple and surrounding buildings
Moving along from the Sri Miriamman Temple I headed towards Cross St. where I would take a right turn towards the Thian Hock Keng Temple. It was only 5 minutes to 10 minutes walk and on your right along Telok Ayer St. you’ll find the temple passing by a small oasis park. The temple is a small typical Taoist Temple, said to be built by Seamen in 1821 for safe passage. The material construction of the temple boast of international origins, with ironwork from Scotland, tiles from England and the Netherlands, and towering granite pillars entwined with dragons from China. There was a small tour group there with a mixture of foreign tourist from Europe and some Koreans as well.
The Imperial Citadel in Hué
One reason why I’ve chosen to go to Central Vietnam instead of the popular cities of Hanoi in the north or Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) in the south is because the Central region has a concentration of 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites all quite accessible from the regions main gateway city of Da Nang. UNESCO’s got quite a lengthy list, which I doubt I could cover all of them in this lifetime. And you could never go wrong visiting these sites as they are carefully selected, funded and preserved.
The Ngo Mon Gate and Bridge
Our first stop is up to the city of Hué (h-way). I didn’t expect Hué to be such a big and modern city and was surprised to see how developed it was. I was imagining the place to be smaller, provincial like, with all the sights just a walking distance from each other. Though the place somehow caught up in urban development, the city still have the Complex Monuments spread out across the city along by the scenic Perfume River. These historical monuments, despite being stricken by war managed to survive and earned its rightful place in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.
The Taal Basilica Minore of St. Martin of Tours, is the biggest catholic church in South East Asia.
This is to continue the Taal Discovery. After our hike at Taal Volcano, we were off to the Taal Heritage town, which is 45min to an hour long drive from San Nicolas. It was already pass 5 in the afternoon when we reached the town itself. It was a very interesting town, quite small in contrast to Vigan but you could easily see the historical houses being towered by the gigantic Taal Basilica at the town center park. The Basilica is huge, and what a perfect timing that I forgot to bring my wide angle lens in times like this. I have to get really far just to take a shot of it.
A devotee lighting a candle and offering a prayer.
A bit unfortunate that it was already late and there was a mass on going inside the church. We couldn’t get up to the bell tower and view the whole Town of Taal from the top. So we just looked around the church. I’m really impressed by the huge columns that support the second level of the church. It looks very Roman and reminds me of the church pictures I see in Rome. Probably inspired?
The Windmills of Bangui, 15 of these structures stand on the Pebble Beach. (The orange speck on the right is a bulldozer, so imagine the height of this structure)
This would be the last entry for Northern Luzon adventure and would be a perfect climax for the series. When going to Pagudpod, you’ll never miss these spectacular windmills left-side of your view. It’s one of the most amazing view you’ll see up there on the north. When at the beach of Pagudpud you’ll still be able to see these afar.
Cape Bojeador Lighthouse stands in Burgos, said to be the tallest lighthouse in the country.
On your right (coming from the south), amidst the mountain terrain, you’ll see the towering structure of Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Burgos. Both mega structures, the former a new construction, and the later a true historical monument.
