Vietnam Day 12 - Tam Coc Boat Ride - Mua Cave - Bai Dinh Temple Complex - SEAsia Day 38

One of the top things to do in Tam Coc is to hire a small boat and driver to paddle you through the meandering waterways that wind between the limestone mountains.  We enjoyed the peacefulness of our ride that passd through a few caves and took about two hours from start to finish.  We timed our boat trip quite well as we got out after the morning fog had lifted but before a few tour busses arrived and much of our journey felt like we were the only boat on the water.

With the boat ride finished we rented some scooters and drove into Ninh Binh to have lunch at a place that another blogger had raved about.  Lunch was excellent and the owner sent us on our way with a small assortment of snacks for the afternoon.  Our first stop of the afternoon was at Mua Cave and viewpoint.  The cave was nothing special but the hike up to the viewpoint was rewarded with very pretty views of the area that we had so recently floated through via boat.

We hiked back down and jumped back on the mopeds and set out for the Bái Đính temple.  This sprawling spiritual complex features many worship areas, multiple temples, a 36 ton bronze bell and a very tall Buddha.  After exploring for a couple hours we returned to the scooters and drove back into town as the sun set.

Vietnamese coffee at breakfast