Day 27: Nimh Binh adventures

Saturday, 11/16/2024

Woke up to my alarm at 6:00am.  Showered, dressed, and got my stuff ready for the days trip.  Just the camera bag, selfie stick, and phone to carry today.

Went down for breakfast, then back up to the room to start packing other stuff up so there would be less I have to do tonight.

Went down to the lobby at 7:15am for my 7:30am pickup. Waited and as 7:30 arrived and passed I was wondering if they were going to be late today as well.

At 7:45am the hotel clerk had called and he told me they were running behind due to traffic.  About 7:50am a guy shows up and is there for me.

Grabbed my camera bag and went outside and he is getting on a scooter!?!  

I assume that they are going to take me to the bus instead of having it come up into this even more crowded area.  I hop on the scooter and he moves me through traffic for about 2 km (1.2 miles) until we arrive at another hotel where the bus is waiting.  He alerts them and they get me on the bus which is almost full at this point.

We drove a short distance to pick up another couple at a different hotel and now the bus is full.  This is a small bus holding about 25 people.

We worked our way over to a main road, drove past the train station, and headed south along the tracks to get out of town.  Once we reached the main freeway, things cleared up and we made good time heading south, other than a few construction spots that slowed things down a bit.

The drive today should take about 2 hours, maybe bit less depending on traffic.

We eventually pull off the freeway onto smaller highways.  Along here we stopped at another rest pavilion similar to what I had seen the other day, though this one was a bit larger, and had slightly more parking.  We also entered on one side and exited on the other, the busses would move around the building to wait.

Here I grabbed a small can of Lay's Stax chips to eat as I was a bit hungry.  Spicy Lobster flavor!

Not sure they tasted much like lobster.  I finished them off while standing next to the bus outside as the inside was too crowded and did not have space for people to sit, just more shelves of crap to buy.

Not quite sure they tasted like lobster. 😁

I also drank the bottle of water I was given on the bus when I first boarded.

Back on the bus we headed south again on the smaller highways and eventually reached a small village where we pulled over at a place and got out.  Here we would have the choice of getting a bicycle and riding about 1km (2/3 mile) to the next stop, or we could stay on the bus and take it over.

I decided to go for the bicycle, might as well get the full experience.

Our first stop is the site of Hoa Lu, the first capital of Vietnam in the 10th century which lasted till the 14th century.

We rode the bicycles over to the main entrance and then stood alongside the edge of the bridge over the river while we waited for the bus to arrive.  About half the people rode, the rest took the bus.

Our bikes (mine has green rims) on bridge over river.

Looking down river from the bridge.

Eventually everyone arrived except possibly one person?

One of the Korean tourists with the group somehow missed getting on the bus and was still back at the bike pickup place if I understood what I was hearing between the guide and another of the Korean group.  The guy wanted to wait till they arrive or something, was never able to find out what exactly was going on.

We eventually went into the site after the guide bought our tickets.  He then talked for a bit about the history and what we were seeing.  Then we rode the bikes over to a spot where we could park them while we visited the site.

We walked over to the side of the main path for more backstory on the site.

It was mostly a huge area of open fields with a large temple on one side.

The fields were the site of the capital buildings back in the day, but nothing was left, it had all been destroyed or removed over the years, only the slight signs in the ground where a building may have once stood.

The temple however had been built in the 16th century and we could visit it.

First, we had to stop so the women in shorts and skirts could pick up a covering for their legs as Buddhist temples do not let women with exposed legs in.  Historically they would not be allowed at all, but some have started to allow them as tourists on days when ceremonies are not being held.

The temple is still an active site, though only for special ceremonies, the rest of the time it is open for tourists.

Main temple gate.

We then went in through the gate and almost immediately got separated. The guide was moving so fast, and crowds were so thick, it was hard to keep up.  I had stopped briefly for a photo of the large Koi Pond and never saw most of the group again.

I moved over toward the main temple with 2 others from the group who were also taking photos, but when we arrived there was still no sign of anyone from the group.

I got in line to enter the temple, but line was not moving at all, and then I saw the signs that photos were not permitted and decided to just skip it.  I had seen inside a few other temples on the trip and most were not that impressive anyway.

Entry to main temple plaza.

The main temple.

I wandered over to use the restroom, but they were charging to use them!  While the cost was quite minimal, it just annoyed me that they would do that, so decided I could wait.

I decided that was enough, and went to leave the temple grounds.  I bumped into the guide on the way out and he said he would try to find the others. I told him I would wait outside the gate near the small bridge over the canal next to the temple.

I then watched some people feeding the Koi in the pond that were going crazy in the water before heading out the main gate.

Koi feeding frenzy!

After a bit the guide came out, but had not found any of the others yet, so he asked me to wait there and went back inside.

About this time a guy approached me on his bike.  I had seen him earlier taking photos of most of us as we rode in to the site and guessed he would now try to sell me the photo.  Bingo!

He had a print of the photo of me all laminated and with the site name on it ready to go.  As it was only $2, I went ahead and bought it since I had no other photo of me on the bicycle.

Riding into the capital site.

He then went to chase down another person he recognized.  I wonder how many people he actually finds on the grounds to even offer them the photo?

I sat there in the hot sun for about 20 minutes, wandered a bit for some photos, and then decided to hell with it and moved over to other side of the pond where the bikes were parked, at least it was in the shade.

Water lilies in pond next to temple.

View around the pond next to temple.

A few minutes later the group all showed up and we got back on the bikes and rode down a small road behind the temple.  This path went through a small village and among some large rocks and ponds till we reached the main road.

While the bike riding was fun, the actual site was a complete waste of time and I would not really recommend it unless you had a deep interest in Buddhism, or want to stand on the spot where something was or something occurred.

After about 2km (1.2 miles) we arrived back at the place we started from and dropped off the bikes.

Turns out this is also where we will have lunch.  We went inside the main doors, guarded by two sleeping dogs, and through a large dining hall restaurant.

Well protected by guard dogs!

We went up to 2nd floor to the tables set aside for our group and had the buffet.  Seems the 1st floor was menu ordering, the 2nd was the buffet.  Was a bit crowded still, but food was plentiful and mostly good.

While eating I spent some time talking with other group members sitting at my table.

One guy and his dad were from Italy.  Another guy was with what I think was his mother.  He lived in Germany, she lived somewhere else, but I missed that as we were talking. There was a couple from Sweden as well.

At the other table were a group of 7 from South Korea,  a girl from Turkey, and another girl and her mother from Germany, and a couple from Vietnam.

Once done with lunch, we boarded the bus to go to the next stop that day.  It was only a 10 minute drive down the road to Trang An.  This location was a river that we would be rowed in small boats on the river while it traveled through several caves.

The guide picked up our tickets and we took a long walk under the main road, over a bridge, and into the main center. We went down a few halls, got our tickets checked, and then moved to the dock to wait for a boat.

View from the bridge of the docks where we will get onto the boats.

Hanging in one of the halls we walked down.

Each boat held 4 people and the rower.  They were putting people on the boats in groups, and I ended up with the 3 Korean men while the 4 women in their group took another boat.

So not much conversation as they did not speak much English.

Heading down the river.

We went down the river a bit, then crossed into a cave that really did not look natural, very definite signs of being man made.  I am pretty sure it was made to create the loop that allowed us to circle around without back tracking, though it may have used some natural caves in its construction.

Entering the first cave (that I think was at least partially man made)

We then continued on the river a bit to a large shrine built in the middle of wide section of the river.

River beyond the cave.

Small shrine in the middle of water.

Then we moved into the second cave through the mountain, this one was natural.

Entering the 2nd cave.

This cave was not as tall, in some places requiring you to duck down a bit to avoid hitting your head.  It had more natural formations and a few other tunnels heading off into the darkness.  The main route was lit up enough to see the formations.

Beyond the cave we did another short length of the river, then into the 3rd cave, again natural in origin.

Small river section between caves.

The 3rd cave was a bit shorter than the second, which had been the longest of them, but also had some interesting formations hanging from the ceiling that had a low clearance to get pass them.

Once out of the cave, we stopped along the river at another temple.

I walked around a bit, did use the toilet here, but did not visit inside any of the buildings.  I just went back to the dock, found our boat, and waited.

The main temple at this complex.

Our row boat.

We then continued down the river to head back to the main dock.

Farther down the river we passed a village of huts that looked to be built like those used back in ancient times, but we did not stop there.

The replica of old village.

We then continued down a longer stretch of river before we came back to the main area where the docks and main building and bridges were.

Amazing views from the water.

The bridges over the water near the main entrance.

We soon reached the main dock and unloaded from the boat.

We found our guide and then stood around a bit to wait for all the people to come in as the boats did not always stay in order so some were farther behind.

We then walked along several hallways and open spaces to get back to the tunnel under the road and back to the buses.

Lanterns in one of the hallways.

More lanterns in an open space near the end of the hallway.

Once on board, we left to head down the road for about 10 minutes to reach our next stop.

This was the hike up the Lying Dragon Hill.

This area was very hilly with large nearly vertical mountain rocks sticking up from the surrounding terrain that are common in the region.

The Lying Dragon Hill.

We parked at the edge of the village and then walked into the park, and down a long avenue with a few shops and cafes, and there were several small waterfalls, fountains, and sculptures along the walk.

Cool horse display along a creek built as part of a waterfall fountain.

We then came to the bottom of the stairs that would take us up the hill.

There are two viewpoints, one a bit lower that only sees one side of the ridge, the other at the top can view both sides.  The hike is about about 1000 steps to reach the top.

The higher point also has the large dragon statue, which is probably 30 meters (100 feet) long, built along the ridge at the top.

I headed up to the higher point when I reached the split in the trail after a short rest to catch my breath, one of many I took.

Another hellish hike in humid conditions that had me just drenched in sweat when I reached the top.

At the top there was a small covered space and the views where just incredible!

Small covered rest area at the top of the main trail.

View on one side, showing the town beyond, and the lower viewpoint.

View from the other side showing the river and more hills.

I tried to get up next to the dragon statue, but it was a very treacherous climb up there.  There was no actual trail, just a few chains to hang onto along the rocks.

Many people were going out there, then were freaking out and moving way too slow. The few people that were up there did not care that 20 more were waiting and were doing 50 selfies and posed shots.

I did get a few shots from the ledge just below the top, but gave up trying to get up there as people would not move.

The large dragon statue at the very top of ridge.

I then took a difficult route down to avoid having to backtrack through all the people still trying to get up.

This route would be almost impossible to climb up, I had thought about trying it earlier, but I was just able to make my way down the steep drop to the rocks below.

I tried a few more photos of the dragon from below, and the guy from Germany had me take photos of him at the top from my position just below him.  He had lucked out and made all the way up.

From the lower ledge in the crack that I had climbed down on other side of the dragon.

I then went back down the stairs to reach the bottom.  Took me several minutes to do so and my legs were killing me, and the blister on my foot was not happy either.

I did get a few more photos on the way down of the surrounding area and the bottom of the stairs which were carved into large dragons as well.

View of the cliff walls on the walk down (not from from the bottom)

Bottom of the main stairs up the hill.

At the bottom I was completely soaked; hardly a dry piece of clothing.

I actually had climbed down without my glasses as the sweat had been dripping into them so badly I could not see anything with them on.  Thankfully my distance vision is not too bad without them.

I bought a cold drink at the bottom, put away the cameras, and then walked back toward the bus.

I stopped to use the restroom that was built over by another waterfall.

Waterfall behind the buildings.

I then came across the Italian guy and his dad, and the girl from Turkey, sitting at a table along the path.  I stopped and sat with them for a few minutes.

We then moved on to the bus which was nearly full by now and we were the last to arrive.  Back onboard we headed out to return to Hanoi.  Or at least that was what I thought we would do.

We first headed south, and I saw on the map that the main highway was close by to the south, so that made sense.

But then we kept going south and turned off toward some other tourist spot on the map.  When we got there, one of the guys, that had been with us as the guides helper, got off the bus and pulled his bag from below.  We then turned around and went back toward the main road.  Guess that guy was staying here.

Once back to the main road we started heading north and soon were back on the same back highways we had brought down. We stopped at the freeway entrance at a line of shops to use the restroom and buy any last-minute drinks if we wanted them.  I did both, and then we boarded the bus and headed onto the freeway towards Hanoi.

During the stop I also sent the photos I took of the guy from Germany to him via WhatsApp since we both had that application on our phones.

The ride back was uneventful, but traffic in Hanoi after leaving the freeway was insane.  We soon reached the part of town where we started to drop people off.  Some at hotels, and others that wanted off to go eat or do things nearby.

Eventually I was the last one on the bus, but the guide told me they would not be able to get to my hotel easily due to the road closures this time of night.  They would need to drive a long loop around the old quarter to get to the other side.

I looked at the map and then asked them if they could get me to the north end of the lake which was not far away, then I could walk from there as I knew the area.

I then had them drop me at another intersection a bit later as I saw we were actually a few blocks north of the lake, so would be shorter walk from there and save them the time of having to navigate the big bus farther into the narrow lanes of traffic.

I walked the final 1 kilometer (2/3 mile) to the hotel and checked to see if my laundry was back, but it was not ready yet.

I went up to the room to pull off the still damp clothes and then started to pack up the rest of my stuff for the morning.

I then took a shower as I was still sweaty even after I cooled off.  I then used the hair dryer to try drying off some of the clothes so I could wear them to dinner and avoid getting something else dirty.

After I finished that, I finished the packing, and then checked into my flights online when I saw an email waiting from earlier in the day.

I then got dressed again and went downstairs to check on the laundry, which was ready now.  Paid my bill and took the stuff back up to the room and packed it.

I then went out for dinner.

I was not sure what I wanted, was thinking pizza again, so I walked up the road to a place I had seen earlier, but it was only pizza by the slice.  I wanted bit more than that, so walked around till I found another little pizza place that looked nice and stopped there.

I had just enough Dong left to pay for dinner and leave me with some money to tip the driver in the morning.  I had a nice pizza, some bruschetta and a Coke.

The food was very good, and I wrote up the journal while I ate.

Then I returned to the hotel and will stay in the rest of the night and just read till ready for bed, I have had enough for the day!

Goodnight!