Day 6
Today was the hottest day we have been here so far.We went to the "Thien Mu Pagoda" which mean "godest from the sky." This is where the buddhist worship their buddha's. This pagoda is equivalent to our church except we worship Jesus Christ. This pagoda was built in the 17th century by a South Vietnam warlord named Nguyin. Nguyin named Hue the capital of South Vietnam when it was seperated into South and North Vietnam. He came upon this pagoda when one day he was walking in a jungle of pine trees and there was a big rock in the middle and a very beautiful strange looking lady was sitting on the rock. Her cheeks were rosy red but her hair was gray. The lady told the warlord everything about himself and that he was going to make Hue the capital of South Vietnam. He was shocked that she knew this things. Then she told him that she was a godest from the sky. In her memory he built her the "Thien Mu Pagoda". To reach the heavens you most go through seven stages and once you reach heaven the buddhist call it nirvana. Then we went to Khai Dinh temples. Khai Dinh was a warlord of Vietnam. Khai Dinh was known as the good for nothing king because all he did was listen to the French. He did nothing to support the country. He was very selfish and to show this he would give the French gold and other merchendise and in his return he would get money. The one thing that Khai Dinh is appericated for was making a tenple as a tourist attraction. The temple showed dragons on the celing, guards, elephants, and many other wonderful sights. Then we went to a in door market which didn't have much to offer except clothes, bags, and more clothes and bags. Saw some amazing things today but it was so hot. =[ LOL
Tyler
Comments
I think that it is super cool that you guys are getting to see Hue and enjoying Pagodas. When I was there just 6 months ago, I did the same thing:-) Because you are sharing your experiences in your blog, I also want to share one of my experiences in Hue with you.
In Hue, there is a really large, interesting church - I spent Christmas eve there.
I learned from a priest in Hoi An that in the eastern areas of Vietnam, Christianity goes back to the the early 17th century, when European traders (i.e., Portuguese, French, Spanish) traveled along the coast of Vietnam to get to Japan.
Perhaps as a result of this long tradition of co-existence of different religions, on Christmas eve tens of thousands of Hue-ians come together in the streets to view and take pictures of the nativity scene on top of the church.
I learned something really beautiful that Christmas eve - and I know that in interacting with Vietnamese in different parts of that country, of different religions and socio economic backgrounds, you'll get to learn many things too!
Best of luck,
~Jessica
Posted by: Jessica | July 16, 2009 6:43 AM