Published:  00:00 Monday - February 28, 2011

Saigontourist Travel Service Company and Lotus Tours Company, two affiliates of Saigontourist Holding Company, launch pilgrimage tours for the new spring.

Saigontourist Travel Service Company and Lotus Tours Company, two affiliates of Saigontourist Holding Company, launch pilgrimage tours for the new spring.

From February 12, Saigontourist Travel Service has launched pilgrimage tours across the country. In the north, the company provides the four-day tour of Hanoi, Huong Pagoda and Halong on February 19 and March 5 at the price of VND3.7-4.8 million. Part of the tour is for visiting Ha Tay Province’s Huong Pagoda in the area of mountains, forests, caves and springs.

Spending about VND3.7 million on the four-day tour to visit Hung Kings’ Temple, tourists will see the aftertaste of Tet (Lunar New Year) with bánh chung (square glutinous rice cake) and bánh dày (round flat glutinous rice cake), which carry cultural and philosophical values of the country. The tour covers visits to Hanoi, Hung Kings’ Temple and Halong and starts on April 12.

On the tour of Yen Tu Mountain in Quang Ninh Province, the holy land for Buddhists in Vietnam, visitors will have two days for visiting the scenic spots of Yen Tu Mountain at 1,068m above sea level. They will light joss-sticks to commemorate Tran Nhan Tong, a king who abandoned his throne and went to live as a Buddhist monk on Yen Tu Mountain in his old age. The tour costs VND1.6-1.7 million and starts on February 17, 19, 24 and 26 and March 3, 5, 10, 12, 17 and 19.

For tours of the central region, Saigontourist provides a three-day tour of two well-known pagodas in Danang City, Linh Ung Pagoda on Son Tra Peninsula and Linh Ung Pagoda on Ba Na Mountain, which have poetical natural views. The tour costs about VND2.5-2.9 million and starts from Danang on February 18 and 25 and March 4, 11 and 18.

Taking the four-day tour of the ancient town of Hoi An, a world cultural heritage site in Quang Nam Province, which costs each tourist about VND2.7-3.2 million and starts from Danang on February 16, visitors will find themselves in a small city with plenty of temples and pagodas. They will see a street with lanterns of different shapes lit up along the Hoai River and activities at Chinese-style temples of various styles. They will feel at home with the smell of joss-sticks, the singing of mantras from pagodas and watch the full moon through the windows of Cau Pagoda.
In addition, tourists can choose the pilgrimage tour of Hue Citadel for four days, which is priced at VND2.7-4.1 million and starts from Danang on February 19 and 26 and March 5, 12 and 19. They will visit the royal citadel and Thien Mu Pagoda, the most ancient and famous pagoda in Hue.

In the south, Saigontourist has the four-day tour of temples, pagodas and mausoleums in Cai Be, Vinh Long, Can Tho, Chau Doc and Ha Tien. The tour, which costs each person about VND2-2.8 million and starts on February 17, 19, 24 and 26 and March 3, 5, 10, 12, 17 and 19, includes visits to Ba Chua Xu Temple, Tay An Pagoda, Hang Pagoda and Thoai Ngoc Hau Mausoleum in Chau Doc and Mac Cuu Mausoleum in Ha Tien.

The tour of That Son (two days, starting from HCM City on February 19 and 26 and March 5, 12 and 19, costing around VND1.3 million depending on the number of tourists) is an opportunity for tourists to hear legends, see scenic spots and visit pagodas of That Son (Seven Mountains) in An Giang Province.

Another southern tour is to visit Dalat with beautiful views of spring and the well-known Truc Lam Meditation Monastery. This tour lasts four days, costs about VND2-5 million, and starts from HCM City on February 17, 20, 24 and 27 and March 3, 6, 10, 13 and 17.

Tours of 10 pagodas

Lotus Tours provides the 10 pagodas’ tour. Taking this one-day tour, people will visit 10 pagodas, pray for health, prosperity and happiness for themselves and their families. On this tour, they will also see scenic spots, meet with pilgrims, relax and enjoy peace of mind at pagodas.

The company’s tour of Ba Ria-Vung Tau features visits to renowned pagodas. Di Lac Pagoda, which was set up in 1975, is where Maitreya, the future Buddha of the world, is worshiped. People believe that visiting this pagoda at the beginning of a lunar new year will give them joys all year round. Thuong Chieu Meditation Monastery, built in 1974, is among Vietnam’s biggest meditation centers. Linh Chieu Meditation Monastery is for nuns and also a place to provide free medical examination and treatment to the poor. Phuoc Hai Buddhist Monastery usually treats visitors with good food and drinks. Dai Tong Lam Pagoda, built in 1964, is one of Vietnam’s biggest Buddhist monasteries. It has on a plot of nearly 60 hectares exclusive constructions, including 10,000 statues of Buddha and bodhisattvas and the landscaping area with 48 granite statues of Amitabha Buddha. Bat Nha Buddhist Monastery, constructed in 1976, has precious exhibits such as flowers growing on a rock, the statue of Buddha from fossil wood and collections of antique stamps and coins. Niet Ban Pagoda, built from 1984-1990, rears 50 orphans and provides 1,000 rations a day for poor patients at hospitals. Thich Ca Phat Dai Pagoda has a complex of sculpture works based on the history of Sakya Mouni Buddha, including the 11.6-meter-high statue of him sitting on an eight-sided platform.

To those who wish to visit pagodas in the Mekong Delta, Lotus Tours has tours for visiting 10 pagodas in Ben Tre, including Vien Minh and Phuoc Thien pagodas. The tour costs each tourist VND320,000, including a tourist guide, two vegetarian meals, handkerchiefs and mineral water.

Source: The Saigon Times