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SAIGON
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MEKONG DELTA
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Soc Trang |
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 Soc Trang is
situated on Highway 1 and makes for a perfect place to break the
journey from My Tho to Ca Mau. With a 500 kg Vampire pig and a
psychedelic pagoda to see, Soc Trang is well worth a visit to
experience a bit of the bizarre side of life in Vietnam.
Soc Trang is
the home to two fascinating pagodas. The first one is the Khmer
Bat Pagoda. The grounds are spacious and serene and the pagoda
is lovely. About 20,000 fruit bats with dog-like faces live on
the grounds of the pagoda, and an individual bat can weigh up to
half a kilo. What gives the pagoda a twilight zone appeal is the
fact that the bats only live on the trees within the pagoda
grounds, and they eat no fruit from within the pagoda. For
surreal appeal there is also a five year old 500 kg Vampire Pig
in residence. This Pig has five ?toe things? instead of the
usual four and to top it off, the Pig has fangs which are really
weird.
The second
is Dat Set (Soil) Pagoda. This is a truly incredible pagoda
boasting hundreds of statues made of soil. Even the building and
pillars were once made of soil, but have since been replaced
with more stable concrete. There is a huge dragon and a huge
tiger statue that protect the gold mountain, whilst a lion
protects the silver mountain. However the most intriguing part
of the pagoda is the candles. There are four large candles, two
of which have never been lit and stand at 2.6 m high, weighing
200 kg. The other two candles have been burning continuously for
the last twenty years and are only half done. There are crazy
multicolored flickering lights everywhere giving the pagoda a
psychedelic Christmas feeling. |
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See also |
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Hanoi & surroundings |
Halong & Catba island
The Northeast|
Sapa & the Northwest |
DMZ |
Hue |
Hoian |
Danang |
Dalat
Coastline |
Central Highlands |
Saigon & the Mekong Delta
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Ca Mau
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 Ca Mau is
situated in one of the largest swamplands in the world,
surpassed only by the Amazon basin. This provides Ca Mau with
its unique attraction of the U-Minh mangrove forest.
U-Minh Forest
U-Minh, which in Vietnamese means "twilight" and which is red as
"ou ming" is the largest mangrove swamp forest that can be found
in the world excepting the Amazon. Once in U-Minh forest you can
take very interesting walks around the rice fields, indigo and
mangrove forests and honeybee breeding areas. It is very quiet
and spacious, making a worthwhile day trip from Ca Mau.
Unluckily, the newest of this zone is a very bad news that a
vast area had been burnt during the dry season in early 2002 and
thus limited most of the present visits.
Bird Parks
There are two bird parks that you can visit from Ca Mau. The
first, Bac Lieu bird garden can be found about 3 km out of Bac
Lieu. The second bird garden is in Minh Hai in Vuon Chim in the
Bam Doi District.
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See also |
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Hanoi & surroundings |
Halong & Catba island
The Northeast|
Sapa & the Northwest |
DMZ |
Hue |
Hoian |
Danang |
Dalat
Coastline |
Central Highlands |
Saigon & the Mekong Delta
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Rach Gia
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 This laid
back fishing town is the capital of the Kien Giang province and
faces the Gulf of Thailand. The main part of town is on an
island connected by four roads that cross the channel. Some of
the tastiest and cheapest local food is sold on the northern end
of Hung Vuong Street. Rach Gia is considered a stronghold of the
Cao Dai faith.
It is almost
worth getting up at 5 or 6 am to watch the boats come in from a
night of fishing. The fishing docks on the sea side of the
island are a hive of activity while all the fish are being
sorted. |
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See also |
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Hanoi & surroundings |
Halong & Catba island
The Northeast|
Sapa & the Northwest |
DMZ |
Hue |
Hoian |
Danang |
Dalat
Coastline |
Central Highlands |
Saigon & the Mekong Delta
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Ha Tien
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 Ha Tien, a
very beautiful beach and market town, is situated virtually on
the Vietnamese-Cambodian border and offers a diverse spread of
Vietnamese life. There is a high percentage of Khmers living in
this area, reflecting the historical significance of the area
that has changed hands between Cambodia and Vietnam and in the
late 1970s bore the brunt of Khmer Rouge raids across the
frontier. Today ha Tien is a bustling smuggling town between two
former enemies, but for the traveller, the main attractions of
the area are the superb beaches. |
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See also
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Hanoi & surroundings |
Halong & Catba island
The Northeast|
Sapa & the Northwest |
DMZ |
Hue |
Hoian |
Danang |
Dalat
Coastline |
Central Highlands |
Saigon & the Mekong Delta
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Chau Doc
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 Chau Doc
sits on a tributary of the Bassic River and is an incredibly
friendly bustling little city. The people here are known for
being very warm and approachable. Chau Doc is also right on the
Cambodian Border and if you were able to enter Cambodia by boat,
you would pass through here.
Sam Mountain
The main
attraction of Chau Doc is Sam Mountain. Situated 7 km from town
along Bao Ho Thoai Street, the mountain has a number of pagodas
at its base, and some kind of army listening post on the top.
The main pagoda gets full marks for kitsch. Although the pagodas
at the base of the mountain are nothing to write home about, the
view from the top of the mountain is well worth the climb.
Market
Chau Doc has
a large covered street market on Le Cong Thanh Street. Here you
can get everything from something tasty to eat to a new Hi Fi.
There is also a great food market by the river, past the post
office.
Ba Chuc
Ba Chuc is situated between Chau Doc and Long Xuyen where there
is a temple and ossuary dedicated to over 3,000 Vietnamese that
the Khmer Rouge massacred in September 1978. It is very moving
and well worth visiting.
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See also
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Hanoi & surroundings |
Halong & Catba island
The Northeast|
Sapa & the Northwest |
DMZ |
Hue |
Hoian |
Danang |
Dalat
Coastline |
Central Highlands |
Saigon & the Mekong Delta
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