The Trinh Nu Grotto or Virgin Grotto
is situated on the island range of
Bo Hon in the system comprising the
Sung Sot Grotto, Dong Tien Lake and
Luon Grotto. It is 15 km south of
Bai Chay Beach. For fishermen, the
Virgin Grotto is their house, but
for young lovers, it is considered
as the symbol of truly love, and is
the romantic place for taking oath
of love.
Entering Trinh Nu Grotto, one finds
in the middle of the grotto a stone
statue of a lying-girl with her long
hair hanging down who is looking to
the sea in a vain hope.
Situated opposite to Trinh Nu
Grotto, Trong (or Male) Grotto has a
stone statue of a boy who turns his
face to Trinh Nu Grotto. One still
hears his vain scream in tune with
the wind blowing into the cliff
somewhere.
Legend has it, there once was a
beautiful fisherman's daughter,
whose family was so poor that it was
in the service of the rich
administrator of the fishing zone.
He forced the family to give him the
girl as a concubine. She already had
a lover who at that time was on the
high seas catching fish to prepare
for their wedding. The
administrator, angered by her
refusal, exiled her to a wild island
where she suffered from hunger and
exhaustion. On one frightening
night, amidst terrible rain and
winds, she turned to stone.
It was also the night that her lover
knew of her danger, and he rowed his
boat in search of her. On the
terrible night, the tempest
destroyed his boat and he floated to
one of the islands. In a lighting
flash he saw his mate in the
distance, but his calls were driven
away by the wind. He used a stone
block to hammer down on the mountain
cliffs to announce to her he was
nearby. He struck until blood flowed
from his hands, and in his final
exhaustion, turned to stone (today's
Trong Grotto).
Tourists also find Trinh Nu Grotto
attractive partly because of its
association with a fanciful love
legend: "Once upon a time, there
lived a boy and a girl who deeply
loved each other. However, they were
so poor that they could not be able
to get married. The boy decided to
go offshore fishing with a hope that
he could get enough money for his
marriage. And the girl painfully
waited in vain for her fiance. She
finally took a small boat and rowed
to the sea to look for him. So
immense is the sea, and so many are
the islands, the boy, therefore
could not hear her doleful call,
though he was just several canals
away. Exhausted, the girl lied in a
grotto, looking to the sea and got
petrified after the last call. The
boy got lost in a grotto nearby,
shouting to call the girl in vain.
The echo of their call through the
cliff was so moving. At last, the
boy became exhausted and petrified
in the grotto - present-day Trong
Grotto".
Today, whenever passing this place,
tourists can still hear his faint
call.
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