Da Nang, Vietnam – A Touch of Mysticism
(Erico Joseph T. Canete)
Da Nang is blessed with natural beauty, fascinating traditional culture, and rich colonialist history. It has a profuse vegetation, towering mountains and white sand beaches safeguarded by the government and local’s ecological consciousness. The people are at home with their traditional culture unblemished by the colonization of France in the 19th century, Japanese occupation during World War II, British and Chinese belligerence after WW II, and of course, the American and Vietnam war from 1955 to 1975.
People from all over the globe come and visit to behold its beauty, immerse into their culture, learn from their past, and enjoy the bounty of their eco-cultural and adventure tour. These blessings allure their government and business sectors to use these as means to alleviate poverty thru job opportunities, business, and tourism infrastructures benefitting the local communities.
A visit to the site of the statue of the 67-meter high Lady Buddha in the Monkey Mountain on the Son Tra peninsula was a reminiscence of a metaphysical lesson in oriental philosophy and religion, Buddhism, introspecting into the nature of suffering and how to liberate from it with the guidance of the Noble Eightfold Path for ethical life.
The coconut boat ride or basket boat ride in Canaan island, an eco-tour in Hoi An, was an experience on how the locals go with the course of nature by harmonizing with the force of the waves created by spinning, maneuvering and gliding through the water.
One of the highlights of their tour was the 1,487 m Sun World Ba Na hills adventure. Reaching the place takes the longest single-line record cable car in the world. It was a breathtaking ride. With its length of about 6 kilometers, the cable ride takes approximately 25 minutes with my wild thought of a Stoic philosophy whispering that anticipation of death is worse than death itself. Please pardon my thanatos and acrophobia.
As we reach the first stop, one can’t help but express Archimedes’ delight, eureka! Behold the Golden Bridge or the Buddha hand bridge stretching its crooked fingers out to the world. A mystical touch of freedom from suffering (Oriental – Buddhism) or freeing from the temptations of the devil in Mount Quarantania (Occidental – Christianity) as one is caressed by the hands of Buddha or Christ respectively.
As one moves further ahead, one can behold the replica of the medieval Europe. French village! It’s France in Vietnam with its French Gothic architecture, cobblestone steps, middle century setting reflective of Michael Angelo’s words, “Every work of human art is always a reflection of God’s divine perfection.”
Hoi An is an equally well-preserved ancient town. Visiting the place is like travelling somewhere back in time from the 15th to the 19th century trade. It made me imagine the old Dapitan or Bool kingdom in the small strait that separates Panglao island from mainland Bohol whom Francisco Ignacio Alcina, Spanish historian, referred to as the “Venice of the Visayas.” Sadly, the city was destroyed by the Ternatean raiders on the year 1563 (16th century) leaving Sikatuna fled to a place called Baclayon (my hometown).
Our visit to the mini supermarket (coffee shop), latex shop (pillow, comforter, mattress, medical gloves), silk shop (fabrics, clothing, and souvenirs), and treasure shop (jewelry) gave us an impression on how the Vietnamese blend with the course of nature with their products. Behind trade and commerce was an oriental thought that man is just a microcosmos in the macrocosmos hence, the necessity of unifying oneself with nature by making use of what mother earth provides coupled with the virtue of responsible stewardship.
We salute tour guide Le Xuan Lam for being synthetic and intuitive on our needs, and affective in care. He went beyond what is expected of him taking his service not just a way to earn a living but a way of living. His love for Vietnam and its people was contagious leaving an imprint of nostalgia and our love for Da Nang. I noticed in his teary eyes that the most difficult moment he had with us was to say goodbye to the people whom he learned to love despite the limitation of time. But saying “HI” would not that be joyful if “GOODBYE” would not that be hurtful. Keep up the good work Lam –Gwapo! Thank you! Vietnam needs you.
To Traveltime Travel and Tours owned and managed by Evangeline and Nelson Pacaña, thank you for the hassle free trip. Your commitment to “love is in the details” begets a smooth and memorable trip. Thank you for being auxiliaries on our love for Da Nang.
To our tour buddies; Pacaña, Uy, Lim, Talagsa, Parco, Oppus, Mende, Anil, Tubal, Anaña, Indick, De la Calzada, Cañete families, Padre Ramon and Padre Pepe, we thought we were just having fun. We just realized that we were making good memories leaving a lasting cordial impact.
Xin Chao!
Thank you, Almighty God for the safe trip and the blessing of friendship and leisure!