-
Assembly Hall of the Cantonese Chinese Congregation
Founded in 1786, this assembly hall has a tall, airy entrance that opens onto a splendidly over-the-top mosaic statue of a dragon and a carp. The main altar is dedicated to Quan Cong. The garden behind has an even more incredible dragon statue.
-
Phong Nha Museum
Poignant black and white photographs of the areas war history – especially the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Highway 20 – combine with an exhibition about the ongoing work done by MAG (Mine Action Group) in clearing unexploded ordnance around the region.
-
Kiep Bac Temple
In Den Kiep Bac, the Kiep Bac temple is dedicated to Tran Hung Dao (1228–1300). Founded in 1300, the temple sits where Tran Hung Dao is said to have died. Within the complex there’s an exhibition on his exploits, but you’ll need someone to translate.
-
Dalat Cathedral
The gingerbread-style Dalat Cathedral was built between 1931 and 1942 for use by French residents and holiday-makers. The cross on the spire is topped by a weathercock, 47m above the ground. The church itself is rarely open outside of mass times.
-
Museum of Sa Huynh Culture & Museum of the Revolution
On the lower floor you’ll find stone, bronze, gold, glass and agate jewellery, assorted ceramic fragments and burial jars dating from the early Dong Son civilisation of Sa Huynh. The upper floors revolution museum was closed at the time of research.
-
Sinho Market
Sinho has markets on Saturday and Sunday; the wildly colourful Sunday market is the more impressive of the two. Just don’t expect trendy ethnic handicrafts: you’re more likely to be confronted with a full-on mix of bovine moos and porcine squeals.
-
Hua Ma Cave
One of Ba Bes most popular off-the-water sights is this 800m-long cave complex with a pathway leading down into a soaring cavern (up to 50m high) full of stalactites and stalagmites. Bring a torch (flashlight) to illuminate the darker recesses.
-
Xuan Huong Lake
Created by a dam in 1919, this banana-shaped lake was named after an anti-authoritarian 17th-century Vietnamese poet. The lake can be circumnavigated along a scenic 7km sealed path that passes the flower gardens, the golf club and the Dalat Palace hotel.
-
War Memorial
Memorial to war.
-
Hung Vuong Roundabout
If you’re a fan of Socialist Realist sculpture, the monument welcoming people into town at the end of Ð Hung Vuong is a doozy. It consists of three giants, arms aloft, in front of a colossal obelisk. Two provide a perch for a dove while another brandishes an atom.
-
Hon Mieu Aquarium
Billed as an outdoor aquarium, its actually a fish-breeding farm where over 40 species of fish, crustacean and other marine creatures are raised. Surrounding the tanks are an incredibly kitsch concrete collection of giant shrimps, fang-bearing sharks and so on.
-
Coconut Tree Prison
The island’s main penal colony was known as the Coconut Tree Prison and is near An Thoi town. Though it’s considered an historic site, plans to open a museum here have stalled. It’s still used as a prison, so not surprisingly, few visitors come to check it out.
-
National School
One of the most famous secondary schools in Vietnam, the National School was founded in 1896. Its former pupils include General Vo Nguyen Giap and Ho Chi Minh (who attended for a year in 1908). You can visit the school during lunch break and after classes finish.
-
Endangered Primate Rescue Center
The Endangered Primate Rescue Center is supervised by the Frankfurt Zoological Society, and is home to around 150 monkeys: 12 kinds of langur, three species of gibbon and two loris. All the centre’s animals were either bred here or rescued from illegal traders.
-
Diep Dong Nguyen House
Built for a wealthy Chinese merchant in the late 19th century, this old house looks like an apothecary from another era. The front room was once a dispensary for thuoc bac (Chinese medicine); the medicines were stored in the glass-enclosed cases lining the walls.
-
Traditional Herb Shops
While you’re roaming, you can stroll over to the strip of traditional herb shops between Ð Luong Nhu Hoc and Ð Trieu Quang Phuc for an olfactory experience you won’t soon forget. The streets here are filled with amazing sights, sounds and rich herbal aromas.
-
Nha Tu Phu Quoc
Not far from Sao Beach in the south of the island, Phu Quocs notorious old prison, built by the French in the late 1940s, contains a small museum that narrates the gruesome history of the jail. A war memorial stands south of the prison on the far side of the road.
-
Tay Ho Pagoda
Jutting into Hay To, beautiful Tay Ho Pagoda is perhaps the most popular place of worship in Hanoi. Throngs of people come here on the first and 15th day of each lunar month in the hope of receiving good fortune from the Mother Goddess, to whom the temple is dedicated.
-
Danang Cathedral
Known to locals as Con Ga Church (Rooster Church) because of the weathercock atop the steeple, the candy-pink Danang Cathedral was built for the city’s French residents in 1923. Today it serves a Catholic community of over 4000, and is standing room only if you arrive late.
-
Cho Quan Church
Originally built by the French and destroyed three times, this 19th-century house of worship is one of the citys largest churches, with good views from the belfry (a steep climb). The church is on the eastern fringe of District 5, between ÐL Tran Hung Dao and Ð Nguyen Trai.
Total
681 -travel
FirstPage PreviousPage NextPage LastPage CurrentPage:
13/35 20-travel/Page GoTo Page:
