Day 64

Mua Cave & Ninh Binh

After waking up at midday from a very late arrival last night I wasn't in a very big rush to get going - especially as I was chilling in my very own room which was glorious to wake up in. The host was nice enough to make me breakfast at 12.30pm where I had a decent omelette in a baguette with a very not decent mango juice. He was nice enough also to give me a map of all the nearby attractions and their prices which came in super useful. I rented a scooter and decided on Mua Cave as my first stop - which is ironically not known not for its cave but its staircase up the mountain.

After a short scenic ride through the countryside, I headed down the road towards the entrance. I had read warnings about the pushy non official parking people but I didn't expect them to stand right in the middle of the road almost not even letting you pass to try and rip you off. I paid for my real parking and my real entrance ticket and wandered into the grounds. The first thing I checked out was this nice little koi pond that went under a small stone bridge. I ventured further and walked round the flower field. It was clear I had come in the wrong season as pictures showed a beautiful field of blooming flowers but I found a lightly flooded field of lily pads. Still, it was really nice especially with the surrounding mountains and made me excited to have my own garden one day (God I'm really starting to become an old man).

I wandered around more and found a little lake with a lone pink flamingo pedal boat that was looking a bit worse for wear and I got my first view of the flag lined stone stairway leading up the mountain. I peaked into Mua Cave but it seemed fairly small and unimpressive, plus the floor was flooded so didn't really want to commit to soaking wet shoes for the whole day. I then started my ascent of the stone steps. It was fairly busy and it's always a nice ego boost to cruise past most people but I decided to take it slow and take in the views. This was a great benefit of being solo is you can spend as much time as you want doing whatever you want. It was pretty foggy and cloudy but it was still a phenomenal view of the surrounding limestone cliffs rising up from the green paddies. Plus there was a nice view of the river that snakes through the land.

There were 2 different peaks at the top, one with a stupa on top, and another slightly higher with a pagoda and a stone dragon. The taller one was alot more popular and you could walk around the long dragon - with many people queuing to get a picture ontop of it. Walking down the body of the dragon was a fairly risky scramble with only a small chain to stop a very painful way down the side of the cliff and it amazed me to see how bold some not so able footed people were being and it blew my mind there weren't more accidents here especially when it was wet. Depsite the business I have never wanted to be able to paint landscapes more than I did in that moment.

I made my way back down and went and got some Banh Mi from the restaurant on site. This was the first Banh Mi I had ever had where the bread had been toasted and was warm. It was closer than ever to being a yummier and cheaper Subway. So good! Having some time left before sunset, I made my way to Nimh Binh city as I thought I should check it out before leaving. I decided on a couple pagodas after a very quick choice on Google Maps, just needing to find my way into the city before being able to explore more. Turns out this was a great choice and I parked up then wandered over. I crossed a beautiful bridge with some colour lanterns overhead and my love of lanterns only grew more as I walked around the little quaint "mountain" finding a small temple on top before stumbling onto a coffee shop that was half built into the side of the rock.

I then wandered out into the lake to check out the 2 huge pagodas built inline with one another and admired the beautiful carvings on the inside brick, the golden decorations on the high ceiling, and the religious statues sat in the centre. Honestly, it can be a little difficult to keep up with whether these temples are Hindu or Buddhist as there are plenty of both all over Vietnam so I'm probably using all of the wrong terminology. As the sunset the pagodas and lanterns really started to light up and show their true beauty over the lake which was lined in small wooden row boats, each with their own lanterns. I sat on the river side for a while just admiring where I was, knowing that it can be all too easy for me to quickly move on and forget how nice these places are. I walked around the adjacent ancient town for a little - finding a pick and mix shop so naturally I had to buy some sweets (they had mini chocolate eggs!!)

After getting some more fuel I headed back to my hotel as driving at night is never too confidence inspiring on a scooter. I ended up heading out to a restaurant close by and ordered a beer to sip on whilst I waited for my appetite to come back after eating far too many of my sweets already. I then ordered some goat and rice which was one of the local foods. It was decent but definitely not my favourite meat - the seasoning was good though. I wandered back - grabbing an ice cream before showering and watching some YouTube in my very own room (I'm still not over the levels of joy having a hotel room is bringing me).Read more