Ninh Bình Province: Our day started off with three of us - Dragon, Peep and myself - meeting our tour guide following breakfast at the hotel for the two and a half hour ride to Ninh Bình Province and our first stop of the day, Hoa Lư.
Hoa Lư Ancient Capital: Hoa Lư served as the capital of Vietnam from 968 until 1009, when it was moved to Thăng Long, present day Hanoi. Two separate dynasties ruled the country from Hoa Lư, the Đinh and the Lê.
Emperor's Temples: Today, there are two temples dedicated to the two emperors who ruled from here, located on the site of the now absent old royal palace. We first saw the temple dedicated to Emperor Đinh Tiên Hoàng and then, a short walk down the road, a similar temple dedicated to Emperor Lê Đại Hành. Queen Dương Vân Nga, first married to Emperor Đinh Tiên Hoàng and then, upon his death, to Emperor Lê Đại Hành, is also worshipped in the latter temple.
Lunch: After viewing the temples, we made our way back to the car for a short drive to a local restaurant for lunch.
Tam Cốc: After lunch, we took a short walk down the street to board boats for a sampan ride on the Ngô Đồng. This river flows through rice paddies nestled among towering karst formations. In three places the river has carved out a path through the mountains, and are known as Tam Cốc (Three Caves). We passed through all three caves before heading back to our departure point. Apart from the beautiful scenery, we also saw many birds wading by the river's edge or soaring on air currents above our heads. We even saw a goat traversing a narrow ledge high up on the cliff face during our return trip.
Top of Hanoi: There was still some daylight left once we returned to Hanoi so we took the opportunity to visit the Top of Hanoi, a restaurant located on the roof of our hotel, 65 stories up. It had been raining off and on throughout the day, but the staff was busy preparing to open the restaurant when we arrived. We took in views of the city all around through the mist and clouds. We decided to return after dark to get night views of the city, but the restaurant hadn't opened after all due to the inclement weather. This being our only opportunity see the city lit up at night from atop our hotel, we went up anyway, staying for just a short time.