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Published: July 19th 2009
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So I finally decided to book one of the tours I had been planning on doing, not bad for 4 weeks in to my trip. I have enjoyed seeing the sites of Ho Chi Minh City but it was time to venture a little further away, starting with Tay Ninh.
My hotel had been very helpful in organising the excursion through Saigon Tourist for me. Although there are many other good tour groups (Sinh Cafe being one of the most recommended), I had previously been warned that you get what you pay for and hence opted for the higher end group. This was an all inclusive trip, that being bus, English speaking guide, lunch and entry fees. With many of the other groups, the guide will get you to the destination but then you have to pay the entry fees on arrival. Although that works out much cheaper, for hassle free travelling I still prefer Saigon Tourist.
I was met at 830 and boarded the mini-bus which would be my home for much of the day ahead. Being a smaller group, a coach was not really required (it seems most people go for the cheaper options, oh well). Most
of the other tourists were in Ho Chi Minh City for business and had decided to do the tour over the weekend so I fitted in quite well.
We made our way through the traffic, heading out of the city. Getting out of the city is the difficult part, the roads are just not built for larger vehicles. Once we were on the open road though, progress was swift. You do quickly get a feel for the bad condition of the roads (or maybe it was the suspension in the bus), every little bump caused you to fly up from your seat. Although air conditioned, the bus quickly got very warm. Combined with fact the leg room is aimed at Vietnamese sizes, I found the journey to be a little uncomfortable. I did manage to sleep for large portions of it though, so that helped.
Out of the city there are some glorious landscapes, mostly filled with rice fields. There are not many hills so you can see for miles and it has an unspoilt beauty. Farm fields are rented to the people and they can grow whatever they want on it. Mostly though is it rice, well
it is the main diet for most of Asia. I still don't quite understand how rice grows. After visiting a sake distillery last year I know that the rice is in a husk and this grows from the plant. Is there one grain per husk? How many husks on a rice plant? How many plants does it take for a 1kg bag of rice? These are the questions that are keeping me awake at night. Maybe I should visit a rice paddy sometime.
Once you get into some of the smaller towns, is is clear they are not planned in advance. You may have a large well kept house standing next to a ruined building. There is an amazing contrast between the buildings, rich and poverty blending in together. Even homes that have had the front removed have been re-used and turned into shops with a tarpaulin cover. Many of the older buildings will have been there for decades, but the cost of land is high and so nobody will invest if there is something already built there. A new plot of land though will be purchased and developed with ease. This summarises Vietnam really, the rich are very
rich but the poor do not have anything. It is hard to get something, but very easy to lose it all.
The journey from Ho Chi Minh City to Tay Ninh took about 2.5 hours, with one short toilet stop.
The main purpose of the journey was to visit Tay Ninh Temple. This is the holy land for the religion Cao Daism. Founded in 1926 it took the main principles of Buddhism, Confucianism and Catholicism to form a new religion which is unique to Vietnam. It is now the 3rd largest religion in Vietnam with over 4 million followers. It is a very peaceful religion, with no concept of hell only paradise after death. There is no god for Cao Daism. They worship the Holy See, an all seeing eye. Services are conducted 4 times a day at the temple, and at various other temples spread across the country.
The temple itself is one of the most impressive structures in Asia. Beautifully constructed, this colourful building is ornately decorated with carvings relating to the religions that were combined to form Cao Daism. Tourists can visit the temple and anything can be photographed as long as you or
your friends are not in the photo. Shoes must not be worn, hats are not allowed and no sleeveless shirts or shorts. There are areas within the temple that are reserved for the followers of the religion, and anybody wandering into these areas will be politely ushered out.
We were able to view the lunchtime mass. Although they do allow visiters to participate in the service if they wish (it is an open religion and they want to encourage growth beyond Vietnam), most just watch from the balcony above the hall. The worshippers enter the hall, women to the left and men to the right. There are 9 steps to nirvana, and so the worshippers stand on the appopriate step for their level. The junior levels are dressed in white, but the more senior members wear red, yellow or blue symbolising the three branches within Cao Daism. During the service a band and choir sing songs of worship. There is one hour of prayer and then the service is over. We only stayed for the first 15 minutes though as there was a lot more to cover during the day.
The grounds of the temple have some amazing
gardens. There is housing for the monks and nuns, plus teaching areas.
It is well worth a visit to Tay Ninh temple. It is nice to see the blend of religions and the building itself is breathtaking.
We departed Tay Ninh and headed to a local restaurant for lunch. They served a selection of local foods, albeit I think they had altered it slightly for the Western tourist. We were the third tour group there, so I think that most of the main groups use the same place.
From here we departed for Cu Chi and the second part of the tour. But that is for another time.....
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