After leaving the Halong cruise, we got a transfer to see the same karst formations on land in Ninh Binh. With only a day here, we tried to make the most of the natural environment before heading onward.
We stayed at the gorgeous Goat Boutique Resort, where I’d love to spend more than a single evening. The pool was inviting, but it was actually a little chilly, and I’m glad I got that track jacket.
We got a car to town and walked around the gorgeous Hoa Lu “old town”, and waterfront lit by thousands of lanterns. Since we’re not going to Hoi An on this trip, this seemed like a decent substitute. We had an excellent dinner of local snails and freshwater seafood by the river, and finished with an ice cream treat shaped like the temple. The branding here is on point.
I woke up early to take a morning walk to a nearby cemetery, hoping for a good alignment with some of the karst formations. I didn’t get quite was I was looking for, but I did get a decent shot of a motorcyclist passing by with a reflection of the mountains, after some waiting for the precise moment.
We had a tour guide us to the Cuc Phong National Park, where there is a primate rescue center full of langurs and other small monkeys. There was a bit of traffic when the head of the Vietnamese Communist Party was there for a private tour with his family. Our guide said he’s likely to be the next Prime Minister. He did lament that the police budget is twenty times that for public education, and I remarked that it’s the same in America…
It was pretty hard to take good photos of the langurs through their cages, but I got video of them swinging around their cages, hanging from long arms designed for the forests.
We stopped for a nice lunch, and then we got a chance to hike, stopping at a “cave of Prehistoric Man” which has remains that are at least 7500 years old, and an “ancient tree” which was quite an impressive size. Many of our tour companions are also smokers, so there are lots of built in rest stops.
Got a final dinner at our hotel, and then a night train further south. The Lotus class cars are pretty comfortable, and it worth paying for 2-berths. A bit of jostling, but a lot better than a bus. I awoke to sunrise and water buffalo.
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