Hanoi meet up and the Ninh Binh day trip - week 2 in Vietnam 3 -
It was a lovely catch-up with our friends from Australia. It was great that we joined them for a day trip to Ninh Binh to visit major spots with the local tour guide. I found it great to have a local agent to get more details and histories, while our travel style is to go with the flow, without anyone but us finding hidden gems, so the resources could be limited. He was so knowledgeable and told us a fascinating background of each place.
We met up at night on their arrival in Vietnam to toast to our reunion near Beer Hoi street, then the next morning, we went through the wholesale market and stopped by the pub to grab some drinks for a break because it was too humid and hot outside.
There were the lotus lakes where we first walked through, which were pretty, but a few flowers bloomed, so it must be stunning in the best season.
After that, we were encouraged to climb the dragon mountain, which has two routes, one is longer, taking us to the top, and another is shorter. I was attempting the longer one but gave up in the middle of it because I felt like having a heat stroke, then I couldn't stand up, which was a shame. I couldn't achieve it and missed a chance to enter the caves while other people were enjoying themselves. However, it was tooooo hot and humid for these activities, so again it would be much easier if it were a cooler season.
The left photo shows me experiencing a kind of heat stroke, and my partner was trying to cheer me up.
The pretty lantan displays with the pretty guy.
This Trang Anh scenic landscape complex has been recognised as a UNESCO heritage, with the long river surrounded by the steep cliff of limestone and rice fields, and there are temples and caves to explore more, so our whole journey was breathtaking.
The boat was led by a boat lady and was shared with other passengers who were from Germany and the Netherlands. We chatted about our trips in Vietnam and they also had a similar experience, so it was fun to share each journey. At the end of our cruise, we started to help the lady by rowing the boat because it was hot and she looked a bit tired, but she looked so pleased with our support.
In the late 10th century, Hoa Lư was the capital as well as the economic, political and cultural centre of Đại Cồ Việt, an independent Vietnamese polity founded in 968 A.D. by the local warlord Đinh Bộ Lĩnh (posthumously known as Đinh Tiên Hoàng, or "First Dinh Emperor"), following years of civil war and a violent secessionist.
In the top picture of this page, I was holding the orange fan that I bought at the souvenir shop at the Dragon Mountain. However, it had gone somewhere when leaving this place... It was such a short time to keep it....
Side note;
This is our go-to noodle shop in Hanoi. We have been there once a week at minimum and our favourite dishes were fish noodles. So yum. Lime, fresh chill and other sources to add, and those enhanced the flavour a lot. The owner remembered us and sometimes offered some fruits to share. We will come back again!
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