Impressive day in Ninh Binh province

Today we slept until 9:00 am!!! It was necessary after the stressful day yesterday :-))))! At the hotel, we were able to order our breakfast a la carte and it was 'AMAZING' :-)... everything was fresh and delicious. Oh, I am already looking forward to tomorrow... laugh...!

At 11:00 am, our personal driver (unfortunately only for today)... smile.... picked us up. He was so adorable. An older gentleman who always accompanied us on foot to our attractions (only to the entrance :-)) so we don't get lost... laugh... it was really touching and he always showed us with his finger where he is waiting for us. Truly sweet :-))))

Our first attraction was a boat tour in Trang An on the Red River Delta, on a Sampan rowing boat through the Dry Halong Bay. The difference between the Dry Halong Bay and the Halong Bay is the following: in the Dry Halong Bay, the rocks do not protrude from the water, but they stand in rice fields along the river... just for your information ;-)

Since it was drizzling a bit, there weren't many people around and we were allowed to be alone on a boat with our rower.... amazing... normally there should be four people. It was so great for us! What followed was by far the most beautiful experience we have seen here in Vietnam. Rice fields appeared on the left and right, with water buffaloes and these gigantic rock formations covered in green. The sounds of the animals that we could hear gave us a feeling of a jungle tour.... truly incredible. Our rower was a bit older and I asked her if I could help her? 'Yes, yes.... she grinned widely'... So, both of us grabbed a paddle and rowed diligently! Then she steered us towards the entrance of a cave and I started to panic a bit because the cave ceiling was noticeably close to my hair.... laugh... well, I didn't laugh at the beginning, but the woman rowed us very well through the cave and skillfully avoided the hanging limestone rocks. When the daylight finally appeared again, I could relax and enjoy the ride.

Next, she stopped our boat at a temple complex. And where was the temple located, of course, on top of a mountain, which means climbing many stairs again....:-() But it was worth it because it was a very beautiful temple complex. Then the journey continued through many more caves and occasional stops to visit additional temples. During one of the stops, we went in the wrong direction and suddenly a dog came running out of a house and guys, it was BIG... it bared its teeth and growled at us....shiiiiiiit, I said to Daniela 'Don't panic, just slowly go back'... phew, it went well..... but we immediately felt warm.... laugh! After 3 hours, the eventful boat tour unfortunately came to an end!

Our driver took us to the second attraction, which is the largest pagoda complex in Vietnam, Bai Dinh! It includes the old and the new pagoda. Just for your information; 'Bai' means worship and Dinh means 'summit' - worship of the ground, the sky, and Buddha! Here too, we were lucky that there weren't many people around, so we were able to take great pictures of the overwhelming structures. I just have to write it, how many times did we have to do it again? Exactly, climb countless stairs. I would really be interested to know how many steps I have climbed uphill during this vacation ;-))) The atmosphere in the complex was pleasant and calm, up until that point!!!!! Daniela really wanted to go into an area with a giant bell inside and of course, more stairs.... no, I said, without me, I'll watch you go up and then you can wave down and I'll take a photo of you! That's what we did. Daniela was still inside, I was in front, and a larger group of Vietnamese approached. One of them said to me 'Photo'? 'Huh, photo, what do you want from me, a photo'?????? Well, it's apparently not uncommon for them to like to take photos with Europeans! 'Well, great, just me, I hate photos, but I'll do anything for international understanding.... smile...' Many people then took pictures with me and Daniela watched everything from the background and then said to me 'Oooooh- golden hair'... a quote for those who don't know... from 7 Years in Tibet. That was Daniela's highlight and we had to laugh again and again...:-)

So, after 2 hours of walking around the complex and visiting several temples, we returned to the exit and both agreed that this was a very impressive and beautiful complex.

Unfortunately, it was already dark for our third attraction, so we couldn't see everything. We were in Hoa Lu. Hoa Lu was the former capital of the region. What we were still able to see here was a pagoda located in a very beautiful garden complex. Many bonsai trees were placed there in lovely clay pots, decorated with beautiful patterns. Then it got dark and a woman on a scooter wanted to take us with her and drive around. She came several times and honked...'Yuuu wanne Taxxxiiii'.... very friendly for the 99th time.... no thank you!!!!!' I was getting angry and said to Daniela, if she comes again and honks at us, I'll knock her off the scooter :-().... ouch.... but she didn't come again.... laugh... Of course, I wouldn't have done it anyway!

We then returned to our driver and were taken to the hotel. You won't believe it, but for the first time, we had real Vietnamese street food and what can I say, it tasted incredibly delicious ;-)

Such a mega, mega, mega beautiful day comes to an end and we are going to sleep now because tomorrow we have a full schedule.....

Tam biet.....good night...Anke & Daniela