Tràng An - the UNESCO World's Heritage Site in Ninh Bình

Before Tết, I got a suggestion to accompany some friends to travel along Vietnam by car, during Tết, starting from Sài Gòn up to Quảng Ninh (North Vietnam). I was very excited, surely, a big "Yes" from me! My friend's purpose was to climb up the Yên Tử mountain, but to me - just to see Vietnam along its beautiful coasts.
When the departure date approached, most of them quietly disappeared. The only one guy left and I called him "the leader" because he was a key person behind the trip, even if no one goes, he had to go anyway, due to his inner religious commitment - to climb up to some famous "Chùa Đồng" (Copper Pagoda) on the top of the Yên Tử mountain. And he kept doing this for almost 10 years.

                        Tràng An - one of my destinations in the North during this Tết.

The departure has been delayed for one more day due to an "unclear confirmation" from another friend in the last minute, but then we, "the leader" and I, decided to go without waiting. My preparations for an exciting adventure throughout Vienam now magically became an "online-air-ticket-to-Hà-Nội", that I booked just a day before the departure.

Anyway, no chance to see Vietnam along its coasts from South to North, but I got more time to see the North - from the mountain Yên Tử in a windy cloudy rainy day, to the spectacular Hạ Long Bay in a sunny day and especially the majestic foggy Sapa! But this post I want to share about my first trip to Tràng An, the scenic landscape area which was considered as the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

                         The beginning of the river route to Tràng An...

Originally we planned to visit the largest Pagoda Bái Đính first, then come back to Tràng An later, as they are next to each other. But we were terribly disappointed when we arrived to Bái Đính, partly due to the rain, made the ground very muddy, but mostly due to the big crowd of thousands of pilgrims visiting Pagoda during Tết. And it seemed badly over control, right from the main entrance.

My friend "the leader" who really cared about the religion, was very upset when seeing the big mess at a such holy place. At the end we all understood a ridiculous thing of today: to many people, the religious sites just like a gambling place where they go to pray only for the fortune. There was no longer any sanctuaries, moral religious respect...

                        Mountains after mountains in a foggy day made the place more mysterious 

We quickly left Bái Đính, without seeing the Pagoda, with no regret. Arriving to Tràng An in 15' ride on the taxi, we saw another big crowd but we luckily had no problem to get tickets. We were struggling a bit while getting on the boat! I had to follow "the leader" and failed to get a front seat for the better photography, but anyway I felt lucky because later we witnessed a big chaos at the ticket booth.

                          Tràng An much larger than Tam Cốc Bích Động where I've been 2 years ago 

With more than 30 lakes, 40 caves, many of them - water caves, surrounded by million-years-old mountains after mountains, all of it made Tràng An a terrific scenic landscape that I really wish to come back someday in a sunny day, to take another route, as the rower told us, to discover the area.  

                         But I also found Tràng An strangely beautiful in fog and rain... 

                  Probably thanks to those colourful umbrellas, raincoats the site looked more lively in rain.  

                     Unlike Tam Cốc Bích Động, here we go one way and come back by another way...

                  All boats can only go around, one after another, one security boat supervised...

                 The security guy alone on the boat with red speaker, kept saying "Go slowly and in order!"

             
The mountains, the lake, the stone, the green and those temples all blend together beautifully, like the below photo, sitting on the boat I greatly admired the scenic beauty of Tràng An.
                             

                  All boats strictly followed the route I wished to see the place from another angle 

To describe the beauty of this place, I better share the poem "Vũ Lâm Thu Vãn - Cuối Thu ở Vũ Lâm" of our Emperor Trần Nhân Tông (Trần dynasty, 1258-1308) who came back to Tràng An after the victory over the Mongol invasion.

                                        Họa kiều, đảo ảnh, trám khê hoành, 
                                        Nhất mạt, tà dương, thủy ngoại minh. 
                                        Tịch tịch, thiên sơn, hồng diệp lạc, 
                                        Thấp vân, hòa lộ, tống chung thanh. 
           
                     (literal translation) 
                                         Chiếc cầu chạm vẽ, đảo bóng, vắt ngang dòng suối, 
                                         Một vệt nắng chiều rực sáng, bên ngoài ngấn nước.
                                         Nghìn núi lặng tờ, lá đỏ rơi, 
                                         Mây ướt giăng như mộng, tiếng chuông xa vắng.

                      (lyric poem translation)
                                          Lòng khe in ngược, bóng cầu hoa,
                                          Hắt sáng bờ khe, vệt nắng tà. 
                                          Lặng lẽ nghìn non, rơi lá đỏ, 
                                         Mây giăng như mộng, tiếng chuông xa.   
     

                              The first stop in Tràng An to visit the temples...

                                One of many splendid views in Tràng An 

                            I stayed on the boat with our taxi driver who tried to row the boat around...

                   and finally we stuck in here, another rower tried to get a nap while waiting for guests

As far I remember we passed through 3 or 4 caves, the first cave was large and it seemed that human involved too much...in creating a passage but the other caves, some very low, dark, some impressive with the stalactites...

                       One of the caves that we visited on that day, it was surely not the first one...

                                Some caves very narrow, natural...

                        some spacious, but obviously that the human involved too much... 

                         Boat after boat no any boat couldn't stop...     

                        The caves in Tràng An more impressive than in Tam Cốc Bích Động  

                      all the boats went slowly through the cave...be careful with the stalactites 

                         I was so focused with my camera, my head was almost to be hit by the stalactite...

                          the way out from the last cave...

                     on the way back to the quayside...

               Looking at the mountains in fog, the surrounding I got feeling that we were lost in Heaven...

           

                          Coming into quay...the journey in Tràng An was over! 

We left Tràng An in the late afternoon. The morning trip to Bái Đính was such a failure, we also got a problem with the taxi, the car ran out the lubricant (!), but we were lucky with Tràng An, not with the weather, by some how I probably loved to see this place in the rain and fog like this...the feelings seemed indescribable, and more adventurous! Wish to come back here another time!