While planning the trip, Libby had read about an amusement park in Da Nang called Ba Na Hills. It was located on the top of the mountain and appeared to have rides and other attractions the kids would find fun. What we discovered when we got there was an amazing complex. This used to be a recreational area for the French soldiers and aristocrats when they were in charge of Vietnam. In 1945 the Vietnamese over took the resort area and destroyed about 95% of the complex. It has recently been massively renovated by a Vietnamese businessman who acquired his wealth in the Ukraine and then was asked by the government to come back and invest in Vietnam.
Ellie and I also explored a French village being built on top of the mountain, as well as a pagoda and temple:
Taking pre-wedding photographs is a big deal in Vietnam, but we especially got a kick out this couple taking pictures in the replica Notre Dame Cathedral:
And just when it seemed the day could not get any more interesting or surreal, after dinner Finn and I went to another "amusement" park called Asia Park in Da Nang. It is only open 4-11 pm, has about three rides, and was almost deserted -- but it was beautiful, and what I really wanted to do was ride the ferris wheel that looked over the city. It was a perfect way to end our time in Da Nang and a great ending to the week-long trip last week:
The morning at Ba Na Hills started with the longest continuous cable car ride in the world, lasting about 17 minutes. Then we visited on the top of this mountain this amazing flower garden, a winery, a family temple, and a huge Buddha statue. All of these structures with the exception of the winery were built in the last ten years.
After an amazing buffet lunch crammed full of Vietnamese goodies (including a pho station), the afternoon was spent on rides and games in an indoor/outdoor amusement park. It even had an alpine roller coaster where you could ride the car down a little of the mountain and control how fast you went -- definitely the most popular attraction for the Frato-Sweeneys:
Taking pre-wedding photographs is a big deal in Vietnam, but we especially got a kick out this couple taking pictures in the replica Notre Dame Cathedral:
And just when it seemed the day could not get any more interesting or surreal, after dinner Finn and I went to another "amusement" park called Asia Park in Da Nang. It is only open 4-11 pm, has about three rides, and was almost deserted -- but it was beautiful, and what I really wanted to do was ride the ferris wheel that looked over the city. It was a perfect way to end our time in Da Nang and a great ending to the week-long trip last week:
No comments:
Post a Comment