The date was August 13, 1972. The 82nd Field Artillary Regiment fired the final U.S. artillery round in Danang, to bring the Vietnam War to a close! 

Danang was the home of a major American air base used by both the Americans and South Vietnamese during the war . This air base was one of the busiest airports during the war, with an average of 2,595 air operations each day. Today, I view the city from the top of The Marble Mountains!

THE DRAGON AND THE MOUNTAINS!
The Marble Mountains consist of 5 hills made of limestone and marble peaks. The ancient folklore is a story of a dragon that came out of the sea and laid an egg on the beach. The beach hatched a woman and the egg shell fragments were left scattered around the beach. These egg shell fragments grew into the 5 mountains that make up the Marble Mountains now.

There are caves, tunnels and temples all over these mountains. It is a popular pilgrimage site for the Vietnamese. Shrines and Buddhist temples seem to be everywhere as you hike these mountains. The mountains are 5 or 6 miles from the city of Danang. 

U.S. troops used to relax on China Beach below the mountain. Bullet holes can still be seen in the walls .

There are many pagodas and even a circular cave featuring a chimney leading to the summit. We climb the mountains using stones for steps, where we sit and gaze at the spectacular panoramic views of the city and ocean below. The tower here was built in the 18th century.

 I came here with Vu. He is a friend of Phuong who came here with me from Hue. Phuong had to return to Hue but introduced me to his friend who offered to guide me around the city on his moto.

THE LADY BUDDHA!
High above the city, as I was coming into Danang, I saw a large standing statue. It reminded me of photos I have seen of the "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Later I was to learn this was the statue of the Goddess of Mercy, a Lady Buddha! I told Vu, my local guide, I would like to see the statue while in Danang. 

On his motorbike, Vu took me past the Lady Buddha and continued up the mountain . Along the small, steep and winding road up the mountain we started to see wild monkeys. Then, I saw a large monkey sitting in a tree next to the road. It was black with a large, bright red patch on it's chest. It reminded me of a chimp in size. It was a beautiful animal and we stopped the small motorbike while I tried to get a photo of the monkey. But, before I could get my camera out and ready it decided to move further back into the trees. It is one of the shots I will always regret missing.

I wondered why we had gone past the Lady Buddha that I wanted to visit. Later I was to learn this narrow road up the mountain was on Hai Van Pass, the highest pass in Vietnam!

It turned out to be a beautiful ride and the views along the way up and at the top were mesmerizing as you look at the city of Danang below and the Son Tra Peninsula and the sea!

Dating back hundreds of years, this pass was known for it's dangerous roads . There were huge beasts and bandits that prevented most people from using the road. This separated the north and south parts of Vietnam and hindered the exchange of trade and customs. Two of my favorite cities in Vietnam, Hue and Danang, remained mainly closed off from each other because of this pass.

During the era when the French colonized the are, though, a railway was built around the pass, connecting the country. On top of the pass where we are today, we see a bunker. It was built by the French in 1826. There is also a gate on top of the pass where the views are fantastic. 

In 2005 a tunnel was built through the mountain. It helps connect Hue and Danang, but the mountain pass still separates the climate between the two into two distinct different climates!

After leaving the mountain pass, we rode the bike back down part of the mountain until we reached the Lady Buddha statue. 

The statue is on the side of Monkey Mountain! So, now I understand why we saw so many monkeys on the way up to the top of the pass earlier .

The gleaming while statue is 67m high and 17m in diameter, with 17 floors! Each floor worships a different Buddha. 

Until today I always thought there was just one Buddha, but the Vietnamese tell me there are thousands of Buddhas! They tell me Buddha is not a person but a name.

I never knew there was a Lady Buddha either! The 17th floor in the Lady Buddha statue has a flight of stairs leading to the statue's head, where you get another fantastic view.

(Note: A few months later when I returned to Cambodia, I told some of the Cambodians about seeing the Lady Buddha. They insist she is not Buddha and that there is only one Buddha. Apparently there are many forms of Buddhism and the Buddhism in Vietnam is of a different variety than the Buddhism in Cambodia. Vietnam has women monks, also. I have noticed differences in the monks in different countries I have visited, too . Some monks ask for donations and food, and others are not allowed to ask. Some monks smoke cigarettes and others are not allowed to smoke or drink or use modern gadgets.)

While in Danang, Phuong, a devout Catholic, found a church to attend on Sunday and wanted me to go with him. He and his family attend regularly in their homeland, Hue. 

I had never been to a Catholic Church before, so I was glad to go. The service was in English (with a Vietnamese accent, of course). I understood at least 85% of what was said by the Vietnamese priest, and it was good a experience. The recitations and prayers were printed in a hand-out in English for this service. I was glad to attend with Phuoung and encourage him in his Christian faith.

I will leave the busy, congested, small roads of Vietnam soon. There is always a lot of horn blowing going on. It's not an aggressive gesture, the horn is to let others know you are in the vicinity and are passing .They just drive with their horns here. 

As I sit at the corner cafe, (drinking hot coffee ... through a straw!), I wonder how the constant noise affects the locals over their life-time. I think it would become a stressful way to spend every day. Nevertheless, there is no escaping the horn blowing noise, even in smaller towns and the countryside.

The internet in Vietnam, overall, is good. But, the web pages load in Vietnamese and then I turn on the translation for them into English. The English translation is interesting, though. I took a photo of the page for you to see.

Goodbye Vietnam and my new friends, thanks for a lot of fun!

NEXT: Gobsmacked in Australia!