Before I move to Da Lat city in Lam Dong to live and work, on my last day in Da Nang I want to do one thing that I still love in this city which is cycling. Let me tell you the most beautiful and quite interesting cycling route in this city. Because it is a coastal city with two adjacent white sand bays, separated by Son Tra peninsula connecting those two bays. The smooth up and down roads on the mountain overlooking the sea will be a great gift for you as soon as you have enjoyed enough coastal roads from Da Nang city center to Son Tra peninsula. I love both morning and afternoon cycling on this route. I like the feeling in the early morning, and I don't go far, I choose to step on Linh Ung Pagoda, a spiritual tourist destination that nearly every tourist visits Da Nang. Yes it is also my favorite place but I rarely visit it because of the crowds. But my last day here and will be away for a while, I chose it for my experience
Linh Ung Pagoda is a sacred and largest temple here. Leaning back on Son Tra mountain and facing the bay (to the south), it has a beautiful and attractive landscape for sightseeing. It is about 5km from the city center, convenient for tourists to move. Jogging is also a good option.
The weather in the morning is usually a bit chilly, I usually start cycling at 5 am. It was a beautiful time when I could witness the whole transition from night to day. Fresh air and less traffic. Join the people doing sports on the calm and energetic sea that is spreading every cell and the cadence is spinning. From young people jogging, walking on the sidewalk, older people are bathing, practicing yoga on the sandy beaches. A moment of various positivity starts a new day, even though the sun wakes up a little late.
Floating to the gentle rhythm of pedaling and enjoying the scenery, I don't need to exercise according to the health criteria, I came across an area where boats gather after going out to sea, it is located right at the foot of the way to Mount Son. Tea. It was quite busy here with buyers and sellers. The men returned from the sea while their women were already waiting on the shore with baskets to hold what they had caught. Of course, it is indispensable for small traders and wholesale markets to buy the freshest seafood. I dropped in to see and found out that it is currently the season to catch shrimps (small shrimp). A type of crustacean for processing fish sauces for cooking and dipping sauces.
The freshest batches of shrimp paste will be placed in each rectangular plastic tray and transported by a small basket from the boat to the shore. And was put in a larger basket on the shore. Traders or local people can buy retail or wholesale in bulk. This is a great opportunity to buy the freshest of the beaches. And it will be transported to the markets via motorbikes with old racks and rusted by the salt of the wind and waves.
Passing the moderately sloping pass roads,you can meet monkeys climbing on the side of the road, they are very brave.
I reached the temple when the light was also better and the sunbeams began to emerge behind the clouds. Since it was quite early, the scene was very deserted, so I was less shy when taking pictures of sacred places. The main temple appears behind the stairs leading up through the three-door gate.
The temple has many Chinese architectures such as dragon and phoenix on the pillars and roof top of the temple, inside are Chinese verses and gilded paint materials. There are three compartments inside, in the middle is to worship Amitabha Buddha, on either side are bodhisattvas in imitation gold. They use quite unique turquoise tile color, this type of tile creates an iridescent feeling when the sun shines on these tiles.
Passing through the campus filled with beautifully trimmed miniature trees, between the two rows of betel nut Arhat statues in front of the temple carved in white stone. The statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin stands out because of its color and height. People here believe that since the temple was founded, with the Bodhisattva statue facing the sea, great storms have rarely devastated this city.
Perhaps because of that blessing, the great sacredness of Linh Ung Pagoda has attracted many tourists and people to worship and pray for peace. This statue is built of reinforced concrete, and is the tallest statue of Bodhisattva in Vietnam (67m). At night, the headlights are upside down from below, making it even more dignified. Most of the surrounding grounds have views of the sea or the city in the distance.
I walked more around the side and back areas to the side of the Xa Loi tower. There are chairs in the small shady gardens to rest your feet while sightseeing the temple. Coming to the front of the Xa Loi tower, you will see a very large reclining Buddha statue. I don't understand much about the meaning of the reclining statue, but it can be seen that the artists have done very well the details of the sleeping face, fingers, and legs, which are very realistic despite the large size.Right behind the lying statue are the greeting columns of eye-catching shapes. Each stone pillar is carved with an impressive dragon image, and it forms the entrance to the shrine area inside the Xa Loi tower.
The stupa looks like large bamboo shoots with harmoniously curved roofs on each side. Its architecture is often mesmerizing, but it's hard to describe how beautiful it is. It has about 9 floors and gradually shrinks towards the top of the tower, inside is similar to worshiping a certain Arhat. But I was more impressed by the path leading up inside the tower with its two gatekeepers with fierce facial expressions and elaborate stone-sculpted dragons.
The inner courtyard for monks and nuns is not allowed to take pictures, so I went through a lake with a small roof to admire the grounds. It is a lake that overlooks the northern peninsula and the sea. A beautiful scenic spot with stacked rocks forming by the lake.
The most impressive is the stone materials that look much more attractive when it is located halfway up the mountain. I bet everyone will enjoy seeing the surrounding grounds of the temple. It is very large and has many items, the landscape of the temple often helps each of us feel peaceful and relaxed when there are many trees, flowers, and aquariums. Everyone can enjoy some shots of my campus.
Thanks for watching.