Trang An is a UNESCO Heritage site that is sometimes referred to as the "inland Ha Long Bay". The complex consists of a large number of limestone karst mountains emerging out of the water. Some of the mountains are up to 200 metres high.
An extremely pretty spot, smaller than Ha Long Bay, with far fewer tourists and barely commercialized, I found Trang An to be a more pleasant place to visit. Overall, Trang An is quieter, more relaxed and appears that much more personal.
Early morning was time for noodle soup at the small restaurant next to Than Thuy Hotel, sitting on small, red, plastic chairs.
The motor bike ride is about 20 minutes, and very soon the distinct mountains appear by the side of the road.
Since I was solo, I had to join a few other visitors, they happened to be two young ladies from Ha Noi who were visiting Ninh Binh for a few days. They had ridden on a moto all the way from Ha Noi, about 150 km away.
I had opted for the 2-hour boat ride. There is a 3-hour boat ride option, as well. This means that you are closer to the water for the entire duration of the ride around the cliffs. Unlike Ha Long Bay where we were on a large, impersonal boat most of the time and experienced only a very small bamboo boat ride.
We passed through several caves in the mountains, and had to bend very low to avoid our heads getting hit.
The longer caves were lit up to help us pass along.
Very pretty sights greeted us as we emerged out of each of the caves in the mountains.
Our boat rower stopped at a temple complex as well as at a few other spots along the way. One of my co-passengers helped me take a group selfie.
Here again I came across the turtle and crane symbolism.
The Trang An area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and several utensils and implements are on display at the Temple.
This status in the Temple is in honour of the philosopher Confucius.
The next part of the boat trip was to an island with another large temple and a model of ancient Vietnamese settlements and people.
Amazingly pretty sights were all around as we quietly swished along. A huge contrast to the heavily touristic Ha Long Bay, indeed.
Armaments from the Vietnam War, mounted on a boat which has been left behind, and is now a tourist attraction.
One of my co-passengers and I pose for a photo at the model of an ancient village.
The 2-hour boat ride turned out to be more than that, almost 2.5 hours, extremely pleasant and relaxing.
Our boat rower lady smiles and says bye, as we are about to reach the pier, hop off and head back to Ninh Binh.
In summary, the 2.5 hour boat ride at Trang An turned out to be a superb experience with spectacular views, close up encounters with steep limestone cliffs and caves. Highly recommended, with far fewer tourists than the more famous Ha Long Bay.
The next leg of my journey would be to head back to Ha Noi. And I would be doing a full day walking tour and visiting the Water Puppet Show next to the Hoan Kiem lake.
This series of my adventures in North Vietnam is pictured here:
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Lovely Pictures Jyoti
ReplyDeleteMakes me want to pack my bags and take a solo trip to North Vietnam Again