Da Nang - Linh Ung Pagoda

From Hoi An we took a local bus to Da Nang, about 30 minutes to the north.  Da Nang is not on the Open Bus circuit, so, as we expected, there were many fewer tourists, and therefore fewer hawkers and friendlier people.  We stayed in a lovely hotel overlooking the ocean (and the construction of new hotels).  The first night we took a cab to the Linh Ung Pagoda, about 12 kilometers north of the city.  The pagoda is new, about 6 years old.  It was not there when Caryl came through 8 years ago.  It is a lovely place though, and the 67 meter tall Lady Buddha is charming (and really tall; in the first picture of her you can see Caryl at the base for comparison).  It is the highest Bodhisattva of Mercy statue in Vietnam.  We spent a few hours here admiring the statue and the grounds, staying for the sunset.  We walked back to our hotel about half way, then had dinner at a shore side fish and noodles shack, complete with (terrible) karaoke and decent magic tricks.  It was a lovely first day in Da Nang.