Ninh Binh - Trang An Experience

After a bumpy 13h overnight train journey we did reach Ninh Binh. Quickly we arrived at our first homestay in Vietnam, 7km outside of Ninh Binh between Tam Coc and Trang An. Place with 7 rooms in a quiet village but restaurants were reachable with a 15 mins walk. Very talkative owner so we learnt a bit about the implications of the Vietnam war and agent orange on the family and as well about Buddha but that’s a different story…
Our stay happened at the same time as a the start of the national holiday weekend. 79 years ago on the 2nd September Ho Chi Minh declared independence of Vietnam at a rally in Hanoi. So loads of Vietnam flags are out on the road these days and traffic increased but much less than what we experienced in a China during National Holidays.
What did we do? We went to our 3h Trang An boat ride on the Sao Khe River passing 3 caves (one was 1km long) and 3 temples. Very touristy but very nice.
Hoa Lu was the next place to visit by bike. First capital of Vietnam from 968 - 1010. Not much left but nice setting.
Second day we did the hike up the Hang Múa. 1h and we sweated like hell. Great view from the peak.
Food wise we tried goat meat as the area is famous for it. Was ok not mind blowing. Beer is mainly Hanoi Beer for 20.000 Dong, around 80 Cent.Read more