Mrs. ItchyFeet Đà Nẵng, Việt Nam, is filled with all manner of fun things to do and see; from beaches to amusement parks, archeological sites, and Buddhist temples. Included on that list is a trip to Marble Mountains (Ngũ Hành Sơn). My extensive three minutes of research and chat with my neighbors informed me that it has a hell-themed section in the caves below and a heaven-themed section up about 158 marble stairs (that are slippery when raining) towards the top of the mountain. It is best to go early morning before all the tour buses show up. With all that in mind, I thought I could do it before breakfast. Why not? I should have done more research!
Let’s do this!
I picked the first day that it stopped raining (isn’t this dry season?) and ordered a ride-share by 7am. The tickets only cost 40,000 đồng (~$2 USD) and the booth looked like it had just opened. Right at the beginning of the steep staircase was a young woman with large bags of ice and other supplies. This young lady immediately asked me and a few others to carry the ice up the stairs for her. Um… okay. She’s too young to give off Auntie vibes, but we grabbed the ice anyway and started huffing and puffing our way up the maintain. I’m tiny and each step is really tall. What did I sign up for!?!
I heard the lady behind me ask where to drop off the ice at the top, and then thanked the lady for her answer. Her companion good-naturedly gave her crap about thanking the lady when we were the ones doing all the work. She laughed and said: That is just what Canadians do. Ha! I love Canadians. Once up those (I assume) 158 marble steps (is the entire mountain marble?), I’m greeted with lovely vistas and Buddhist pagodas surrounded by intricate marble sculptures.
Have you ever seen sculptures or heard of Foo Dogs? Well, they are actually Chinese Guardian Lions (shishi or Buddhist Foshi) but we call them dogs in the States. They protect the occupants of the building by warding off evil spirits and bringing prosperity. The marble foo dogs around one building depicted a series of mom and pop foo dogs with a baby at progressive stages from itty-bitty to toddler age. They were so adorable!
After wandering around for a bit, I found even more stairs up to this wonderful overlook of the Pacific Ocean. The wind was intense! I figured that was it for stair climbing and it was time to find some caves. It took some looking, but I finally found the path. The map was very confusing, and there weren’t too many people to follow. The cave was neat with a fun Buddha statue, but it kept going… and going… and getting smaller… and pretty soon I was practically crawling through marble crevasses. And I realized that I was going up and up… until I popped out of a hole… right behind that overlook I had just come down from!
By this time, my legs are getting shaky and I’m definitely hungry. I spot the Canadians on the way down the stairs, just starting the climb, and advised them to go the opposite direction as it was easier to go up through the caves than climb all these stairs only to go down through the caves. Then I spot another set of stairs. Well, I’ve come this far! Up I go. At the top there is a lovely, talkative Australian who tells me all about the small fishing village, Nhơn Lý in East Quy Nhơn, he just came from that has really good snorkeling just off the beach every morning. I might have to check that out sometime. I could chat all day, but I’m hungry and I can clearly see rain heading our way (stairs slippery when wet!).
That’s when I find the ultimate cave. It is massive and has this cool feature where water has come down to form the depiction of a light face on one side and a dark face on the other. The tour buses have shown up, so I’m eavesdropping on the guides explanations. More statues of Buddha. But I don’t see any of the devil statues that I heard about being in the caves. Are there more caves?
I need to find more caves!
So I begin to head down some random stairs I come across. I keep going down until I realize that I’m lost and heading out of the park, but I’m not going back. Some gentleman helps me to find a very narrow path between some houses that eventually leads me to the main road. People are so nice. Once there, I’m more determined than ever to find the caves with the hell scenes. After walking for a bit, I realize that there are three entrances to Marble Mountains: the First Gate (where I went up), the Second Gate that also leads to where I just was but has an elevator (for an extra charge) for those unable (or unwilling) to climb all those stairs, and the caves.
There are a ridiculous number of tour buses parked in the parking lot, and more showing up every second. Most people seem to be heading to the caves or the elevator. I’m surprised to find that my Marble Mountains ticket I have does not work for the entrance to the caves, but it’s only 20,000 đồng (~$0.75 USD) so I’m fine paying it. And wow, was it worth it! The caves are massive and gorgeous. I wandered down into the bowels to find all number of sculptures and carvings depicting humans being tortured by all manner of creatures. Hell scenes! I finally found them!
That means there are heaven scenes somewhere above…, which also means more stairs. So many stairs! I think 158 very steep, very tall steps with amazing carvings of happy, uplifting depictions. My fear of heights is kicking in and my legs are shaking, but I ignore it and keep climbing. The stairs lead up and out of the mountain to yet another vista. I’m pretty sure all the research I found for Marble Mountains was on this one area, as it took about an hour to see everything. I’m so hungry, but I’m glad I got to see both sides.
I’m so done at this point. Luckily, a ride-share is available and picks me up quickly, so in no time I’m at one of my favorite breakfast places… which is packing up all the chairs and tables as it’s after 10am and they are closing. Noooooo! However, the ladies who own the place know me and gesture me in anyway. They graciously make me up a bowl of delicious beef noodle soup with beef tongue and tendon for 30,000 đồng (~$1 USD). It’s so good! They definitely made my day for sure.
Afterwards, I walk through the nearby outdoor market for some homemade wide rice noodles (you would die, they are so good!) and something called a luffa squash. If you let it mature and get all fibrous and then dry it, you are left with a luffa sponge. But when the fruit is young, it’s delicious. I didn’t know any of this when I bought it, but the lady at the market made sure I got a good one all the same. After the walk home, I was at seven kilometers total with 400 meters elevation gain with a billion stairs. I’m so sore, but it was worth it!
Dragon Bridge!
Another fun activity in Đà Nẵng is visiting the Dragon Bridge. On the weekends, it shoots fire and water out of its mouth for 10-minutes at 9pm onto a sizable crowd waiting below. I’m not a night person or a crowd person, so I missed that event. But I still wanted to go visit the Dragon Bridge during the day. I would strongly recommend not walking there and back (10k) in the rain! I asked the front desk of my hotel if they had an umbrella I could use, but that’s not something they provide, which is highly unusual around here. So off I went with the hope that it would not rain. But it did.
It was a really cool walk though, as there is a pedestrian bridge across the Hàn River and pedestrian walkways on both sides to create a pretty loop with the Dragon Bridge. I was fully soaked on the way home and locals were making fun of me. Like, why no poncho or umbrella or simply a pointed Vietnamese hat to keep the water off my face? I got some great photos, though!
That’s one tall Buddha!
I also went to see the tallest Lady Buddha in the world. And the tallest Buddha, of any gender, in Việt Nam. That is one tall Buddha! The gardens and temples were absolutely gorgeous. Supposedly, if you get there early in the morning, you might see monkeys, but I was there for the sunset instead. I took a ride-share and he just waited for me to walk through the entire complex without charging a wait fee. However, I couldn’t figure out on the app how to pick him specifically to drive me home, so I just paid him in cash. Probably not the safest option, but it was cheaper. And I saw a monkey on a rock on the drive back to my hotel!
Random info
It’s been a struggle for potable water in Đà Nẵng as each mini-mart has their own brand of 19L jugs. You put a deposit down for the jug, so you have to go back to the same mini-mart to get a refill, but sometimes they are out. And I moved apartments three times, so there’s that. Those jugs are heavy, and I don’t want to carry them more than a block. Luckily, I found a couple mini-marts that would exchange different brands.
Healthcare looks pretty good here. I got my teeth cleaned for $12 USD, which is amazing. They did a great job. I also had some bloodwork done. It was weird taking my shoes off to go into the clinic, but I loved having the option to pick what I want done from a list with prices. No need to see a doctor! I get the same labs each year, and the last set cost about $1000 near Seattle, USA. The ones here cost $38 USD, and I got results the same evening. My cholesterol is low, which could mean malabsorption… or I walked up and down way too many stairs at Marble Mountains the day before. I picked up some anti-parasitic medication ($2 USD) from the pharmacy just in case. I do eat a lot of street foods with herbs and sproats soaked in non-potable water! At least my TSH is good. It’s an adventure!
