Summer time is always the best time for going to the beach. In Vietnam, it is very hot in the summer so cooling on the beach is a great time for us. Today in a rare sunny day of winter, I miss the trip to Tuy Van Mountain and Loc Binh Beach where my family had a good time together last summer.
I, my wife and my daughter had a road trip to the South of Hue where has the green countryside and beautiful lagoon. We packed stuff and some snack for a day trip. The destinations are about 50 kilometers from Hue City that took us about 1 hour to get there. We planned to visit Thanh Duyen Pagoda on Tuy Van mountain and then spend the rest of a day on Loc Binh beach.

In the morning, my wife bought some flowers for a vase in the living room but there were some torn off from branches. Therefore, she put them on the car, just for fun but we did love this design. They were our colorful minds for a great day on road. Yes we did had a great time on the car talking and play a game "what can you see?" with my daughter.

Tuy Van Mountain

Main gate of Thanh Duyen Pagoda

We arrived Thanh Duyen Pagoda on Tuy Van Mountain after a road trip on Highway 1 and a short part in the village. We used Google map and it was helpful this time. The road in the village is very narrow and we needed to be careful of motorbikes and buffaloes.
Tuy Van Mountain is next to Cau Hai lagoon, a part of Tam Giang lagoon in Vinh Hien commune, Phu Loc District. In 17th century, a small Buddhist pagoda was built on Tuy Van Mountain and in 1692 it was expanded. The name Thanh Duyen was officially named for it in 1836 under Minh Mang reign. It was also an national pagoda under Nguyen Dynasty.

After parking, we was led by stairs up to the main gate of the pagoda. The design of three gate are common in Vietnamese culture and represent philosophy of Buddhism. The cool air from the lagoon in front and the green of atmosphere calmed our mind and I had a really strange feeling about this place. Peaceful and happy!

Stele of pagoda history

In the front yard of the pagoda is a stele where the history of renovation of the pagoda was written. I could not read it because it was written in Han characters. Vietnamese have our own spoken language but our written languages have been changed couples of time. During the feudal age, Han characters were used as official written language.

Interior of the main temple building

The main pagoda is the biggest building where three Buddha: Buddha of the past, present and future are worshiped. The whole pagoda is not big so it is hidden in the green of Tuy Van Mountain and I feel like it wants to hide from this trouble world.

Gate of Dai Tu Cac from distance

My favorite part of the visit was walking up the stairs next to the pagoda. My daughter was so happy to walk up the highest point of Tuy Van mountain. With the stairs on the right, we walked about 15 minutes to the top. On the way, we passed by Dai Tu Cac where to worship Bodhisattva. The gate was closed so we could not go in. All buildings are maintained by monks in the pagoda. There is a back gate leading to the top but it was also locked. That was why we walked on the right-hand.

Back gate

On both sides of the stairs are many old tall trees which creates shades and cool walking path for us. Even my little daughter could finish these long high steps to the tower. Dieu Ngu tower has 3 floor which used to stand a chime which rang in the wind. Dieu Ngu means controlling the soul. I appreciate the meaning of its name. I always want to control my emotions of greed, desire and delusion but it is not easy to do it. I am always a normal man with normal feeling of a human.

Dieu Ngu Tower

Name sign of the Tower

Behind Dieu Ngu tower is Tien Sang pavilion where I could watch Cau Hai lagoon. The small pavilion hides itself in the green of trees and in perfume of leaves. A screen divides the tower and the pavilion.

Tien Sang Pavilion

View from top to Cau Hai Lagoon

I love the moment cooling in the morning air and watching sunshine dancing on the ground. Some leaves falling on the ground. They used to be little green, yellow and then brown. It would be decayed for another circle of life. I was thinking of my life. I used to be a little boy, a young man and will be same to a brown leave. My daughter will continue my circle of life and I was grateful for every single moment with her.

Loc Binh Beach

Saying good bye to this peaceful pagoda, we were heading to the beach nearby. We stopped at a beach view local restaurant for lunch. Having such a great food at a great view place is perfect for a summer day. We had fish soup, squid and some local cakes. They were so fresh and cheap. I was not allowed to have beer so coke was my choice.

Steam squid with ginger fishsauce

Dia fish soup

We made a walk around the restaurant to enjoyed the soft sandy beach. The smell of salty air satisfy our minds with a great view. The restaurant owner said a part of this place used to be paddy field. Behind the sand dunes are home of villagers. I could not imagine how time can change everything. Paddy fields became beach and sea, so a human life is so short to witness the move of the universe.

View from the local restaurant

Till the sunshine was cooler a bit, we moved to a beach near rocky hills. The sand was so soft and there were not strong waves. It was good for kids to swim. We had a picnic on the beach with snack we brought. The time flies when we are happy.

My daughter enjoying her game

The water here is quite green with shadow from hills. Water is so clean and nice. There are some foam from fishing boats which was washed by waves to the beach. However, we found little trash on the beach so it is quite clean to have a picnic or camping here. Surely my daughter had a great time in water as well.

Great view and place of Loc Binh Beach for a picnic

We had a great time travelling but we know that no matter where we go, it is matter who we go with. The time with family is always priceless to me and I always miss it as a beautiful day of my life. Travelling is so great and it is greater to travel with our beloved. I had a friend who goes on his business trip a lot to many beautiful place. He told me that sometimes he stands in front of a spectacular view and he wishes he had someone with him there to share his feeling. So to me, time with family is always the best time of a life. Do you agree with me?

@tungphong
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