Another trip around the sun for me! We celebrated exactly the way I wanted, by being outdoors. We biked through rice fields and climbed 500 steps to a dragon on top of a sketchy mountain top.
But first, we had to make our way up to Northern Vietnam via an epic 16 hour sleeper bus.
*****
Prepared with comfy clothes, all the snacks, downloaded books, and fully charged electronics, we loaded the bus. We've been on various modes of transportation on this trip but never a sleeper bus. Obviously Parker wouldn't be able to fully extend but he was up for trying it out. The beds were wide, reclined when needed, and were comfortable.
At 4am, we were abruptly woken up when the bus stopped at an undesignated location. The bright lights blinded us as the driver tried to rush everyone off. I had read on a travel site that this sometimes happens on this particular bus route. When I pulled up the map we were actually closer to our lodging than our previously planned drop-off location. Parker and I made the quick decision to not fight it and get off the bus.
Our manic bus driver got us to the Tam Coc "bus stop" two hours early. Even if we had told him to take us further to our actual drop-off location (16k away), we knew the taxi I had arranged for at 6am wouldn't be there. This is not our first rodeo with middle of the night transport chaos.
The situation was a little frantic. But we remained calm as we woke up our kids and explained to them our plan: we had to walk a little over a kilometer in the dark to our lodging. Cruz said, "It's like the Camino." (We would often start our walk early in the mornings through random small villages). We were happy to hear this, because one of the reasons we started our trip on the Camino in Spain was to be in a variety of travel scenarios and walk anywhere if necessary.
After Spain, walking one kilometer in the dark at 4am, in the middle of nowhere just wasn't that big of a deal. We knew where we were and knew where we needed to go. It was a great opportunity to teach our kids how to assess and handle unexpected travel situations. They didn't sweat it. We were proud of them for being so adaptable.
In the morning, we woke up to one of my favorite lodgings in our travels. Photos do not do it justice. We woke up surrounded by limestone cliffs with a slight mist and birds chirping. Our lodge was on the edge of a small "lake" with an adorable bridge leading to pool creating a peninsula in the middle of the property.
*****
I knew exactly where I wanted to be for my birthday, Ninh Binh. Ever since I saw a photo of this region's landscape, I knew we had to see this part of Vietnam.
Mua Caves is a popular destination for international and Vietnamese tourists. Its' popularity was no surprise once we entered the park. It was more beautiful than I had imagined. The main attraction is the temple/dragon on top of the limestone mountain/cliffs. Fields of rice paddies on one side and a narrow slow-moving river on the other side provide a stark contrast to the cliffs.
The park was beautiful with several caves, koi ponds, a waterfall, and a network of wooden planks throughout the rice paddies and lotus ponds. The weather was overcast and cool, mid 70s, perfect for a climb. We let the kids lead and they easily made it to the two main viewpoints.
The first point was a small pagoda over looking a fantastic view of the fields. After a quick water break, we continued on to the top of the mountain to the temple and the dragon. The steps were a little tall but not overly challenging. The stairway was wide for the most part so even though it was crowded, there was enough room for everyone.
Behind the small temple on top was the dragon on a thin, weathered and jagged rocky ledge. That’s were we hit the photo-shoot traffic jam. Everyone was trying to take their “summit” photo. Most people were respectful and only took a minute or so. The “influencers” were seriously annoying. We were all balancing on legitimately sharp and jagged rocks as a line formed behind them while they were taking their time doing their ridiculous poses. Most of us were quick with our photos and then moved on to enjoy the view somewhere safer. It was sketchy up there, but fun. The kids did a great job.
I've always imagined biking through rice fields in Vietnam, it is an amazing way to see the country side. This day totally delivered with the views and the weather. I feel so lucky to have spent it in this beautiful country with my family.
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