We said goodbye to the Suvedi family as they headed on to Ho Chi Minh City and we left early in the morning for the town of Ninh Binh. We booked a group tour the day before. We took a bus about 2 hours southeast and were treated with views of limestone mountains. They call it the inland Ha Long Bay as it resembles it very much, minus the sea.
Our first stop was to get on bikes or scooters to ride along the countryside to visit some temples.
Passing by a cemetary. The Vietnamese farewell their dead in a distinctive burial ceremony that may last up to three years. After death, the body of a loved one is placed into the most elaborate coffin the family can afford and kept in the home for three days in order for viewings and final goodbyes to be held. During this time, a number of gifts may be placed into the mouth of the deceased, including chopsticks, grains of rice and gold coins for wealthier families. Three years after death, the body is dug up, exhumed and the bones, after a process of bleaching, will be moved to a smaller casket and buried once more in the same location. This is symbolic of the traditional Vietnamese notion that the body is of little importance, serving only as a vessel for the soul. A large, empty coffin is not necessary as the soul will by this time have passed on to the next life. Death, though deeply mourned in Vietnamese culture, is viewed not as the final stage in a person’s life but merely a transition into their next stage.
We were so excited to be back on scooters-we loved them so much!! I was not crazy about my helmet that was hard to see out of with the sheild down, but was not good at staying up.
A friend along the way…
First stop was to the Ancient Capital Hoa Lu-the capital of Vietnam in the 10th and 11th centuries. Hoa Lư was the native land of the first two imperial dynasties of Vietnam: the Đinh, founded by Đinh Tiên Hoàng, and the Early Lê, founded by Lê Đại Hành.
They called these dog looking statues, unicorns.
Half-moon Lake
Entering the Temple of Đinh Tiên Hoàng-to honor Dinh Bo Linh, the first emperor of Vietnam. As he reached maturity, he also became a powerful warlord. Following the crumbling of the short-lived Ngô Dynasty founded by Ngô Quyền, he defeated twelve rival warlords, reunified the country, and in 968 founded the first imperial dynasty of Vietnam.
This flat area was a king’s bed, made of blue stone.
We then visited the Temple of Lê Đại Hành-who took over rule from the previous ruler’s son and declared himself emperor, founding the Lê Dynasty. In 982, his forces defeated and repelled two Chinese armies, thus ensuring the country's ongoing independence.
We then had lunch before taking the bus over to Trang An Grottoes for our wooden boat cave tour. Here’s a stock aerial photo-it was STUNNING!!
We boarded out wooden boat and the driver sat at the back with two large oars.
The Trang An Landscape Complex is dominated by the large limestone peaks which create steep vertical cliffs covered in plants. Unlike a traditional mountain range where the slopes connect to each other in a long undulating stretch, most of these peaks stand in isolation – making them even more dramatic in appearance. We would tour for over 2 hours through the river, in and out of caves, enjoying wildlife such as birds, ducks and mountain goats, and see amazing views.
Not sure how much our driver liked us “helping” to row…she did after the girls a couple times. These people have some hard work ahead of them….jsut the normal rowing is hard, but the navigating within the caves was unreal!
When their arms got tired, they used their feet!
The caves were amazing! You had to duck most of the time…I can’t believe people haven’t died doing this…it was like a thrill ride that you could get seriously injured on. Our focus was just keeping the kid’s heads down, and then all was good! We went in and out of about 5 caves of varying lengths and degree of difficulty.
It was so cool as you exited a cave and it opened up to majestic views!
Hallie took a snooze toward the end. She have been tired from helping row.
We had a great day and were so glad we booked this last minute trip!
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