This morning we took a 2.5 hour train to Ninh Binh, which is referred to as the Ha Long Bay on land. The train was packed and it was so hot (no AC). It’s quite the change from riding trains in Japan! I was glad to have Ai, who did a lot of the arranging for us. The town is quite spread-out, and without taking a tour, I would have felt quite lost. We first took a taxi to a smaller less touristy area, where we walked around and saw the temple. We then took a 2 hour boat ride, paddled by 2 women in their 50-60s. The cost was only $4! They worked so hard, I felt guilty, so of course we tipped them more. The scenery was beautiful and there were no other tourists in sight. We went through several caves (I felt like I was in a Disney movie) and got out at one point to rest inside the cave.
After, we went to Tam Coc (“three caves”) by small boat along the Ngo Dong river, beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through three natural caves (Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba), the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water. Because Tam Coc is a really touristy area, the price was much higher, about $3/person (wow, I can tell I’m getting cheap when I complain about paying $3 for a 2 hour boat ride, and more than $1.50 for a meal). Luckily, it was already about 5:30pm, so most of the tourists were gone. This river was much wider than the first. Although it was also beautiful, I preferred the first, more untouched river. By the time we got back it was really dark out which made the ride eerie, but fun.
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