Ninh Binh-, Vietnam

Well, after two days enjoying the remarkable seascapes of Ha Long Bay, I was prepared to be a little let down when we set out for Ninh Binh- and the UNESCO World Heritage listed landscapes of Trang An. I guess I shouldn't have worried... as we were completely blown away by the place!  

During our two days in the Ninth Binh area, we visited two different sites from our cute little hotel in Tam Coc, the Mua Caves and Dragon Mountain, and the Trang An Boat Tour.  The first was a small cave, with a 500 step climb up to the top of one of the nearly shear sides limestone bluffs that form this unique karst landscape.  With steps typically being 12-18" each, it was a pretty challenging climb ;-) But once at the top-- worth every step!  What a view!
Frankly, the climb down was much worse than the climb up!   After getting some good exercise, we biked into the small town of Tam Coc for dinner, and tried some local pizza just for kicks.  It wasn't quite up to what you might get on Italy or NYC, but not bad... and you sure couldn't beat the US$0.50 beers on tap!
On our second day, we got up with the roosters (yes, if you ever come here, bring ear plugs or a white noise machine!) To arrive at the boat pier in Trang An by 8:30am.  Disney has nothing on these folks when it comes to managing large numbers of people in long lines!  

 ...and the resemblance to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride is hard not to get out of your head at times, but it was actually way better!!
And while things started out feeling kind of crowded, our guide was remarkablly good at getting us away on our own to get some nicely  uncluttered views
Pretty amazing!  In addition to the landscape above ground, there were also caverns up to a kilometer in length, with just enough room to duck under the stalactites:-)
And if that wasn't enough, there were some amazing  temples as well.
So... we're now on the train heading back to Hanoi, and tomorrow we'll be on a long train south to the old capital city of Hue on the central coast. If you ever have the chance to visit Nihn Bihn, I highly recommend it!
Cheers!

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