Perfume Pagoda: Eau de... perde de temps

  Perfume Pagoda, Vietnam
Friday, April 17, 2009

Having caved to the relentless pressure of the dragon lady (aka the hotel manager) we were bound for the Perfume Pagoda, roughly 60 kilometres away from Hanoi. That equates to about a two hour bus journey here, as the traffic and roads aren't the best.

An early wake up of 7am and time to squeeze some breakfast in before the mini-bus arrives. The time given to us was 8am. Making it down at 7:30am, a greeting from the mini bus driver awaited us. Thankfully the concierge waved him away, and gave us about 10 minutes to gobble down our food before departing. Maybe this was a sign, something warning us about the day ahead. Unfortunately ignoring that we climbed on board and the Perfume Pagoda was our destination.

Numerous hotel pickups, an obligatory stop at a tacky roadside craft shop and we were there. Midday was fast approaching and so was the blistering heat. The actual pagoda complex could only be reached by riverboat, 1 hour in total. This job was bestowed upon the local women, an actual tradition that has a yearly rotar. Our guide book noted that this would guarantee them a daily income of 30,000 VND, which is the average earnings for someone in Vietnam. Already we decided that our tip at the end should be a around that figure.

A cool breeze quelled the heat as we steadily made our way up the river. Picturesque scenery on either side, no hawkers, this was starting to feel like a treat. Maybe we overreacted slightly this morning, and should give this trip the benefit of the doubt.

Small villages and food stalls dotted the riverbank ahead; give it 5 years and it will be a metropolis with hotels, we were definitely close! After a hairy scramble across the docked river boats, we made it to dry land. Our tour group consisted of 13 people (lucky for some) and once we were herded like cattle we made our way to the cable car. A one way ticket is 40,000 VND, while a return is 70,000 VND. We both opted for a one way ticket and would walk back and take in the sights.

We shared a cable car with a group of Vietnamese. Sitting in front of me was a very inquisitive man, who spoke good English. He asked us many questions about our journey through Vietnam and was genuinely helpful and friendly. At brief moments of pause, I took the opportunity to glance out the window and take in the view. It was stunning, and the quote "Ha Long Bay but inland" was fully deserved. One strange observation was that the cable car stopped for a brief period half way up in an intermittent terminal. The floor was covered in 500 VND notes, apparently for good luck. Maybe the Vietnamese were thankful they have made it this far.

Upon reaching the top. Our first image was of an elderly women vomiting, nice! Maybe the experience was too much for her. Once the rest of the group caught us up, a short walk was required to the Perfume Pagoda. Images in our mind of an ancient trail to the Pagoda were shattered once we saw the shanty town street, littered with hawkers trying to sell merchandise. I thought this was meant to be the holiest place in Vietnam. Ah well.

Our next surprise was that the Perfume pagoda wasn't actually a pagoda, but a big stalagmite. This was just a prime example of turning something natural into a religious edifice, and having people throw money at it. Both of us were not too impressed. Lots of stalactites followed, apparently having different meanings such as wealth and fertility. At this point I think both of us were thinking that 50 USD would have been better spent elsewhere.

Ah well. At least we could have a nice 4 kilometre walk down the mountain, where lunch would be greeting us. After climbing the stairs and making our way back to the cable car station, a small path strayed off to the left. The view was great, until we took the first bend. The picturesque view was gobbled up by the sight of shanty huts and market stalls. Hawkers lined the street offering us cold water and coke. If only we knew that the whole 4 kilometres would be like this. If you were blindfolded for the first corner you would have no idea that you were actually walking down a mountain. Litter and stray dogs were everywhere, the amount of young puppies puzzled us.

Hunger was starting to creep up on us both. Good job dinner was just about to be served. It was a feast of steamed rice, strips of beef, steamed vegetables, fragrant fish and egg omlette. Consumption of the food was as quick as the serving. As a group we reflected on the past 2 hours, and not many of us were impressed. One more pagoda to see, before we would head back to the boats.

The next complex looked a lot like Japan, and was definitely more photogenic. Although small, it was a welcomed relief. Not a hawker in sight!! Bliss!! A lot of the ancient Vietnamese aspects were incorporated into the surrounding architecture, giving it a real historic feel. It would have been great to really explore this complex further, but we had to head back to the boats.

On the way back we did walk past the restaurant we ate at, and to our horror there were dry cured dogs strung up for the eating. The chef carving parts off like saucisson; to our horror. The look of contemplation and doubt was on all of our faces. Whats done is done. Best not to think about it now.

We made it back to the boat, and another hour journey faced us before we would make it back to the minibus. Our 20,000 VND tip was lying in wait in our pocket, ready to grease the lady's palm once we reached dry land. The hour passed, and Emma received a poke in the back from the old lady. She muttered "tip" and rubbed her thumb and index finger together. Next she muttered "more", once we handed her the money. We refused and climbed off the boat passing an English couple who just received the same treatment, but mistakenly opened up their wallet and handed over more. This has definitely stained our view of organised tours and once back in Hanoi we will choose our next destinations more carefully.

No stop was allowed on the mini bus journey home. What greeted us in Hanoi was the largest traffic jam ever. Nothing flowed in any direction. It was going to take us a long time to get back to the hotel. To amuse ourselves we took plenty of photos from the windows until we started moving again.

The plan for the rest of the evening was to go out to Bun Bo Nam Bo and have an excellent local meal of Pho Bo and some Bia Ha Noi. A nice Gin and Tonic followed in the cafe near Hoan Kiem Lake. As we sipped our drinks we reflected on our time in Hanoi as tomorrow we would leave for Sapa and the next big city would not be until Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), in roughly 5-6 weeks time.