What I thought would be a simple two hour ride from Hanoi to Ninh Binh turned out to be a full on day tour.
Unknowingly, I had bought a ticket on a tourist bus (for areas around Ninh Binh featuring Tam Coc and the ancient Dinh Tien Hoang temple). The driver would eventually drop passengers not on the tour near the Ninh Binh city limits.
Taking the lead from a young Australian couple, I, (along with another Australian woman) decided to pay a few more dollars and continue on the tour.
Our group was an interesting mix. Not surprising, the Australians were more than represented, with five of the 13 from down under. Then there was a couple from Israel, a lone Brit, two Japanese women and a couple from Montreal. We got a kick out of the two Australian men, (who I thought were a couple, which apparently weren’t) who were spending their pensions to travel through SE Asia for three months.
Our guide was obviously very new at his job. He seemed extremely nervous whenever he spoke. I couldn’t understand anything he was trying to say. Neither did most of our group. I felt for him because he was obviously trying very hard. I pretended to understand him and I nodded my head “yes” when appropriate.
Our first stop was another ancient temple. I won’t pretend to know the significance of this particular temple or even its name. Anyway it was as pretty as a temple can be with a striking backdrop of the Yen Ngua Mountains. Temples and shrines are beautiful in their own rights. I will give you that. I am not embarrassed to say that I canβt tell the difference between the lot of them.
What I will remember about this temple will be the two men sitting outside on water buffaloes. They were giving rides along the fields on the back of these beautiful mammals. No one in my group was game enough to take a spill around the fields. Quite literally, I think that’s what we were afraid of…falling on our asses. In my opinion, the whole business was too cruel.
Tam Coc was our next and final destination after lunch. Justifiably it is deemed, “Halong Bay on rice paddies”. Now you need to have seen Halong Bay to fully understand the comparison. I could see it right away.
Like Halong Bay, Tam Coc has rock formations jutting upwards out of water. The difference here is that the rocks appear from a sea of green rice paddies. We took a rowboat on the Ngo Dong River to fully appreciate nature’s magnificient work.
In English “Tam Coc” translates into three caves so we rowed through three caves.
Jane and I shared a boat and we had a good laugh while I practiced my French. Our guide spoke French, not English. Once again I surprised myself with my ability. However, when the lady tried to sell us some embroidery, I seemed to have forgotten everything.