TRAVELMAN in Vietnam: A Ridiculously Scenic Boat Ride Through the Grottos in Trang An (part 1)

Vietnam bus rides are not fun in the day.

Vietnam bus rides are not fun in the night.

I do not like Vietnam bus rides with sun.

I do not like Vietnam bus rides with moon.

I do not like Vietnam bus rides.

-- A poem by Travelman

I was to be picked up from my hostel at 08:00 AM to travel to Ninh Binh. I’m used to busses and mini-vans not running on time so I wasn’t worried when 08:45 rolled around and I was still in my Hanoi hostel.

I was concerned at 09:15 though. I went to the desk and said that I understand things don’t run on time but this is particularly late. The guy behind the desk made a call; the motorbike guy forgot to come get me for the bus. I had to reschedule for the 6:00 PM bus. All I got was a “sorry” from the hostel and the use of my bed for the day which I did not use.

I was told the ride would take about two hours. I left at 6:00 PM and arrived at my hostel in Ninh Binh at 10:30 PM; welcome to Vietnam.

I had to pay for a 150,000 VND taxi from Ninh Binh to my hostel in Trang An. I had no idea it was a twenty-five minute ride. The thing is, no one really visits the city of Ninh Binh. Travelers visit Tam Coc and Trang An which are just outside of the city. I think Ninh Binh is not only the city but also the province they lie within.

There was a party going on at my hostel upon my arrival and I was ready for a beer after my long travel day. About ten people were sitting around two tables outside. They were drinking and listening to YouTube music pumped through the hostel’s speakers.

They welcomed me in a festive and drunken manner and I joined them, until 3:00 AM, I don’t know why. I went to bed and they were still going strong, except for a guy from the Netherlands who passed out in a chair with his eyes open, creepy.

The next day I took a boat ride that had been recommended to me by a woman in my hostel the previous morning. She’d told me that there were two boat rides, one in Tam Coc and one in Trang An. She went with a Vietnamese guy in Trang An. She said it’s the better one by far. She was correct.

I didn’t take the other but I talked to people who did both. The other in Tam Coc was more expensive shorter and not as scenic. My ride was fantastic! A highlight of my trip! An orange creamsicle! (See my last post for an explanation to “creamsicle”).

I had switched hostels in the morning because the one directly next door was much nicer and the same price. I met a German named David who was also doing the boat ride. We rented bicycles and did the ride together.

The ticket office was a scenic 2km away. We payed to park our bicycles and bought tickets. I saw two women buying tickets a few moments after us. They looked to be backpackers as well.

I’d read that the boat rowing ladies won’t leave the dock until you have four people in the boat. A large group of Korean tourists were directly in front of us. Preferring to ride with two cute young ladies rather than two random Koreans (nothing against Koreans), I asked the ladies if they’d like to join us. They said yes. Their names were Neriah (from Brazil) and Gob (from Ireland.)

We got in our boat, put on the mandatory life jackets, and the lady in the back in the conical hat rowed us into our adventure.

It was beautiful in an idyllic manner. Fluorescent blue dragon flies buzzed around the surface of the water, pink flowers rose from green lily pads, small ducks dove underwater for fish, and multi-colored butterflies flittered and fluttered past our faces (really!).

I have so many pictures I want to share that I’ll be creating a couple posts with mostly pictures- a rarity for me.

More photos and videos of us in the caves to come!

!steemitworldmap 20.2540 lat 105.9206 long Boat Ride Through the Trang An Caves, Vietnam, d3scr