VIETNAM - Ninh Binh

Waking up in paradise once again to a free breakfast and a clear agenda. First things first was to rent a bicycle and set off to see all of Ninh Binh in one day. Starting off onto the bumpy dirt road I made my way to the main road where things got smoother... or so I thought so. I had already made a wrong turn and needed to head back once I realized I did. Adding 2 miles extra to my journey. I finally, after biking back and forth found the road that lead to the dragon mountain that sat on top of Mua Cave, a must in NB. Got to the entrance of the cave/mountain and was already being haggled by a group of men asking for money to park my bike. Didn’t want any trouble and knew it was a scam but I gave them some money anyway. Then they offered me some weed and beer but I politely declined and flashed them a smile which made them all jump for joy. 628 steps ahead of me was the climb to the top which actually wasn’t that bad. The base of the mountain had a large scale dragon statue that was carved of stone and quite impressive. After a few stair the steps starting to increase in distance from each other and the climb quickly turned into a full on butt workout with huge lunges. Good to finally get my heart rate up after relaxing this trip though. Half way up I watched as the locals used a make shift pully system to haul all the food products up the mountain in order to sell at the top. Very interesting indeed. At the top I sat and soaked in the view of all of Ninh Binh. Amazing. Although I wish the rice fields were greener because that would have been epic. But I have what I got and that was satisfying enough. At the top I ran into a German couple I met back in Halong Bay which was such a coincidence! I talked with them and they pretty much had the same itinerary as me for the day. I started back down the mountain and got my bike back from the old men and found my way to the Trang An Grottos, another must see on the list. And once again the German couple pulled up next to me on their motor bike and decided to split a boat with them on the river. We all hoped in a small bamboo based boat with an old woman in a typical Vietnamese cone hat. She looked weathered and tough. Once we were settled she took her jacket off in the frigid air, rolled her sleeves up, and started rowing. The couple and I tried to help for a little bit but we got tired fast, but the lady had to keep rowing for another 2 hours! My mind was blown at this woman’s strength and I give her all my gratitude. The river was so peaceful. All I could do was stay silent and listen to the dip of the ore in the water with a slow rhythm. Birds chirping, solitude. The towering mountains engulfed the river and we started closing in on the base of one. In my mind I was confused at which direction we were rowing and if we could even go this way. But the closer we got I started to see a small opening at the base of the mountain. And yes, we were going to row under a mountain and come out the other side... SO COOL!!!! Being under the cabe was a sight and an experience I have never felt before. Very unique. We even had to duck our heads in some spots! We rowed past temples both floating and on land. Magnificent. On one of our stops we got to see the movie set for where they shot King Kong! They had everything still set up. All the props and even a fake village with real people! After that the lady towed us back to the port and that was it. Definitly need to go back here again in the future. Favorite part so far. The final thing on my agenda was to go see the Bai Dinh Padoga about 24 km away... like 16 miles on my bike... so before I set off on the journey I bought some icecream and massaged my butt a little and then left. Only to take the wrong turn at the fork in the road and add 4 more miles... oops. But I got to see more at least! It’s funny how everyone said it was impossible to bike to this Padoga but I totally proved them wrong. When I got lost a man on a motorbike asked me if I wanted a ride from him to the Padoga but i told him I had the bike and he laughed at me saying I could never reach it... i proved him wrong and made sure to save to him on my ride home. HA! But the ride there was actually peaceful and full of greenery, water buffalos, and goats roaming the roads. Then I started approaching the Padoga and man was it huge! I couldn’t wait to get there. Once there I was sooooo relaxing from biking. I entered the front gates to a gigantic complex of halls, towers, temples, and statues. The first hall was lined with Buddha staues, and the wall were filled with golden Buddha staues. 5 mins walking down this longggggg hall all my eyes could see were Buddha’s. I was sticking my hand out and rubbing the Buddha’s. You could tell every else did that because it was all so worn out from being rubbed so much. The hills were also filled with surround sounds of monks singing. So magical. I was at peace roaming these halls. I took my first turn and climbed up stairs and stairs and stairs, did I mention stairs? Yes. A shit ton of stairs. Finally I traded a huge tower lined with even more Buddha’s. This thing is what I saw while I was biking towards the place. So pretty. Next was more stairs... more stairs... stairs... stairs... ugh. But then I reached the BIG BUDDAH! Oh was he so cheerful looking and happy! I liked him. And he was a big boy. After that was down stairs! Thank god. Walked through the hall of steles that laid on stone turtles backs. The halls were a magical place with the music. It calmed me. After that I entered a huge building where a huge mass of prayer was taken place. Chanting, singing, praying! Magic! Loved watching people and their religion practices. So much devotion. After that I walked into the next big building that had the most giagantic golden buddah ive even seen before. This thing was massive. Like 3 stories high. But I had no idea it was hiding inside this building! Coolest thing. And then another building had 3 even bigger Buddha’s. This place had endless surprises. As I walked through the halls I sat down a few times and said a few prayers to myself. Thanking buddah for what it has brought me in life and to ask for strength in my future travels. I love this place and would love to retire here. My last walk on the other side of this Padoga was another hall full of Buddha’s. Slowly I walked as my hand reached out to rub all their bellies. After I got back to my bike and started the journey home. I had my headphones in and was listening to a magical playlist that made me smile the whole way back. Waving to the motor coke guy that didn’t believe in me. Finally back to the hostel where I showered, rubbed my butt some more and had dinner... well actually 2 dinners because I was hungry. And I was out before my head hit the pillow.