Ninh Binh - wonderful but brutally hot

Not as well known as Halong Bay, or Yangshuo, but every bit as beautiful is Ninh Binh. It has the added charm of being far less busy than both. Add to that on the main river and ponds the shallow boats are propelled by silent oars and not noisy 2 stroke motors.

We were rowed for a full three hours on the river, though long caves, with a few stops at idyllic and isolated temples.

The boat comes with a rower. A local lady whose age is very difficult to guess in her 40s, 50s, and 60s? She quietly did her job, only raising her voice when a cave was so low that we could have bumped our heads.

After a late lunch, we walked around the temples that had briefly been the capital around the year AD 1000.

It was hot, very hot, and max humidity, too, so we were all wilting in the heat. As a result, when all the others visited a 3rd site, I decided to sit it out and chill in the shade. That worked for a while, but then came Helen and her brother. A local 9 year old, determined to practice her English. Her English is already remarkablely good. Her brother, too, but he was a bit shy. So we talked for over an hour till Flo and the kids came back, and we took some photos of all the kids.

It must have been really hot as even Helen complained about the heat, even at 6pm.Leggi altro