Tay Ninh, near the Cambodian border, is home to the unique Cao Dai sect, whose patron saints include Joan of Arc, Victor Hugo and Winston Churchill to name a few. The religion is a hybrid of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Christianity.
The Cao Dai Temple at Tay Ninh has been described as a Walt Disney fantasia of the East. The temple's exterior is decorated with multi-colored dragons of all shapes and sizes competing for space with a number of swastikas. Above the main entrance is the all-seeing holy eye, the symbol of the Cao Dai sect. The interior is just as engaging as statues of Jesus Christ, Buddha and the Hindu god, Brahma, stand side by side.
The trip to Tay Ninh is combined with a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels. At its height the tunnel system stretched over 250km. from Saigon to the Cambodian border and was three levels deep. The network included innumerable trap doors, specially constructed living areas, storage facilities, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers and kitchens. Today the remaining tunnels have become a major tourist attraction giving the visitor a unique experience and a feel of what underground life in the American war must have been like. The tunnels have been widened for our benefit (otherwise we would not be able to enter them!) For those interested there's even the opportunity to fire off rounds from an AK47 or MK16 at the nearby rifle range...
- Length of the trip
: 1 days
- Trip Starts from
: Saigon city
- Trip Ends in
: Saigon city
- Required booking time
: 15 hours for individuals and 5 days for group in advance
- Rates per person
: 28$ - detail price
- Rates are valid from 1 Janualy 2008
Details of Tour:
AM: You will visit the Great Temple of Caodaism in Tay Ninh, about 100 km from Ho Chi Minh City. The Temple is built on nine levels that represent nine steps to heaven at which you will see a prayer session at noon. Caodaism is a Vietnamese religion with its philosophy based on Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity. Its tenets include believing in one God, the existence of the soul and the ability to communicate with the spiritual world.
PM: You will stop for about 2 hours to visit Ben Dinh tunnel, a section of the 200 km-long Cu Chi tunnel network that was built over 2 decades and used as an army base during the Vietnamese-American War. You will be amazed at the tunnels with their underground storeys including trap-door, living areas, storage, weapon factories, field hospitals, kitchen, command centres, etc. You can also fire M-16, AK-47, carbine rifle
