Hello everyone, how's your Monday going? Today has been a tiring day for me, but I'll set aside all the negativity to share with you a place that I love visiting in the city of Da Lat.
Last week, I spent 2 days traveling and visiting my brother in Da Lat. It was my first time visiting this city, and I've heard and known a lot about it. It's beautiful, romantic and has some tourist attractions for visitors to visit. I took advantage of my short time in Da Lat to experience visiting some famous places here. Linh Phuoc Pagoda was the first stop on my tour. According to my knowledge, this pagoda is about 8km from the center of Da Lat. Its address is 120 Tu Phuoc Street, Ward 11, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam.
Right from the beginning, I was attracted by the unique and meticulous architecture of the pagoda. This pagoda also has another unique name, which is “Bottle Pagoda”. The name bottle will make many people think of things that cannot be used but are only sold or recycled in the factory. Things like glass bottles, tin roof panels, plastic items, and scrap iron, are cleaned and decorated with bright colors. Then, these things will be used to decorate the designs in the pagoda.
In my experience, the use of these seemingly discarded materials is very environmentally friendly and also creates a difference that nowhere else can be. Usually, in the pagodas I visited, the dominant color that I see both inside and outside is yellow. The interior can be painted yellow or gold. But I found here that the tone of the colors was very diverse. In my opinion, this may be because the materials that make up the interior of the pagoda are very diverse, so combining many colors will highlight the clever use of bottles in the design.
That day, I visited on a Monday, but the number of tourists visiting there was very crowded. It was difficult for me to get authentic and clear photos. But in return, I was overwhelmed by the Asian-style architecture. All the objects and statues here are made very delicately and exquisitely. I observed that a statue of a dragon or a wall is affixed with broken pieces of glass bottles, and then glued to the outside of the statue in a very logical and clever way. Surely the craftsmen who made these statues have spent a lot of time and effort.
Behind the pagoda is the housing area of the monks, and the nuns but for privacy, I did not stay too long and didn’t take pictures. Here, each tower will have a copper bell. There are those high up, but there are also those low down so that visitors can easily visit.
I was very surprised when I saw the statue of a monk reciting beads. At first, I thought it was a real monk standing and chanting. But after listening to my brother, I found out that it was a wax figure carved with great skill to the point where I mistakenly thought it was a real person. In my opinion, this pagoda looks very similar to the pagodas in Thailand.
One thing I really like here is that the interior of the pagoda is very clean. Visitors here also maintain hygiene and always leave their shoes outside. This not only helps to maintain sanitation but also shows respect for the solemnity of this sacred pagoda.
There are still a few things that I don't like about this place. The pagoda's courtyard and entrance inside are not clean because many food stalls generate a lot of trash. And one thing I think foreign tourists will not like when they come to this pagoda is that some people will ask for money from tourists. This will create a bad impression on visitors.
Above is a short journey of mine in Da Lat. Hopefully, this will help everyone have more travel suggestions when visiting the foggy city of Vietnam.
Wishing everyone a delightful read!