Selling overpriced drinks on the Tam Coc River

 

Yesterday, Amy and I went to see the Tam Coc caves, which were truly spectacular, and then we went on what we both agreed was the most gorgeously scenic bike rides of our lives.

Ninh Binh (or, rather, it’s surrounding areas, since the town itself is nothing worth mentioning) is in my top five most beautiful places.  

We rented bikes from our guesthouse and biked 9km to the launching point for the caves. We paid our $4 USD and hopped on a boat – just me, Amy and two Vietnamese men. They chatted with us as we snapped photo after photo of the huge limestone carsts towering over us as we paddled down the river.

 

 

There were three caves that we went through. It was really neat being on a boat as we went into the dark depths of the caves. I had to duck a few times so as not to hit my head on the bulbous limestone formations dripping down from the cave’s ceiling.

 

 
Me sitting on the edge of the boat, the boat entering the first cave

When we finally got to the end (it took about an hour), we were accosted by boat hawkers who wanted to sell us drinks at super-inflated prices. Then, they asked us if we’d like to “buy a beer for Papa” (ie. The men rowing the boat) – but lucky for us, we had already read about scams in Vietnam and knew that “Papa” would sell that very beer back to “Mama” (or whoever she was) at half the price after we’d left. We just used our well-rehearsed phrase: “no money” (hey, it’s true).

 

 

The bike to the Muy Cave afterwards was breathtaking. My jaw was dropped pretty much the whole time. Photos, unfortunately, just don’t capture the raw beauty of Vietnam’s landscape. 

 

 

We finally found the Hung Mua Temple - the turnoff is not marked, so I put up a Blonde Traveler sticker on a post where you turn, for those of you planning on doing the same route.

 

 
If you're looking for the unmarked turnoff to the Hung Mua Temple, just look for this sign with the Blonde Traveler sticker!!

 

We were intimidated by the amount of steps that lay before us: 472, we were told by some travelers on their way down. But, as with anything in life, you just put one foot in front of the other, and away you go.

 

 
That's a bitchload of steps right there - we climbed it!!

As we reached the top of the mountain and looked at the scenery below us, we realized that it was well worth the climb. What a spectacular place this is.

 
The view from the top always kicks the most ass

 

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