Spooky semi-maintained temple complex that is NOT on maps

in #vietnam4 years ago

I have a tendency to just explore on my bicycle. I wouldn't say I try to avoid tourist spots because after being here for a mere 4 months and sadly barely even trying to get involved with the local culture and language I am not afraid to admit that I still fall into the tourist category. If you were to drop me off more than say a couple of kilometers from my house I would have no idea where I was without the assistance of some sort of maps app - so yeah, I'm still a tourist and likely will be for quite some time.

However, I do tend to just head out on my bicycle with no particular destination in mind. Since I live in a very populated city mostly this just results in exercise and trying really hard to not get killed by the never-ending traffic. Every once and a while I end up discovering something really cool, and yesterday was one of those days.

104928045_602249454005543_4361197436071631770_n.jpg

There was this unmarked side road that was exiting one of the busiest roads in my area and I was pretty ready to get off of it since you are always in danger of getting hit by the thousands of motorbikes that seem to go to and fro' 20 hours a day or so. Therefore I was very ready for this. As soon as I got just about 100 meters down this dark driveway, I encountered this guy (above,) it was quite ominous because mostly when you see a statue it is feature prominently and not just hanging out on the side of the road looking like it hasn't ever been maintained. At this point I wasn't even sure if I was trespassing or not. There wasn't anyone else around so I carried on anyway.

105634836_195538918435486_4000357271585696915_n.jpg

A bit further down the road I came upon this tower that was not marked and wasn't visible from the main road because of all the trees and the mountain on one side of it. I wouldn't say I was scared... mostly because it was daytime, but I was starting to feel a little bit like I was around some sort of Indiana Jones environment.

104668763_567204713984676_8509424297224374875_n.jpg

Statues of scary dragons or whatever are really common at temples, but normally they are maintained to a certain degree. This place almost had the look of some sort of ruins and the overgrowth and wear and tear from the elements on the statues just make the place a bit more creepy.

105968576_198846718062318_6534805170090252571_n.jpg

As I was nearing the top of the decrepit stairs I heard some noised from above. Was it other people? Was it monkeys? Was it tribal warriors waiting with cocked bows and arrows? Turns out it was just a dude with a shovel, but since I speak no Vietnamese and was not invited here I decided to turn back rather than continue on. I don't think he even saw me, or if he did, it wasn't when i was looking at him.

I didn't run away, but I didn't want to put myself in a bad situations, nor do I particularly like to cause trouble or be a "bad guest" in this country. So I wandered back to my bike by a different path only to discover more spooky statues.

105490390_617152642231221_3688732387706209548_n.jpg

I have no idea what religion this is attributed to, but it appears to be something Chinese. If someone out there has some idea based on the tower that appears at the start I would like to know the answer to that.

104767859_352606079043167_9020288784614711729_n.jpg

You can see in the last picture some sort of irrigation system so apparently someone is at least in part looking after what is going on here. But as far as temples go, if that is what this place was, it is certainly one of the scarier ones I have been to. I may return here someday with a Vietnamese friend so I can see what other treasures this place holds. Maybe I'll get lucky and there is a golden statue I can take home as a souvenir.

raidersofthelostarkimax.jpg

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

This is the approximate location if anyone cares to test their luck with the spirits that lie within :P It is located near the Marble Mountains and I believe it is actually in the shadow of said mountains. Good luck!

Sort:  

Very cool temple and statues.

It's always nice to wander off randomly and find out things by accident. I do that a lot when I'm on holidays somewhere. Instead of falling the tourist guides, I just roam around the cities at random without a fixed destination! 😊

My friends often think I'm crazy because hardly no one else does the same. They all stick to the preplanned routes on their tourist books... and I say that's for boring old people! Ahahhahha! 🤣

That's almost Urbex! No signs saying 'you can't come up here' means you can and will in the UK but there I am not so sure, What are the trespassing laws?

i was wondering if I could have put that in Urbex but i didn't want to do so unless i was sure. There is an abandoned hospital here that if i can get into it I will definitely put in Urbex. I don't know what the trespassing laws are here, i normally try to keep a low profile because people are on edge about foreigners at the moment pretty much globally.

I placed your post in Urbex myself, so that tells you it is most definitely in that category. A hospital solo, you're braver than me!

oh great! I always try to find stuff like this so in the future I will urbex it and i'll let you tell me if i do it wrong. :)

It's not a mental hospital unfortunately, just a rehab one. Should still be spooky though.

What a cool old place. Definitely worth checking into more after you have done a little research on it. I probably would have been freaking out that someone was going to chase me down too. Who knows what other cool hidden things this place has to offer. That tower is pretty awesome.

looks pretty sweet and the Indiana Jones reference seems very appropriate. Nice shots!

thanks man it was probably the neatest thing i have "found" since I moved here

Haha, I was just gonna ask if you felt a little like Indiana Jones, midway to the post, until I reached the bottom and saw that still of him 😃

poison arrows flying if i stepped on the wrong stone was one of the first things that I thought of when there :)