Huong Tich Cave at Perfume Pagoda in Vietnam

On January 30, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Vietnam3 Comments

Perfume Pagoda is a complex of Buddhist temples located about a couple of hours outside of Hanoi in Vietnam. At the heart of the complex is Huong Tich Cave and within the cave is Chua Trong or the Inner Temple. During the festival time, from late January through early March, thousands of people visit the temple and the 2.5 km (1.5 mile) path that takes you up to the cave is lined with vendor stalls selling food, gifts, and objects to use as an offering. In order to reach the Perfume Pagoda complex, you need to take an almost hour long boat ride (less if you take a motorized boat) through the beautiful countryside.

There is a cable car that will also take you to the summit where Huong Tich Cave is located and for the nominal price it is worth it. During the festival, however, the lines for the cable car are so long that it is faster to walk and even that is very slow going as you weave along the foot path. The views from the cable car are also worth it as it allows you to get above the path and see how it winds through the forest. After taking the cable car to the summit and visiting the cave and Chua Trong, we did walk down the path in order to get an appreciation of it. There were only a few stalls open during our visit and needless to say, with less visitors, they worked hard to try to get us to buy something.

Temple Building on the Side of the Mountain

From the cable car, you walk down a steep set of stairs that take you to the entrance of the cave. The opening of Huong Tich Cave is said to resemble the mouth of a dragon and there is a rock formation inside of the cave that also looks like a dragon. There is a ceremonial altar at the entrance and at the deepest part of the cave is the inner temple, Chua Trong. As we understand it, it is the only pagoda located inside of a cave and there are many different statues of Buddha in the temple. Even without the temple, the inside of the cave is interesting to see with all of the typical stalagmites and stalactites.

When visiting Hanoi, we’d definitely recommend going on the Perfume Pagoda tour, but only after doing Halong Bay and a Ninh Binh tour. The scenery is beautiful and the history, which goes back hundreds of years, and culture is fascinating. It is probably interesting to see during the festival season, but since we don’t like crowds, we were fine with visiting a couple of months before it started. The tour will take a full day from Hanoi, lasting about 10 hours from hotel pick-up to drop-off.

Sung Sot (Surprise) Cave on Halong Bay, Vietnam

On January 27, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn VietnamLeave a comment

Of the many fascinating places that we visited during our Halong Bay tour, seeing Sung Sot or Surprise Cave was certainly unique. There are many caves throughout the region, although most of the other ones that we visited were on the water. Surprise Cave is completely different as it is more of what we would consider to be a cavern with large ceilings, stalagmites, and stalactites. It is another very popular location, so the earlier in the day that you can arrive, the better off you will be.

From our cruise ship, we took a small boat to the docks at Bo Hon Island where Sung Sot Cave is located. In order to get to the entrance of the cave, you must climb the approximately 50 stairs that rise high above the bay. The walls of the mountain is covered in plants and trees, but even so the entrance of the cave is visible from the docks below. Before you enter the mouth of the cave, you are rewarded with wonderful views of the bay below and all of the other ships that are there to visit the island.

Interesting Formations Around Every Turn

As you start to explore Surprise Cave, the first chamber that you enter is known as the “Waiting Room” with multicolored lights and a variety of stalagmites and stalactites. It is probably known as the waiting room because that is exactly what it is as different tour groups wait for their turn to enter the narrow passageway that takes you to the second chamber. The ceiling of the cave has unique, swirling patterns from the water that created the large caverns hundreds of years earlier. It is an opportunity for your tour guide to give a brief history of the cave and to get an appreciation of the beautiful rock formations.

The second chamber, called the “Serene Castle”, is even larger and more impressive. There is a path that leads you around the various different formations, many of which that have been given different names because of things that they resemble. The most popular is one that looks like a turtle, which is a revered symbol, so people leave offerings as a blessing in order to receive long life. As you finally make your way out of Sung Sot Cave’s exit, you are once again greeted with wonderful views of Halong Bay.

We visited Bo Hon Island on the final day of our Halong Bay tour and it only took us about two hours to walk through the interior of Surprise Cave. With the amazing geological features, it is certainly worth having to deal with the crowds in order to see the cave.

Walking Along the Mekong River in Vientiane, Laos

On January 22, 2020January 22, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Laos, Uncategorized4 Comments

When visiting Vientiane in Laos, one thing that should be on your itinerary is spending time along the Mekong River. There are many restaurants on the road that sits along the river as well as Chao Anouvong Park, the main park in Vientiane. There are also a few rooftop restaurants that are only a block or two away from the river that offer great views of the city as well as the river. We had been told before visiting that we should be sure to see a sunset over the Mekong River and we were definitely glad that we did. At night, the area around Chao Anouvong Park that is near the inner city turns into a night market with street food, family activities, and vendors selling locally produced items.

We decided to walk along the river to get a couple of cold drinks at a pub to escape the heat and watch the sun set. As we walked the street to get to the pub, we were distracted trying to find where it was located and we walked into a section of the sidewalk that had fresh concrete. The workers hadn’t blocked of the sidewalk and were gone for the day, so we didn’t realize that it was fresh cement. We quickly hustled off of it, but our footprints were already there, so we joke with ourselves that we have left our mark on Vientiane.

From the restaurant, we walked along the river as the sun set over the Mekong River, which was truly gorgeous. On the other side of the river is Thailand, so many people from Laos and Thailand cross back and forth every day. Afterwards, we continued to the night market as the crowds began to form as people came out to enjoy the cooler temperatures. One of the things that we noticed during our time in Vientiane was that there were a fair amount of expats in the city, which didn’t actually expect. We also enjoyed a sunset from one of the rooftop restaurants, which also provided cooler breezes as the sun slowly went down over the horizon.

Watching the Sun Head Toward the Horizon

There are many interesting things to do in Vientiane, such as visiting Buddha Park, going to the Golden Stupa, seeing Victory Gate, as well as just seeing all of the temples. In addition to those places, it is certainly worth taking some time to unwind along the Mekong River and enjoy a beautiful sunset.