Swastika on marble statues of Buddha in Da Nang! Where does it come from?

Swastika for most of us has been a symbol of Nazi concepts. Germany during the 2nd World War completely usurped this sign and left it with its negative connotation up to present times. Why did we start to wonder whether this symbol has always been associated with nazism? Well, we went to a place called Marble Mountains located near Hoi An in Da Nang and surprisingly we found the sign of swastika on the marble statues of Buddha, and exactly in the center of his chest .. besides, the symbol was also illustrated separately and it was quite big, so it was not difficult to notice it .. at first it seemed abhorrent for us, then later awoke our curosity and we wanted to find out more about it … and dig into the history of the sign..

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Waking up in Descending Dragon Bay!

Just imagine that you spend a night on a boat in a cozy cabin being surrounded by 1,900-2000 rocky islands and islets with caves and grottoes .. And in the morning what wakes you up is an unearthly view from your cabin window and it turns out to be one of 7 New Wonders of Nature… Ha Long Bay or Descending Dragon Bay is situated in the Northeast/Dong Bac region of Vietnam and it has been considered the UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994. This incredible place is visited daily by a large number of tourists, who most often go there for 4/6/8h trips looking from the distance like herrings packed in small boats entering the bay. They all are taken to the same place, so called Surprising Cave, the most spectacular cave in the bay. We did not want to make this kind of hop-on-hop-off trip in a cramped boat. Instead we decided to establish a closer contact with the Ha Long Bay and spend there almost two days and one night – the boat cruise provided us with many unforgettable memories!

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Laos – the things that surprised us…

Previously we knew Laos only from stories. Firstly, we heard that this is an extremely cheap country. Secondly, that we would easily be struck by poverty as it is the case in Cambodia or Myanmar.. Hmm, we started to doubt it as soon as we arrived there and noticed Toyota Hilux vans and other cars of leading automotive brands passing the roads here and there, even in small villages. There are very few old cars on the roads, the rest of them look like brand-new ones. What’s more? We also heard that Lao people are extremely open and communicative (resembling Sri Lankan people in this way).. Hmm, well, and here again we have a doubt .. So how does it really look like?

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The mysterious Phonsavan – a land strewn with gigantic jars and bomb craters

Have you ever heard of the Plain of Jars near Phonsavan in Laos with over 2,000 stone jars scattered all over a huge area (some of them being 3m high)? And any idea about bomb craters in this terrain left by the Americans during the Vietnam War? The mysterious surroundings of Phonsavan arouse curiosity of many travelers. Life in the villages situated close to the craters goes on as if the bombs have never fallen in that area and the real purpose of the mysterious jars is not 100% confirmed …

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