Un voyage au Vietnam : Ninh Binh

Day 5

We are heading to Tam Coc-Bich Dong today.  It was about 100 kilometers from Hanoi City.Tam Coc which means 3 caves, is a zone of Vietnam that elapses between rice paddies, bathed by the Ngo Dong River punctuated by karstic rock formations and limestone caves.

The rock formations, caves, water and landscape have made Tam Coc to know popularly as La Halong Bay on land or between rice paddies Halong Bay. More accessible than her older sister, Halong Bay, Tam Coc which squanders spectacular landscapes and exoticism, do not get to seize the throne of the major tourist attraction of Vietnam for travelers.

The Bich Dong Pagoda
In 1773, Mr. Nguyen Nghiem (the father of the great writer Nguyen Du) visited this cave. After viewing the whole scenery of the mountains, waterways, fields, and sky covered in green mist, he gave the cave a very beautiful and romantic name, Bich Dong (which literally means “Green Pearl Grotto”). Bich Grotto has been said that  the second most beautiful cave in Vietnam.

Bich Dong pagoda is on the short drive to the South of Tam Coc, it was built on the Truong Yen limestone mountains range, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. Bich Dong pagoda includes three palaces on three levels: Lower, Middle and Upper pagoda. The Low pagoda has five compartments built on the ground at the foot of mountain.

From the Low pagoda up to 120 steps is the impressive Middle pagoda with a half of it was carved into mountain including three compartments. Up to 40 steps is the High pagoda located on the highest point nearby the top of The Bich Dong mountain. From here you can have the wonderful perspective view of the Bich Dong pagoda.

Tam Coc

We took a two hours boat tour. 

This is where the Kong movie, the Skull Island was filmed

We could not pass through this cave because the water level is too high due to rain the previous day.

Dinner

Day 6

This is the last day. There is no more visiting as all the planned visits were brought forward to yesterday and the day before.  Just spent the morning walking around the hotel area.  There was a fresh market somewhere near too.

The morning scene of Hanoi City.

The park in front of our hotel

The mysterious looking building is actually  actually a circular French built water tower and it is called the Hang Dau Water Tower. It is located to the north of the Old Quarter and to the northeast of the Citadel. It is said to be the first to supply water for the city but it has not been utilized for the last few decades.

This we found at the fresh market. I guess they are selling almost the same things like us here.

The last lunch in Hanoi.

We were like hey it's cabbage again.

Un voyage au Vietnam : Hanoi

Day 4

Left Halong City after breakfast heading back to Hanoi.

Lunch was sumptuous.  It was a buffet lunch at Sen, Sen Tay Ho.

And these were some of the food we took.

The outside of the restaurant is bustling with people busy taking photos, selfies, wefies..

After lunch, we went to visit the oldest temple in Hanoi, Zheng Guo temple and the  Chùa Trấn Quốc Pagoda which are dates back to the 6th century. 

                                      

The story of the pagoda was from 1639. Apparently, it was founded on the red river during the early Ly-Dynasty of Emperor Lý Nam Đế. However, after a flooding, the pagoda was moved to its present location on the West Lake in 1615. 

                                     

 A small garden invites to relax. The mighty Bodhi tree that grows there was a gift from the former Indian President Nehru Jawaharlal during a state visit in 1958. It was taken as a cutting from the original tree in Bodh Gaya, under which, according to the legends, Buddha sat and achieved his enlightenment.

 

The pagoda is connected to the mainland via the palm-lined Thanh Nien causeway and despite urbanization, the Tran Quoc Pagoda has mostly been able to retain its original look. Most recognizable is the stupa composed of 11 floors whose windows all hold gemstone statues. It towers above the other buildings and casts a shimmering reflection across the lake. The design of the pagoda and the rest of the complex adheres strictly to the rules of Buddhist architecture, with buildings forming layers, connecting floors and exact adherence to symmetry. Behind the main altar stocked with an array of statues, Buddha images and replicas of Taoist entities.

Next stop, Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám. Is was dirzzling.   The Temple of Literature.(文庙国子监)is the Imperial Academy.  Dedicated to Confucius, the temple can trace its origins to 1070 CE, during the reign of King Lý Thánh Tông.  Six years later, Quốc Tử Giám opened in order to provide quan (mandarins) for the imperial bureaucracy, as well as to provide education to the Vietnamese elite.  The academy was active from 1076 until the Nguyễn dynasty moved the capital from Thăng Long (Hanoi) to Huế in 1802.  The temple and academy underwent various renovations and regulation changes over the years, notably during the Trần dynasty (1225 – 1400) and the Lê dynasty (1428 – 1788).  Declared a Monument Historique in 1906 by the French administration.

By the time we finished with the Van Mieu, the sky was getting dark. We hurried to the next destination, the Hoan Kiem Lake (还剑湖). 

The tale goes that Le Loi King came across a shining metal bar when he visited his friend. It turned out that his friend caught the bar in one of his attempts for fish. The King asked for the bar, brought it home and moulded it into a sword. All of a sudden, there was two words printed on the sword “Thuan Thien” (harmonious with heaven).

 Le Loi then understood that the sword was a gift from heaven. He used it for the battle against the war with a neighbouring country. At the beginning of 1428, when peace prevailed, on one of his trip to the Thuy Quan (now Hoan Kiem) Lake, there was a tortoise rising above water and shouting: “Please return the sword to the Dragon King”. Without hesitation, the King threw the sword to the lake. The tortoise took the sword and dove down the water. From then on, Thuy Quan became Hoan Kiem lake. 

Just next to the Hoan Kiem lake is the quarter of Hanoi where the 36 ancient streets were situated.  We took a tour around the area in a buggy and after that we walked a few streets, then night fell.

During dinner, we were given fetal duck egg, not for the faint hearted.

Un voyage au Vietnam : Halong Bay

Day 3

After breakfast, we were transported to the jetty.  It was a nice boat.  The weather is cloudy but no rain.  The wind was cooling.  Just exactly the kind of weather to enjoy the scenery.  The rock formations are fascinating and human imagination is amazing.

The dog rock

The cat rock

The incense burning islet 

The kissing chickens islet

 The head islet

The thumb islet

The toad islet

The fish islet

 Lunch was served on board.

We stopped at Ti Top Island for hill climbing.  It was said to about 80 m high but the journey is like you can never make it to the top.

Ti Top island from seen our boat.

The sheer beauty of the view of Halong bay from the top of Ti Top island worth all the sweat and breath. 

The gazebo on top of the hill.

The beach of Ti Top Island

You can see the statue of Titop.

The name Ti Top is named by the most respectful hero of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh, after the Russian astronaut German Titop on the occasion of his first visit to Halong Bay in 1962.

Leaving Ti Top island, we sailed to Luon cave.

Passing through Luan Cave,we reached a lake formed by enclosed group of limestone mountains.  The lake seemed like a stadium surrounded by high podium.  It was a brackish lake with calm green sea water.  The size of the lake was about one square  kilometre.  It was  highlighted with pristine setting of ferns, orchids and wild golden monkeys. 

We went in in a big sampan which can actually accommodate more than 20 people.

Entering

Exiting

The lake

After came out from the cave and reached the jetty again, we moved over to the other side of the pier into a speed boat.  The speed boat speeded us to another cave, the Sung Sot Cave a.k.a the Amazing Cave.

Ascending to the grotto, the way was covered by trees and foliage, and consisted of great paved stone blocks.  Inside it was portioned into two chambers; the first one resembled a wide theatre hall.  Many strangely shaped stalactites hanging from the high ceiling. A narrow passage led to the second room, where a flow of light met us.  The chamber was so huge that it could easily contain thousands of  people at one time.

                                        

There were two partitions in Sung Sot cave. The first one  was similar to a theater hall with many stalactites hanging from the high ceiling. A narrow passage led to the second chamber, where a flow of natural light bathes the surfaces. The light was filtering in from above, through a large opening creating a natural skylight, this opening also served as the exit from the cave.

At the deepest part of the grotto. A “royal garden” appeared with a clear pond and seemingly fascinating landscape of mountains.  Many birds and plants lived here.

Sung Sot Cave means Amazing Cave.  It situated on the Bo Hon Island and it is one of the most spectacular caves in Halong Bay.  The mouth of the grotto can be reached by ascending about a hundred stone steps.

Sung Sot cave covers some 10,000 m2. There were thousands of stalactites and stalagmites along the 500-meter paved passage. Light posts line the passage and illuminate the amazing scenery. Spotlights of varied colors were placed in such a way to be unobtrusive and add to the enchantment of the grotto.

Sung Sot cave was about 30 metres high, the walls and innumerable cracks and crevices were evidence of millions of years of spectacular natural creation. Closed to the exit a mammoth formation stretched from floor to ceiling, tapering at the center to form a concave pillar that appeared to be keeping the ceiling in place. Walking through the cave ones imagination can run wild conjuring up all kinds of fantastic creatures and fanciful creations.

Came out from the cave back to the pier, we had a fantastic ride in the speed  boat back to the boat which would took us back to the jetty.

Backed to land, we were taken to the Royal Casino which is inside the Royal Halong Hotel.  Just a small casino, nothing to shout about.

Dinner

After dinner, we went to the night market to hunt for souvenir and backed to hotel.