Marble Mountains, Vietnam
This was a day trip, north of Hoi An.
What? Five large chunks of rock (marble) sticking out of an otherwise featureless coastal plain.
Why do tourists go there? Two of the mountains are full of caves, decorated with rock carvings and sculptures. There are also a number of temples and a 360 degree lookout, accessed by a scarily steep concrete staircase. Its a great place to spend a few sweaty hours, climbing steps and wriggling through dark nooks and crannies.
Trouble is, they've made so many marble souvenirs that they're running out of rock so they now import marble from China for making little Buddhas and other such trinkets!
This coastal stretch is known as China Beach, where US forces went for R&R in between combat missions.
Large sections of the seafront are now fenced off for development by international hotel chains.
Pics here......
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/scuba50/MarbleMountains?feat=directlink
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
