Buu Long Pagoda

Buu Long was founded in 1942 and rebuilt substantially from 2007 in a form that is deliberately not Vietnamese: the Gotama Cetiya stupa, about fifty-six metres, is gold-topped and white with the proportions of Thai and Burmese work rather than the tiered roofs of a Vietnamese pagoda, standing above a turquoise pool on a hill overlooking the Dong Nai river. It is a Theravada monastery in a country whose majority Buddhism is Mahayana, which is what accounts for the difference. It is free to enter, popular with local visitors at weekends, and has strict dress rules.

What you actually see

• A stupa of about fifty-six metres - Thai and Burmese in form.
• A turquoise pool below it - on a hill above the Dong Nai river.
• A Theravada monastery - in a mainly Mahayana country.
• Rebuilt from 2007 - on a 1942 foundation.

When to go

Year round; weekdays are quieter. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Dress rules are enforced - covered shoulders and knees, and shoes off in the halls. It is well out of the centre and needs a taxi. Weekends are crowded with photographers. Most of what stands is recent.

Nearby

District 1 is south-west; the Dong Nai river runs below the hill.