There are many Pagodas and churches in Ho Chi Minh, however Su Jeong and I were lucky enough to be guided about a Pagoda by a former monk.  Danh Cuong who we work with was a monk from the age of 18 to 22, 5 years in total.  There are two types of Buddhism. Northern Buddhism which is what the Dalai Lama practices and Southern Buddhism.  Southern Buddhism is practiced in Southern Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myramar.  Some of the more noticeable differences are in the food that they eat and the time it is eaten and the chanting .  In Southern Buddhism there are no female monks.

When we visited we met two of Cuong’s monks and we got to talk to them.  One had two dogs that had wandered off the street and sought refuge.

This area is where the monks spend a lot of their time, praying twice a day, starting at 5 am.

As you can see from the architecture, there are similarities with Angkor Wat (Cambodia) and also Thailand, of course except for me in the picture.

On special occasions they go to a dining room where there are raised platforms where the higher monks sit and as you can imagine there are no table or chairs.

We spoke to one of the monks and he was smoking so I later asked about this and monks can’t drink or have relations with women, but they can smoke.  Both Su Jeong and I both noted that there was a feeling of calm and peace compared to the hustle and bustle not more that metres outside the gates.

After our visit we had a lovely dinner in a great location.  Lauren would have been proud as there were lots of lights and she is a sucker for them:).  I think it has rubbed off on me.