All Senses in Action

sanctuary that encircles the fabled mountain are 88 km from the city. A wide highway puts the abundant flora and less visible fauna of the 754 sq km Kinabalu National Park within an hour’s drive. Many day trippers from ‘KK’ as it’s commonly called, come for these attractions with the added inducement of being able to spend a few calm hours strolling in cool mountain air.

Wild orchids, lovely bluebells, daffodils, rhododendron and the giant Rafflesia with a flower measuring up to a metre across are found along walking tracks. It’s not very likely you’ll spot glacier scarred summit is followed, but the climb is very tiring and tourists must be in good shape to complete the two to three day trip. Several huts with basic cooking and accommodation facilities strategically located along the way have been established to make the journey more comfortable. The driest and sunniest part of the year is from February to May but even then stout shoes, a warm hat, gloves and warm clothes are needed plus food for the entire journey. A sleeping bag can be rented at the huts. Climbers must utilise the services of an authorised guide and porters can be hired.

Clockwise: Konarak’s incredible Sun Temple is an outstanding backdrop for an annual dance festival.

This ‘tribal’ maiden is a talented artisan performing during cultural evenings near Mt Kinabalu.

Central Vietnam’s splendid river and mountains unfold a few km outside imperial Hue.

The ‘fish tail’ of Machhapuchhre is best seen at sunrise from a lakeside vantage point in Pokhara.

The rice god of the Philippines watches over the awesome world heritage listed terraces.

Quaint French traditions remain in Yanam where there are ‘jumbo’ ambitions to develop tourism.

Visitors who simply want to slow down for a few days and not test their endurance will enjoy the serenity of the area and the variety of pleasant options available. My wife and I, for instance, traipsed along the path winding through the park’s extensive botanical garden, went golfing at a picturesque course located on the mountain slope, and spent hours at our heritage resort sitting opposite an amazingly cloudless peak and watching the last rays of the day cast a pink hue over this geologic wonder.

Hue: No hurry

Located roughly midway between the unbridled frenzy of Ho Chi Minh City - more commonly called Saigon - to the south and the more conservative Hanoi, the commentary on 400,000-strong Hue. We chatted while the aluminium craft cut through the water and then coasted to a rustic riverbank jetty where scores of other dragon boats were temporarily moored.

Rising beyond several brilliant Flame of the Forest trees lining the river bank, was an octagonal tower. Hue is a metropolis of pagodas with more than 300 sacred Buddhist buildings gracing the city. Built in 1844, the seven tiered Thap Phuoc Duyen Tower was constructed on the grounds of the older Thien Mu (Heavenly Lady) Pagoda.

Buddhism came from India and then spread throughout Vietnam. Today 90 per cent of the population profess the gentle faith. Several dozen adherents currently live at the monastery beyond the tower. It’s a place of peaceful contemplation once tourist hordes leave. The sweeping scene of river boats and the purple hue of the Troung Son Mountain Range beyond was enticing, but another major point of interest was only a few kilometres upstream.

Also set above the river, the Tomb of Minh Mang is the most typical and best preserved of all the royal mausoleums in Hue. Said to be modelled after the Ming Tombs in Beijing, the 18 ha. complex is filled with statues, temples, terraces and stone bridges. In the middle of it all is a of the Perfume River. In 1802, after nearly 40 years of conflict, Vietnam was united for the first time by a Saigon lord, Nguyen Phuc Anh. He proclaimed himself Emperor Gia Long as the first Nguyen ruler, and began rebuilding the Phu Xuan Citadel into an impregnable stronghold, the first fortified city in Asia modelled on European military design.

‘Fortified’ is the operative word because the 10 km in circumference Citadel has an 8 metre high, 21 metre thick outer wall. Inside this 520 ha stronghold where subjects lived, worked and tended fields was another moatenclosed space, the Inner City or Dai Noi. Accessible through four entrances, access through the Ngo Mon Gate was once reserved solely for the emperor.

I walked unhindered through this passageway, across the stonebuilt Golden Water Bridge which spans a fish-filled lotus pond, and into a still splendid palace where emperors would confer with advisors, meet other nobles and issue royal decrees. The elevated red and gold throne where this occurred takes centre stage in the Thai Hoa (Supreme Peace) Palace, a spacious hall with an ornate roof supported by 80 carved, gold inlaid and lacquered columns. I briefly paused before this grand spectacle sensing that what lay beyond would also be a feast for the senses.