This last tour left me quite perplexed. As a nature lover of mountains, rivers, forests, rolling hills, green meadows. Ba Na Hills tour, in my opinion, is an exceedingly ambitious tourist attraction that has no bound nor measure.
Ba Na Hills locates in the pristine mountainous forest 20 miles outside of Da Nang. I have never witness anything of such towering ambition and I sincerely hope that it will be my last. I am glad I went on this tour and a very expensive tour indeed, comparatively speaking to other tours.
Ba Na HIlls venue was born from the mountain tops that have been leveled with such brute of force and conquest that will leave a lasting impression for the conservationists for generations to come. Ba Na can only be reached my cable cars and it requires at least 20 minutes just get to the first stage of the venue. Yes, it is that towering. It is so high, that the climate actually changed by many degrees cooler as it is, most of the time, gazes down the clouds with commanding presence and I dare say, arrogance, as well..Imagine that man’s will triumph over mother nature. When it rains in the valley below, Ba Na Hills is high, dry and impervious.
There are many stages of Ba Na Hills. The main ground level massive citadel that shows it might to the tourists took only approximately two months to build. According to the tour bus driver, the round-o’clock shifts work straight for about two months from beginning to the end to complete. Interior of the Ba Na HIlls Citadel, there are shops, restaurants and water-dancing fountain that synchronizes to the music sound.
Again, comparatively speaking, this tour was the ‘most’ expensive of all the tours I have paid. It costs $50 including cable rides, full access to the flower garden and the lunch buffet (this turned out to be a complete failure because the food selection was limited and a copious amount of vegetables, very few meat selection).
As the cable car carried the hapless tourist to the first stage of Ba Na Hills, one can see the live water falls and streams blessing the valley below with clean fresh water for ages. The cable car leaves the valley below and ascends higher and higher into the atmosphere. Soon, I found myself in a fog, actually clouds. For several long minutes, I was in the complete white out. Then slowly, the cable car emerged from the clouds and leaving them below farther and farther. Then, what I saw next completely petrified me. Before me, in a distance, I can see castles, gothic buildings, something come right out, or I was transported in time back to the medieval period.
I immediately probing and prowling the buildings of this make-believe fairy tale land. The architectural styles of this above-the-clouds town include Renaissance, Medieval, Gothic and everything else that French Consulting firm so desired to encourage to build. I must say, in short term, man triumphed. In the long run, mother nature always prevails. I already saw water damaged as well as washed-off paints running down the walls. It was a dizzying experience for me.
Welcome to Ba Na Hills!
These ground level buildings took less than 90 days to build. The round-the-clock shifts were murderous. This is only the beginning. The mountains behind Ba Na Hills are teeming with Fantasies.
The cable cars are taking us to the fantasy world.
The cable car literally took us through the clouds.
Below us is the majestic water fall.
I have reached the Flower Garden of Ba Na Hills. I haven’t a clue how high I am up the mountain. All I know is it took about 25 minutes in the cable car to get up here. Any higher I’ll require oxygen mask.
There is no such thing as finest details here in Ba Na Hills.
I meant it when I said “We are above the clouds”. I thought only the Gods and Goddesses of mount Olympus can make such declaration.
Flower Garden.
That is correct. Higher up we go! to the Castle!
Welcome to the Real Ba Na Hills. European enough for you?
The Complex is so massive. Yet, the work is still not done.
I must be honest. I did not care for the buffet at all. I am not much of a carnivore at all but for what we paid, there wasn’t much meat selection. Copious amount of Salads and Carb, no sea food.
Lots of Green.
People here eat fries with Mayo/Ketchup.
Picasso and Travel Maximus.
Hollow out the mountain to make room for carnival rides.
How about more thrilling rides?
Everything is European Theme.
Ambition is boundless, don’t you think?
We can take the roller coaster down to the Flower Garden, Oui?
Vogue is not enough. She had to touch my paint! Tourist!
Everything has to be European. It matters not if it is in Asia and thousands of feet up.
These Ukrainian Gals live and work in Ba Na Hills. They dress up like Cinderella and pose with Tourists all day long.
Alan M! they like you. 😉 They pose with tourists and dance to the rhythm to the background pop music.
Reminds me of the Chartre Cathedral.
Once can see the fakery quality in the building itself. To think that they level the mountain tops for this.
I, however, am impressed with all the details involved.
Ba Na Hills.
Medieval House
Inner Sanctum of a Church.
Medieval Pavilion
Long ago, when there was no cable cars, can you imagine what it was like?
Au Revoir, Ba Na Hills.
This was the most expensive tour, $60. I am glad I went. However, would I do it again, even for free, …most likely not.