Da Nang Vietnam - 12 Dec 2010
Ba Na Hill Station, 20 Km North West of Da Nang, discovered in 1901 by Frenchman Marin Debay. It was used as a cool respite from the fierce heat of summer by French Military Personal and Civil Servants, the site of more than 200 private villas during it's prime in the 1940's. The French and American wars and the economic crisis that followed saw it fall into disuse eventually crumbling back in to the thick jungle.
In modern tourist oriented Vietnam, Ba Na is having a renaissance and in 2009 the worlds longest cable car, 5042 Metres was built, stretching from the base of the mountain to the peak making it easier to ferry tourists to the new luxury hotels and the under construction alpine village and adventure park. For now there is the largest Buddha in South East Asia (27 Metres), a Temple as well as the remains of the French Villas to see.
For our last day in Central Vietnam we took the day tour to Ba Na, riding the amazing Cable Car to the summit with it's amazing views and a pretty decent lunch in the resort restaurant. It was a great tour from start to finish hosted by "Singh" our 62 year old tour guide who once worked as a translator for American Marines. We haven't done much in the way of organised tours on our journey but Karen really wanted to ride the Cable Car and despite my reluctance (read 'grumpy old man-ness') to participating in tours I'm really glad I let myself be talked into it - Definitely a highlight of our trip so far.
Tomorrow we fly to Hanoi for a week, our last stop in Vietnam (with a possible side trip to Ha Long Bay) before we head to Thailand.
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