As Saigon has become hotter recently, we made a trip to Ho Tram in the southern coast province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to enjoy sea breeze and chill out on the beach.
The tourist site, about 12km from Vung Tau City, has a peaceful white soft sand beach with lots of sports and leisure activities. There is a poplar forest contributing to the romantic view of the site. Tourists can also try some local specialties, including Moc Nui noodles at the price of VND15,000 per bowl or grilled fish costing from VND10,000 to VND15,000 per dish and grilled deo snail with onion. Guests can order live seafood to cook to their favorite taste. They can boil, steam or grill seafood at the price of VND10,000 per portion.
There is an interesting venue nearby which tourists should spend some time to discover. That is Thien That, locally known as Monkey Pagoda, located at the foot of Ky Van Mountain in Phuoc Hai Commune, Long Dat District of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.
The pagoda has simple architecture but the statue of the Buddha sitting on a lotus base looks beautiful. There is a path on a side of the pagoda leading to Ky Van Mountain which is appealing to travelers thanks to numerous stones in unique shapes like dolphin, elephant and turtle.
There is also a stone looking like a snake holding a pearl in its mouth that represents prosperity or a huge stone similar to the Buddha’s head. Tourists might see a stone that looks like a bending elephant or an ancient bo tree with its roots sticking to stones.
The pagoda is also home to around 200 monkeys that usually gather and play together in the daytime. Tourists can give banana to these monkeys but they should pay attention to their belongings as these naughty animals might snatch them.
