Ho Quyen Arena Ecocache Traditional Geocache
Crow T Robot: It appears that the cache is missing and people are logging false finds. It appears that the owner is unable to maintain this cache.
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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Ho Quyen is a small brick arena where tigers and elephants last fought in 1904. You can sometimes find the local with the key and get inside for 20k dong - worth the cost. Except for locals who live in the area, not many people know about this interesting site.
Ho Quyen is an arena where tigers and elephants fought to the death, gladiator style, for the benefit of the royal family and other high-ranking spectators. It was constructed in 1830 along the south bank of the Perfume River. In traditional Vietnamese culture, tigers were feared beasts that preyed upon helpless villagers and their livestock. In contrast, elephants were noble animals who represented the prestige and virility of the royal family. The fights held here between the two species were carefully rigger so that the elephants held the upper hand in every fight. The tigers routinely were declawed and tethered, with their teeth filed down to further put them at a disadvantage. Although the tigers could put on a show by jumping and charging at the elephants, the elephants would generally (if not always) win in the end by trampling the tigers to death.
Fights were usually staged once a year and the last was held in 1904, though royal elephants continued to be reared in the area until the August Revolution of 1945.
Unfortunately, neither tigers or elephants remain in the wild of Vietnam today. This loss is a remind for all of us about the importance of preserving the wildlife species of our planet.
This site now appears in the Vietnam Lonely Planet guidebook and is becoming better known than in years past.
The "hide" here is simply a small container -- the site is the real "find". Watch for curious onlookers before replacing the container.
About 200 metres further down the road toward the river is Long Chau temple where royal elephants were worshiped and buried. Good photo ops there. The cache has been moved to this area to try to avoid the frequent thefts reported in the past.
Ho Quyen is about 4 km from the center of the city and is an easy bike ride.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vafvqr orybj gur tngr