|
|
Ho Chi Minh City, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Jonny (the boyfriend) and I met in Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon) at the airport, in a beautiful, tearful reunion, much to the surprise of the stoical Vietnamese. After a few peaceful days on Phu Qouc Island, where we shared a bungalow with a bat, a lizard and a spider, we returned to the city and did a double-whammy day trip to the Cao-daist temple and Cu Chi tunnels.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Cao-Daost faith, it is a monotheistic religion which incorporates a mixture of Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Vietamese animism and a jot of Islam. Famous saints include, Joan of Ark, Victor Hugo and de la Rochefoucauld. the main interest in this religion, founded in 1926 and almost exclusive to southern vietnam is the temple of the Holy See. (As well as the role it plays in Graham Greene’s novel ‘The Quiet American’) This temple is possibly the ultimate monument to kitsch. It is described by Norman Lewis:
“From a dístance the structure could have been dísmissed as the monstrous result of a marriage between a pagoda and a southern Baroque church. But at close range the vulgarity of the building was so impressive that mild antipathy gave way to fascinated horror. This cathedral must be the most outrageously vulgar building ever to have been erected with serious intent. It was a palace in candy from a coloured fantasy by Díney; an example of funfair architecture in extreme form.” (Norman Lewis, A Dragon Apparent.)
I couldn’t hope to describe it better myself. Pink and pastels are the colours of favour, built in what simply looks like plaster, concrete and breezeblock. We arrived in time to see noontime prayers, which involved a shepherding around the temple by rather dogmatic officials, whilst the devotees themselves did a lot of praying and nodding to the sounds of gongs and mantras. It was altogether a rather strange and surreal experience. The cao-daist temple is distinctly unlike any religious monument I have seen before.
Crawling through the hot, stuffy tunnels of Cu Chi that same afternoon was an entirely different experience. Crouching down low with precious little space and no way to go but forward, trusting that the stranger in front will keep moving and won’t block out the light is not for those of nervous or neurotic disposition. What better time to discover a mortal fear of enclosed spaces?! Luckily, the little time i spent in the tunnels, though unpleasant, didn’t bring on a seizure. How the Viet-minh spent any amount of time in these conditions is not something I care to dwell on. The tunnels were well worth seeing, and a truely sobering moment in my trip.
from: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/glmyles/1/1260902317/tpod.html
Related posts:
- Tunnels — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tunnels – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Den 2.... - 10 Million Motorbikes! — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
10 Million Motorbikes! – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam... - Back to Crazy Town (HCMC) — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Back to Crazy Town (HCMC) – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh... - A swarm of Fish — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
A swarm of Fish – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City,... - The Reunification Express to Saigon — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
The Reunification Express to Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh...
