Part 4: Buddha's Theme Park — The Luffington Post

It’s 5.45am when the alarm goes off so that I can do what the receptionist at the Victoria Hotel assured me yesterday was one of the benefits of the room she had given us. So I draw back the curtains, camera in hand, to witness the glorious sunrise over the lower Mekong... staring instead at clouds with not a hint of glory to be seen.

Coman, with an expression of “I told you so” written right across his face, sighs loudly and rolls over to get back to sleep, but we’re still down at breakfast by 7 to see if the receptionist’s other suggestion will prove somewhat more satisfactory; especially as it’s going to be good experience for what’s waiting for me later in this trip - a bike ride along Vietnam’s notoriously dangerous roads.

Bikes chosen, helmets on, we weave our way out of the hotel and on to Châu Đốc’s busy morning streets, cycling along a few back roads as instructed on the rudimentary map, before reaching a big junction, ahead of which lies a dual carriageway. Fortunately we notice that scooters and bikes have a separate lane, protecting them from the lorries and cars, and so we pedal along in the increasing heat of the day, heading for Sam Mountain, at the end of the straight road, five miles away.

The dual carriageway is dotted with modern sculptures every hundred metres or so and lined with Vietnamese flags, making it quite an entertaining cycle, even if we do envy the face masks every other person is wearing to protect them from the exhaust fumes that fill the air. After half an hour we reach the little town at the base of the mountain and pull over to investigate the Tay An Pagoda, which is filled with statues of kings and warriors alongside various shrines to different representations of Buddha.

Our route takes us on a circle around the mountain, passing through villages and countryside, with school children waving at us and roadside vendors looking on in bemusement. Communist monuments and temples and pagodas dot the landscape and we investigate a few as we go, dodging potholes and traffic, and cycling past farms and a few rice paddies.

After 45 minutes or so we have looped back around to the town where we first started so turn down the dual carriageway and head back towards Châu Đốc. Another five minutes of cycling brings us back past a huge arch I had spotted from the other side of the road earlier, so I pull off the road towards it with Coman in tow, to investigate.

We cycle under the arch and pull to a halt, mouths slightly agape. Before us lies a vast modern temple complex of bright colours, huge statues, lakes, dragons and pagodas with seemingly no-one in it. The odd temple attendant smiles graciously as we enter each building, the huge spaces rich with ornate decorations, multi-coloured lights and thousands of Buddhas, but all of them completely devoid of other people.

On we go, exploring this sprawling site, thankful for discovering toilets as well as the beautiful but deserted prayer gardens and spaces. It’s so colourful and well maintained it feels like a huge religious theme park, although Coman suggests it’s like a Buddhist version of Knock, and as we leave we spot a Vietnamese family also having a peek around, shyly smiling at us as we cycle past.

Back at the hotel the concierge tells us that the site is called the Huyhn Dao Pagoda and is an old complex but regularly painted and updated due to huge contributions from ex-pat Vietnamese in the USA, meaning it always appears brand new.

We relax for a while at the Victoria, thankful to have lunch in the air-conditioned lobby rather than the incredibly hot midday heat out on the terrace overlooking the river. Once we’ve finished eating our new guide Tai greets us, and along with driver Hai, we set off on an afternoon trip through the delta countryside to Tra Su, an eco-reserve about 35 miles away from Châu Đốc. As we go we pass by crocodile farms, orchards of papaya and mangoes and plains full of rice paddies, green and glinting in the afternoon sun.

Tai, who it transpires we’ll have guiding us on two different sections of our travels, tells us that Vietnam is currently the third biggest exporter of rice in the world, sending some 50 million tons of rice around the world to the tune of $3billion to the economy. We hear variously from other sources that Vietnam is the fourth or fifth biggest exporter… but whatever, that’s a lot of rice being grown. And it’s back-breaking work!

We’re clad in our safari clothes, and sprayed head to foot in insect repellent, when we get out of the car at Tra Su and are ferried on a gondola across an expanse of water to reach the entrance, and the paths that weave through the reserve. Across the 850 hectares are 70 species of birds, 23 species of fish and 16 species of reptiles, all living amongst mangroves and forests of malaluka trees, also known at paper bark trees.

We disembark and transfer to a boat with an outboard motor and a smiling woman at the controls and then glide along waterways gazing at blooms of water hyacinths and watching dragonflies, storks and butterflies flit and dance through the air. After a few miles we get out and wander amongst the trees, reaching a very tall observation tower. It’s a little dilapidated and Coman makes it about half way up before deciding that the vertigo won’t be worth it.

I carry on until the viewing platform at the top, my legs dizzy beneath me, and look out over a panoramic vista of trees and water, our location at the heart of the expanse making it feel like we’re deep in the middle of endless jungle. We decide to walk back to the entrance ferry boat via the newly constructed 2km raised wooden walkway, which opened just two days ago and is still having the finishing touches added to it as we go. Due to the sapping heat it feels a much long walk, albeit through picturesque scenes , and we sink into the air-conditioned car with gratitude at the end.

On the way back to the hotel we drive through a Khmer village to visit its pagoda, a working temple in the middle of a community. It’s very impressive but the giant Huyhn Dao Pagoda we saw earlier, along with the Tay An temple at the base of Sam Mountain, have rather stolen its thunder and we’re both exhausted so our visit is somewhat shorter than Tai planned and we have a much-needed siesta back in our room.

The sun has set when we arise and, still somewhat drowsy, we head up to the spa for the couple’s massage we booked, where two small women kneel on our backs and stretch, knead and pull our muscles and joints into new contortions. It’s painful and relaxing in equal measure but sets up for a lovely dinner in the Bassac restaurant, where we opt for a Western experience tonight, being served pasta and risotto… both extremely well done by the Vietnamese chef.

We sleep very well tonight!