Ancient Gate of Ba Mu Temple in Hoi An [Vietnam]

In my limited research for Hoi An before I made the trip to Central Vietnam, I did chance upon numerous photographs for the above. As Alex isn't big on temples, I didn't even plan to check it out. 

Nevertheless, we still chanced upon the place after having our first bahn mi in Central Vietnam. It wasn't on purpose as our intention was just to ride through a shortcut that would eventually bring us back to La Charm Hoi An Hotel & Spa! 

Knowing Alex was hot and sweaty, I had to have a plan in order to keep him sane. There was a cafe (red arrow) overlooking the structure and the lotus pond; I suggested paying for drinks and snacks. 

Above was the photo of the temple taken from the second floor of the cafe, called Fefe RoasteryFefe Roastery, which was rated 4.9 on google map by over 90 reviewers. 

Coming back to the 'temple' - it was said to be a temple due to its origins a few hundred years ago and this particular iconic photograph shows only the gates of the temple, known as The Tam Quan gate, or three-entrance gate. 

I was intrigued by the design which showed what appeared to be fruits like the Buddha's hand citron, the oculus that seemed capable of capturing the first ray of sunrise, and the porcelain-laid decorations! 

Standing in front of the worn vermillion wooden doors, I had a thought; should I push open? Visitors to this area were 99% keen in taking photographs of the gate and no one appeared to want to see what lies beyond the doors. I am a curious cat.

Interesting; door knockers in the form of lions, and not dragons. That's quite unconventional given the ancient Chinese influences when it comes to religion and culture in Vietnam.

Here we go! 

Open sesame.

Hm..... the level of disappointment commensurates with the same level of excitement when I first saw the gates for the first time. There's literally nothing behind that resembles a temple! Beyond the metal fence was actually a school; literally the Nguyen Duy Hieu Secondary School.

So where's the temple? Is there one? 

Turned out we walked past the gates quite often in the next few days! This time round, I managed to get Alex to model for me. He did help take some photographs of me but pity, I am just not as visually attractive as he is. 

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Address

675 Đ. Hai Bà Trưng, Old Town, 

Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Click here for my 8 Days' Itinerary to Danang (The City of Bridges) & Hoi An (The City of Lanterns) in Vietnam