Resort, pagoda overlooking world’s fourth largest border waterfall open in northern Vietnam Ban Gioc Waterfall – the world’s fourth-largest waterfall on a border as well as Southeast Asia’s biggest – in the northern Vietnamese province of Cao Bang Tuoi Tre A grand pagoda and a luxury resort opened on Monday in a location in northern Vietnam that overlooks the world’s fourth-largest waterfall on a border, as well as Southeast Asia’s biggest. The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported the same day that the two properties were inaugurated in the northern Vietnamese province of Cao Bang, which lies on the border with China. The first pagoda on the border, the Phat Tich Truc Lam Ban Gioc Pagoda, overlooks the Ban Gioc Waterfall in one of its directions and leans against Phia Nham Mountain, according to the news agency. The pagoda is rich in traditional Vietnamese religious architecture features, sitting on a land plot of three hectares in Trung Khanh District. The edifice boasts a bell tower and shrines to the Boddhisatva and a local hero, among other structures. Construction on the pagoda began in June 2013 with funds mobilized from society, the VNA said. The first phase of another key structure in the same district was inaugurated the same day. Located on historically important land with benchmarks reiterating Vietnam’s sovereignty, the four-star Saigon-Ban Gioc Resort is expected to receive a large number of inbound and outbound tourists from Ho Chi Minh City. The 31-hectare resort, invested in by Saigontourist, which is a major Vietnamese travel firm, has 80 rooms as well as sports and entertainment areas. Ninety-five percent of its employees are local residents who received training at luxury hotels in Ho Chi Minh City. The inaugural ceremony was attended by State President Truong Tan Sang.         The two new structures are expected to add to the province’s tourism appeal and increase the number of tourists to the area each year. Spanning the boundary shared by Vietnam and China, Ban Gioc Waterfall is currently the world’s fourth largest waterfall on a border and Southeast Asia’s largest natural fall. The fall boasts three resplendent layers and creates a picturesque spectacle in all kinds of weather. Nguom Ngao Grotto, which sits around two kilometers from the fall, offers singular charms and mystique. Its grandeur and splendor are considered by many to rank after just a few other grottos in the Southeast Asian country, including Son Doong, which is the world’s current largest, in the central province of Quang Binh. The 90-km provincial road No. 206 leading from the province’s capital city of Cao Bang to Trung Khanh District has recently seen massive upgrades, thus considerably shortening traveling time. On the way to the Ban Gioc Waterfall, tourists can now take leisurely strolls and pose for photos along the road, drop by the ethnic minority people’s morning market sessions at An Lai Market and the Tay ethnic group’s long-standing blacksmith village, and relish in the groups’ richly colored folk dances and tunes. Visitors can also join expeditions to Cao Bang Province’s other attractions including the wartime relics of Pac Bo Cave, Lenin Spring, and Thang Hen Lake. TUOI TRE NEWS