We began to explore Vietnam by taking a trip to Ninh Binh national Park with a tour group. The first stop was the ancient capital of Vietnam, Hoa Lu, with its beautiful Shinto shrine. We learned a little bit about the difference between a pagoda to worship the female Buddha and Shinto temples, used for worshipping spirits, often ancestors and nobility. We learned about the secret animals for Vietnam, including the turtle which represents longevity, the dragon to represents strength, the unicorn represent luck, and the phoenix, which represents beauty. The darkened shrine with many beautiful wood carvings, copper statues, many flowers, and a strong sent of incense had a very spiritual feeling (no pictures allowed inside). We all enjoyed a bike ride through the local village, seeing, the rice paddies, and limestone mountains. As it was raining slightly, we all given ponchos, a great spectacle to see so many tourists biking on in colourful ponchos.
After a filling traditional lunch, we explored Trang An in a “bamboo boat” being guided through four caves accessible only by boat, some “light” and some “dark”; the longest one was 400 m. We saw floating Shinto shrine, as well as an island with another beautiful shrine adorned with dragons. Unfortunately, this is a very popular tourist site for both locals and foreigners, arriving on a Sunday led to long lines for the boat ride. It is amazing the production line that is in place, tourism is clearly very important to the local economy, but it makes you wonder about the ecological impact of so many visitors.
The day finished with us climbing 520 steps to the top of Mua Cave Mountain, the Dragon Mountain, where a dragon statue, accompanies amazing views of the valleys and Rice Fields of Ninh Binh National Park. The kids and Alastair ascended the last tight 10 steps which were “very sketchy”. I turned around and waited for them, as there was quite a pushy crowd. Following our hike, we relaxed looking out over the mountains, rice fields, and lake, while the kids played foosball I enjoyed a beer. The day was so busy we had a little time to enjoy the beautiful Eco Lodge that we had been booked to stay at as part of the tour.
