By Jason He
It has been four days since we’re been in the port city of
Danang. Our expectations of the fourth largest city in Vietnam have
not been met. Danang is a rather bleak city with barely any tourist
attractions aside from the river and the nearby beaches. In
comparison to Hanoi, Danang is a slower paced city that has a more
relaxed environment; Hanoi is overall, more active.
A dozen or so kilometers from Danang are one of Vietnam’s most
spectacular natural wonders: Ngu Hanh Son, the Marble Mountains.
Ngu Hanh Son is a cluster of five mountains that represent the five
elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Wood and Metal. When we were first
informed that we could be climbing the Water Mountain we did not
expect it to be such an arduous journey. Replace gradual ascents
with steep ones, dirt and gravel paths with jagged slippery marble,
and open wilderness with rocky caverns; this is Thuy, the Water
Mountain.
We left the Royal Hotel in Danang at 7:20 a.m. We wanted to beat
the heat of the midday sun by scaling Thuy before noon. A short bus
ride later we approach the impressive mountain. Thuy Son is the
largest and most magnificent of the Marble Mountains. It also has
many attractions on the mountain aside from the natural beauty. On
one of the three peaks on Thuy Son, Thoung Thai, there is an ornate
pagoda. We traversed through 157 steps including a small crevasse
that was almost ninety degrees to the adjacent floor just to reach
the pagoda, Tam Thai. Nearby Tam Thai is a temple and statue of
Quan Yin, the female Buddha. The temple area is one of the biggest
attractions of Ngu Hanh Son, to both tourists and to the native
population.
More than half the country of Vietnam is Buddhist and more
specifically, Mahayana, so therefore Thuy Son is considered sacred,
both historically and religiously. Buddhism is very strong in Asia
but especially in Southeast Asia. A young prince by the name
Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism when he realized that a life of
indulgence in pleasure of the senses was not a fulfilling one. He
therefore subjected himself to the destruction of his senses and at
one point he almost died from starvation. Siddhartha at that point
realized nirvana, a sort of enlightenment that he believed that
everyone possesses but they need to realize it. From the
realization of nirvana, Siddhartha changed his name to Buddha, the
Enlightened one.
The visit to Ngu Hanh Son and the marble villages nearby has
been thus far the most interesting and enjoyable part of this leg
of the journey south. The coming of bigger and better things is a
theme I much enjoy.