Went on a little trip on Sunday with a few of my friends.
We went to Chua Phap Vien Thanh Son. A Temple outside of Nha Trang set in magnificent farmland. It took around 50 minitues to get there on motorbikes.
We stopped off for Bánh ướt (literally "wet cakes"). A lady spreads a rice mix over a thin membrane of some kind of cloth. This cloth has boiling water coming through it and she puts a lid on top. Waits maybe 2 minutes and with a ladle scoops the rice noodle sheet off the steaming cloth and places it on a plate with fried shallots and we had some beans on top. This has a side of Cha Lua (Vietnamese Pork Sausage) and nuoc cham sauce and shredded green mango. We paid the princely sum of 3 000 VND per plate. This lady sits beside this steaming pot scooping rice sheets of for hours. We consumed quite a few plates between us though. It seems like a hard way to make money however it is delicious.
Back off we went. Eventually we came across the temple after traveling on poorer and poorer roads. It is an amazing site to turn the corner and suddenly at the end of this dirt road you are there.
This Pagoda is quite extensive. It is on a hillside and has many levels to it. The wooden carvings, stone statues and gardens certainly show a flair for the beautiful with lovely gardens thrown in.
There were 2 peacocks as well as lots of fish in the ponds. The peacocks were putting on quite a display.
It seems to have a bit of a mix of Hindu with Buddism. I have heard this Pagoda referred to as the French Pagoda. I believe it was started in 2006. I don’t know a lot more about it.
The surrounding countryside is spectacular from the Pagoda. Rice crops, a duck farm, fruit trees are all visible. Unfortunately there was quite a haze so the photos are not as good as they could have been.
It was a great morning out riding and getting to see the countryside with the bonus of a beautiful Pagoda.
