One Pilla Pagoda

The One Pillar Pagoda (Vietnamese:Chùa Một Cột, formally Diên Hựu tự , which litterally means “long lasting happiness and good luck”) is a historic Buddhist temple in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

The unique pagoda is located in the western part of the city, near Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, Ong Ich Khiem St., Ngoc Ha, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

According to legend, ageing Emperor Ly Thai To of the Ly dynasty, who had no children, used to go to pagodas to pray to Buddha for a son. One night, he dreamt that he was granted a private audience to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who was seated on a great lotus flower in a square-shaped lotus pond on the western side of Thang Long Citadel, gave the King a baby boy. Months later, when the Queen gave birth to a male child, the Emperor ordered the construction of a pagoda supported by only one pillar to resemble the lotus seat of his dream in the honour of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. According to a theory, the pagoda was built in a style of a lotus emerging out of the water.

Tam Cốc

The Tam Coc (“three caves”) portion is a three-hour excursion by small boat along the Ngo Dong river, beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through three natural caves (Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba), the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water. The boats are typically rowed by one or two local women who also sell embroidered goods.

Sapa, Vietnam

Sapa is located in Lao Cai province, 350 km from Hanoi, close to the border with China. The Hoang Lien Son range of mountains dominates the district, which is at the eastern extremity of the Himalayas.This range includes Vietnam’s highest peak, Fansipan, at a high of 3142m above sea level and a vast area covered by thick forest, rich in wildlife.

Sapa is home to a great diversity of ethnic minority people. It is likely that, Sapa was first inhabited by highland minorities of H’mong and Yao group.

From Hanoi to Lao Cai:

* By road: It is 335 Km by road.
* By Train: The French started to build the rail road to Lao Cai from early 20th Century and nowadays this portion has been developing very fast to satisfied great demand especially for tourists to go to Lao Cai. Every day there are many trains depart from Hanoi to Lao Cai .

Thank you to Yeo bought me these postcards.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

My friend send me this postcard from her recent trip to Vietnam.

Ha Long Bay, is one of the UNESCO site of the world. Halong Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a human presence. The site's outstanding scenic beauty is complemented by its great biological interest.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Paradise cave

The Trinh Nu Cave

The Fighting - cocks islet

Ha Long bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Quảng Ninh province, the northeastern part of Vietnam and is 165 Km from Hanoi.

The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. The bay has a 120 kilometre long coastline and is approximately 1,553 square kilometres in size with 1969 islets. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves, other support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Another specific feature of Halong Bay is the abundance of lakes inside the limestone islands, for example, Dau Be island has six enclosed lakes.

Ha Long literally means descending dragon(s) and according to local myth.

Tags: Ha Long Bay | Vietnam UNESCO

Postcard from Vietnam

Postcard do tell us the story of the people