Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Vietnam → Cao Dai Temple

Location: Tay Ninh, Southern Vietnam

Time Required: 1 hour

Red Tape/Notes: Admission is free, and the temple is open daily from dawn to dusk

What’s Nearby?: Ho Chi Minh City, Cu Chi Tunnels

We stopped here mainly to kill time, but it was interesting to see the temple and the mid-day service. This is where the Cao Dai religion was founded in 1926, and it has a following of around 6 million people. The temple itself was built over a 20 year period and completed in 1956. Caodaism is a monotheistic religion, melding eastern and western influences – they believe in a supreme deity who created the universe, and practice prayer, nonviolence, and vegetarianism, with the goal of union with God. The temple itself looks almost edible – like it’s made out of candy. Or perhaps I was just hungry at the time. Anyway, the architecture and colors are quite notable, and has been described as “part-cathedral, part-pagoda, part-mosque, and part-fairytale” with distinct pastel colors;  these elements appear to be consistent in all the Cao Dai temples (I always notice them when we’re traveling now – we even have one in San Diego), though this one is certainly the archetype.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Vietnam → Cao Dai Temple