Perfume Pagoda

We originally planned to travel by rowboat, but the hour
long journey in the rain quickly lost its appeal. This is
where we got on the motor boat - no dock, or shallow
area - just step through the bush into the boat!

Just before boarding the boat with 3 of our 5 guides.

 On February 4, we left Hanoi with Randy and Heather Kline on a day trip to explore the Perfume Pagoda.  This is a large complex of approximately 30 Buddhist temples and shrines built into the limestone Huong Tich mountains.

The weather was a humid mix or sun, mist and clouds on the day we were there, and a temperature of about 23 degrees C.

It is also the site of a huge, 3 month long festival which attracts thousands of Buddhist pilgrims and seems to coincide with Tet. The Perfume Pagoda Festival began officially on February 10th. We were fortunate to visit before the pilgrims. It was interesting because vendors were setting up all manner of shops along the entire route to the Huong Tich Pagoda. Everything had to be brought in by boat, including refrigerator units, building materials for the stalls, chairs, tables, goods etc. The way was very steep and most materials were carried or pushed in carts by hand. There appeared to be only one or two small trucks and no permanent facilities other than the temples and shrines.

A couple times during the ride to the site, our guides seemed to be hiding.

It was a rainy trip to the site. Most people do the trip by
rowboat, but it takes an hour and we didn't want to be
completely soaked by the time we got there.

Our boat was long and narrow with metal seats, and it was raining during the trip to the Pagoda site. We didn't board at the main dock where our driver dropped us off - we travelled by scooter down narrow back roads and through a couple farms, and then walked down a farm lane to the river.  We thought nothing of it - it is Vietnam after all - until later when we started putting pieces together! We passed one or two of what looked like river inspection stations and our guides seemed to hide. Then, on the trip home, when we were loaded and ready to go, suddenly there was much yelling and angry  words exchanged among the boat driver, and one guide who remained after we climbed to the Huong Tich Pagoda. What we 'deduced' later was that our guides had wanted to avoid paying the docking and river use fees, so they had us board in an obscure, hidden place along the river, and had us hide when we passed the inspection stations. They ultimately had to pay the docking fee on the way back, although they did try to leave. It was disconcerting for us; a lot of yelling and waiting, and by that time we were tired and hot (the sun was out).

The Tro wharf, the main tourist and pilgrim dropping point. Notice the structures along the left of the path. Those
are all retail stalls being prepared for the festival. 

With 2 of our 5 guides at the Tro wharf

The complex overlooks the Suoi Yen River. After visitors are dropped off at the Tro Wharf, they travel on foot to the Thien Tru Pagoda, past stall after stall of goods for sale, from lanterns, small Buddhas, fruit and vegetables to fans, and furniture!

The path through the complex winds its way up hundreds of stone steps.

Paul doing his best Vana White interpretation. There was no sign in English, so we had to guess where we were. Our guides didn't really explain this. Luckily, Heather was able to refer to her 'Eyewitness Travel' guide.








The climb to the Thien Tru Pagoda was long and fairly steep, with many shops and booths along the way. The Perfume pagoda Festival is the biggest and longest annual festival in Vietnam, with an estimated one million +  tourists and pilgrims visiting the site during its 3 month duration. Officials this year expanded the wharf and put 4,500 boats into service to ferry visitors to and from the site. The shops and booths are supposed to be set up far from worship areas, but to us they seemed to be located along the entire route. Some interesting notes about the festival:



 - loudspeakers are forbidden;
- shop owners were asked to pledge not to overcharge tourists and pilgrims and to guarantee food hygiene;
- reports of illegal and unregulated' criminal activity during the festival, abound!

This was what we assumed was the entrance gate to the Thien Tru Pagoda.

'

Thien Tru Pagoda - Main building

alter inside main shrine

The Thien Tru Pagoda, also known as the Kitchen Pagoda dates to the 17th century. It is built on three levels on the mountainside. At left, is an alter inside the main building. You can see some of the offerings on the alter.

The main shrine, with a statue of Quan Am, Goddess of Mercy.

lion in Chinese style

I haven't done much praying in my adult life, unless it was for deliverance from an exam, but I felt like I should embrace the experience while at this famous pilgrimage site. The cost was 40000 VND (about $2.00) and our guide brought me a platter of fruit, chocolate, sweets and incense, which I then 'dedicated' to the Goddess. To my surprise, the offering did not end there. The guide took me to the shrine of the 'brother' and, another 40000 VND, another plate of food and more prayers. And then to a final shrine, with a statue of the 'lady buddha' inside, which is supposed to be lucky for women. By that time, I was running out of dong AND prayers. Can you pray for the same thing 3 times (like in Miss Congeniality - world peace! When Paul finally found me, he was annoyed (as I was myself) that I had been duped into 3 offerings - too polite to say no.

Of the 2, I think my mother would have preferred this one!

one of the small temples inside the main complex (Thien Tru pagoda)

Paul descending the 120 steps that lead
to the Huong Tich Pagoda

It is a very steep walk up hundreds of stone steps to the ultimate destination of pilgrims and tourists alike: the Huong Tich Pagoda. This shrine is set near the peak of Huong Tich Mountain, deep in a cavern.  It contains several gilded figurines of Buddha and Quan Am (Goddess of Mercy). it takes about an hour to walk to the shrine so the 4 of us took the cable car. Although the mountain setting is beautiful, the mist and booths all along the path would have prevented us from seeing much. The cable car afforded a great view.













The cave is cool, damp and dim, although the alters and statues are bathed in artificial light. At the entrance to the grotto there is a bronze bell (left) which was moulded in 1655. When we visited, the alters were covered with offerings and there were many Buddhist pilgrims and monks worshipping.

Inside the cavern

When we were at the dock waiting while our guide and boat driver argued over docking fees, we watched this barge
of ostriches being unloaded - well I actually looked the other way; all kinds of animal cruelty guidelines being violated I'm afraid. We discovered after that, during the Perfume Pagoda Festival, many restaurants serve 'exotic' meat like deer, porcupine and . . . ostrich.