Boat ride down Halong Bay "Land" at Tam Coc

We are now at Tam Coc to catch our boat ride to "Halong Bay on Land" :

the same limestone rocks as in Halong Bay but seen from a winding stream through padi fields instead of the sea.

Tam Coc Wharf

Other tour groups get to wear life jackets, but not our group

because the river is very shallow

Boatmen waiting...note the serene view, it is not hot, but rather it is rather the sky isovercast

as the other groups went on the boat, we had some photo opportunity

our teacher is smart, she wants solo shots because the view is breathtakingly beautiful

 but she got sabotaged and swamped by her students, as always, crowding for a piece of the action

 the photographer (my husband lah) shooed them all away and she posed again, but tour guide is calling!!!

 Chris ran in and got a shot!!! hahah!

okay, now we got on our boats in pairs...room-mates in the hotel, and boat mates here

me and my room mate, hehehe! 

 Note the boatman behind us, wait a minute, it's "boatwoman"

unique way of rowing....with foot power!!

 

and we are off!!

 we enjoy the spectacular scenery during the boat trip, and weather luckily was cool and sunless!

see, how romantic?

for safety reasons, we did not emulate the above young couple!

 crazy Cat and Maggie passed us...look at  video below...how zany can they be?

 we went under rocks

with tiny openings

I think a certain James Bond movie was made here, at this spot...

the long ride home, so long, he took the oars to help speed things up a bit

we also passed women selling wares

 at last, we are back at the wharf...

 Verdict of the ride: out of this world scenery and awesome views, exciting under the cave passing, smooth and lullaby-inducing feeling during the ride, but many complained that it was too long and it got a tad boring! Also we got swamped by unsolicited photo takers and I asked Jenny how she avoided them..she said "every time they pointed the camera at me, I looked down, or away, or simply averted my eyes!!!!" hehehe, and my husband was scolding me for smiling and pointing the V sign for them!!

Lunch at Anh Dzung Garden Restaurant

Before we went for our Halong "land" boat ride,

we had a sumptuous lunch at Anh Dzung Garden Restaurant.

 

Look at the amount of food we had!!!! hehehe...this is for 6, as there are 12 of us and we always seat 6 to a table (2 tables). Below is a breakdown of the dishes

 mutton

 beef

 tung hoon...we were given rice papers with which we could wrap these in and eat

 like this!!!

 of course, our starter...with the infamous pop piah wrap!

 our table minus the photographer....

 the other table headed by Jenny the dance teacher

you know these aunties are very funny...we had bananas for dessert which they are keeping to eat later and posed with the bananas as cellphones, siow!!!!

The ancient capital at Hoa Lư

"After breakfast we proceed to Ninh Binh province toward the south of Hanoi to visit Dinh and Le dynasty temples whih were built on the site of the Hoa Lu Ancient Citadel, then transfer to TamCoc  Town and enjoy lunch" according to our itinerary.

"Our stop-over in Ninh Binh should be Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam from 968 until 1010

 Hoa Lu is some 110km or two hours from Hanoi. Located near the town of Ninh Binh, Hoa Lu is the site of a 10th-century capital of an ancient Vietnamese Kingdom"

 From the bus we could Hanoi locals going to work on their motorbikes.

 We also passed ponds full of ducks!!!

and also rustic scenes like this

 Our toilet break!!! hehe everywhere we take photos!!!

 nice cafe for Breakfast and our toilet break!!!

 goats on the mountain, nimble and sure-footed

you can see how high and precariously perched the goat is!

 we have reached the ancient citadel!!!

 Gateway to King Đinh Tiên Hoàng Temple 

  King Đinh Temple 

 The temple of Lê Đại Hành at Hoa Lư

 This temple is still in existence since 938 and holds many artefacts from the 10th and 11th centuries!!

 One of the most prominent original features of the architecture is the stone pillar in the temple courtyard

 You can see how old the structure is...centuries old!!!

Hoa Lu Citadel is the only thing left of Vietnam's former capital Hoa Lu, founded in 968.

 . Arriving in the beautiful mountainous landscape, you walk 300m to the temples of the Dinh and Le Dynasty. They are situated in very beautifully designed parks

 These aunties are very funny..they are busy taking selfies when they are supposed to face the photographer (my husband) who is pointing at them with the camera across the lake.

then at the other side of the lake everybody is ready except those two on the far end!! hahaha!!

We are now going to climb some steps to reach 2 more temples, But first thse aunties clown around for the camera!!

 Dinh Tien Hoang Temple and Le Hoan Temple, dedicated to

 the founder of the Dinh Dynasty and to its 

successor, reachable after a climb of more then 200 steps.

Not only do we have to climb the steps, we also had to squeeze through tiny entrances.

  Dinh Tien Hoang Temple..so awesome!!!  After the climb the view was worth every step!!

 The mountains and sea combined to make Hoa Lu’s picturesque landscape. 

 The surrounding to be quite picturesque, with its ponds and

 limestone range forming a jagged horizon.

Soon we had to descend and leave history behind.

 

Bye Hao Lu in Ninh Binh we are now going for lunch at Tam Coc Town then to a boat ride on Halong By Land!

The temples were amazing and it was great to learn about Vietnamese history. We also had photos with some fancy buffalos. The walk up to the pagoda is well worth the many many steps as the view on the way up and at the top is stunning!