Bich Dong Pagoda is a famous ancient temple, the name also partly helps me imagine it is located in a certain cave. Especially when it is located in the Trang An landscape complex, which is distinguished by picturesque rocky mountains. The terrain and geographical location in the past were chosen by kings to build their capital thanks to the great natural barrier, it would be difficult to deploy large armies to enter the fertile land behind it. And now it brings economic benefits and develops tourism at home and abroad, including me and my younger brother. Tourists come to Ninh Binh province to admire the wonder of mother nature bestowed on this land. Without this Trang An landscape complex, this land would only grow rice and agriculture like the surrounding northeastern provinces, poor and have few advantages in tourism. The two of us continue on our journey to discover unique attractions that are suitable for the summer heat that is happening here. Another thing when I choose this temple is not only recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage, but also because of the history of Buddhism that was focused on developing by the kings of that time. Traveling around Vietnam you will easily spot the coastal provinces and where the great rivers flow, mostly Christian by missionaries and merchants. In the higher and mountainous areas, Buddhism predominates.
Me and my brother after visiting Thung Nham tourist area in the previous post, it was almost 12 noon, the weather was quite hot and muggy, so the pagoda was a wise choice and there would be plenty of shade to rest. lunch. This temple consists of many items and is scattered when sandwiched between two rocky mountains and separated by a river. Therefore, there will be no parking space inside the temple and the parking spots outside look shabby and show signs of taking advantage when the parking ticket price is too high and unreasonable. Foreign guests who often rent bicycles to walk around also seem annoyed with it.
Bich Dong Pagoda includes many different shrines, through each different historical landmark will be expanded with other shrines. The first temple is small and is located in the heart of a cave built in 1428. The ground floor consists of two larger shrines that are not as ancient as they were built later, but it is currently being repaired inside. i can only admire its architecture outside. The tail nodules look like the tail of a phoenix instead of a dragon as seen in other temples.
I pay more attention to the temple above and the path to the mountain because there are many tourists walking on it because there is the first ancient temple and it is located in the cave. The special thing I see is that there are very few domestic tourists, Westerners are the most popular. I am also a Christian, so I can be inspired to explore other religions. So on the way to the cave we also observed all the details around. The stupas, mascots made of stone show the antiquity over time very beautifully. My little brother doesn't get to see these things often, so I let him visit as much as he wants.
It takes about 60 steps to climb up to the cave, but it's also cool and the scenery is well worth the effort. The ancient temple is nestled in a cave, made of rather small and old wood. Each shrine has different statues of Buddha or saints. The outside is engraved with ancient Nom inscriptions. Anyway, I don't understand very much. There is a path leading up to the sub-temples above where there is a bell rose by the two great monks of the first period. They made the steps in the cave so it was easy to move except it was quite dark due to the lack of light and the smell of bat droppings in the cave.
Above is still another pagoda called Thuong Pagoda because it is located at the highest place. I quite like the scenery here, the rocky mountains combined with the temple grounds create an interesting walk for visitors to enjoy and feel relaxed, everyone finds their own place to rest.
And so are we, but it is more dangerous to climb over the side of the mountain behind the temple. Here we are more comfortable when it is not easy for people to approach and rest in a rustic way.
This is really a beautiful and famous temple, when we left at 2pm, the number of visitors to visit was much more crowded. It will sometimes lose its peaceful and quiet appearance if it is too crowded with noisy tourists. But you should go at noon like me when people are spending time eating instead of praying and sightseeing. Thank you for reading.