Ninh Binh and Tam Coc

Sunday was cloudy but thankfully the clouds weren't as low as Saturday as we had booked a day trip to an area 120km south of Hanoi called 'dry Halong Bay'. There are the same limestone karsts as Halong Bay but set in rivers rather than the sea. Our first stop though was Ninh Binh to see temples built in the 10th century for 2 Kings. Their Royal Palaces have disappeared but the temples remain. These temples were for the community to pray for the kings rather than to buddha.

After a buffet lunch in Nam Coc (including roast goat) we had a 90 minute boat ride down the river and through 3 caves (Nam means three, Coc means caves). The people rowing used their feet - if there were more than 4 passengers one of them was given a paddle to help.

Goats..... for next week's lunch

In to, and out of, the first cave

These bright pink blobs were clusters of snail eggs - farmers like to eat the snails, the snails like to eat the farmer's rice plants.

Real farmers or scarecrows

Lovely scenery

We then had a bike ride through paddy fields and a village before returning to the city and the rush hour despite being a Sunday.