22.10.2022 - From the wet to the dry Ha Long Bay

The journey to the south of Vietnam continues. After two and a half days on Cat Ba Island and in Ha Long Bay, I immediately got on the bus and drove three and a half hours to the small town of Ninh Binh upon returning from the ship. If you have never heard of Ninh Binh, I was in the same boat. So here is a little geographical context. Ninh Binh is the capital of the small province of the same name and is located about 100 kilometers south of Hanoi, slightly inland. Like Ha Long Bay, the region is characterized by countless limestone cliffs, but it is not in the sea, which is why the province is also called the "Dry Ha Long Bay."

Because the capital of the region doesn't have much to offer, I went directly to the neighboring town of Trang An after arriving. This had several advantages, such as the shorter distance to my destinations, but it also had a decisive disadvantage: the transportation infrastructure. While I could reach everything on foot or use other means of transportation in my previous locations, this time I had to take action myself. And after two and a half weeks of observing, the time was probably right to ride a scooter for the first time. "It will be fine," I thought - about eight hours later I thought differently, but more on that later. At first, it was just fun to drive freely and carefree through the beautiful landscape and not depend on anyone else.

My first stop was the Tam Coc River, where I wanted to take a boat tour. Fortunately, I arrived relatively early, so I could avoid the large crowds of tourists and only had to share the river with a few other boats. However, communication with the lady at the ticket counter was more difficult than expected, so I must have looked somewhat helpless. In any case, a small group of Vietnamese people spoke to me and asked if I would share a boat with them. It turned out that only four passengers were allowed on one boat, but there were six of us. In the end, I sat alone in a boat with a young Vietnamese woman while the other four took another boat. I felt sorry for her because she spoke hardly any English and was simply put in a boat with me. I don't think we exchanged five words during the entire boat trip, which lasted almost 1.5 hours. Well, that left everyone involved more time to enjoy the beautiful view.

The trip took us through rice fields, past sugar-like karst mountains, and right through unique stalactite caves. Here again, I refer to the pictures, which say much more than I could. Fun fact on the side, the boat guides don't paddle the boat with their hands here, but with their feet - a quite interesting sight. After passing through three caves, the boat turned around and we returned to the pier.

After a short break and a rather cold farewell from my fellow passenger, I got back on my motorized vehicle and drove the approximately four kilometers to my next destination: the Bich Dong Pagoda. The pagoda is directly integrated into a rock, which makes it blend nicely into the landscape. Over a few steps and a small cave, you reach the upper plateau, from where you can enjoy a great view of the small valley. As luck would have it, I ran into a backpacker from my hostel while exploring the pagoda - of course, a German, as often happens here. Since he was also traveling alone, we decided to spend the rest of the day together. Together, we also experienced the actual highlight in retrospect when visiting the pagoda. Unbeknownst to us, the path led us to a lake that was also on the grounds. And here we were approached or signaled by a Vietnamese man. The older gentleman didn't speak a word of English. With gestures, he instructed us to follow him. After a few meters, we stood in front of a locked iron gate that formed the entrance to a small cave. If I hadn't heard from two German backpackers during the Ha Giang tour that this was supposed to be a small guided tour, I probably wouldn't have followed the man into "his" cave. My German need for safety is just too pronounced for that. However, the trust was justified, and as soon as we crossed the threshold into the cave, the previously wordless man burst into a record-breaking pace of speaking Vietnamese that made us almost dizzy. The fact that we didn't understand a word didn't stop him from talking for half an hour. He guided us deeper into the cave, repeatedly pointing with his flashlight to individual spots and pushing us into the right positions so that we could have the perfect view of whatever it was. We really didn't understand anything. Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable experience.

After the private tour, which is not mentioned in any blog, sign, or travel guide, we headed to the Hang Mua Viewpoint and the Lying Dragon Mountain right next to it. Although Vietnam certainly doesn't lack viewpoints, this mountain is a must-visit. After climbing more than 400 steps to the top, you are rewarded with a beautiful view of the Ninh Binh province. On one side, there are the tall limestone cliffs and a river, and on the other side, there are rice fields and a small pagoda. Again, I say: look at the pictures!

After so many activities, the plan was to return to the hostel, relax for a bit, and then tackle the next activities the following day. However, the plans were involuntarily thwarted. Because on the way back, something happened that should actually happen all the time in this traffic. While passing through a small town, another scooter suddenly came out of a side street, causing me to lose control and seconds later find myself lying horizontally on the road - how naive of me to think that anyone here could adhere to traffic rules. Fortunately, I was wearing a helmet, so aside from a few scrapes, a bruised rib, and a small shock, nothing worse happened. Lucky in unlucky circumstances.

Since my desire to continue with the rest of the program had somewhat faded after the small accident and my companion left in the evening, I changed my short-term plans a bit. Due to the bad weather conditions in central Vietnam, I had already planned to skip a few places and instead fly directly down to a small island in the south. So, I booked my flight and a hostel on Phu Quoc in the evening. Relaxation was on the agenda, but more on that in the next blog entry.