Up/Down day…

Had a day with some wild swings. Started out great with a boat trip to some caves, a downswing upon realizing my chosen course of action was gonna be tough, great again at some temple stuff, absolutely nightmarish bike ride home, tried and succeeded to shift that m.f. bad attitude, lovely dinner, nice chat with a fellow traveler, a beer, shower, and bed.

If anyone ever asks “should I rent a bicycle in Vietnam?” the answer is no.

No.

Anyway, the Trang An Grottoes are super awesome. The entire region has the world heritage seal of approval and rightfully so. This particular attraction is more popular among the Vietnamese, so the commercialism is toned way down. What a relief. I mean, they’re happy to take your money, but don’t give you any crap if you smile and say “no thanks”.

After a cave tour and a lovely coffee, I jumped on the shittiest mountain bike ever made by a man and rode way too far. 

It was kinda cool at times. There was that cattle traffic jam, and all the chickens and goats frolicking with me. Once an old lady passed me and told me step on it! lol

At my second stop, I realized that I’d forgotten to eat breakfast and lunch. That may have made my attitude shittier than usual. Some peanut brittle saved me.

The ride back to town was brutal. I took a wrong turn and added many kilometers to the voyage. On a shitty bike. On a highway. I would have made it except for the headwind that showed up. I was doing really well all alone at my pity-party, all alone, poor Mary. 

After a bit I got over myself. Change your attitude and change your reality.

So I just walked instead. And it was delightful. After a few blocks there were sidewalks, and cute kids, and moms, and everyone saying hello to me. 

A bunch of people tried to fix the bike which was super nice.  The phrase “this bike is a piece of shit” is universal! 

After just a few miles I was home again with a cold beer, and the day was behind me. 

Here’s some pictures…

Looking good so far!!
I didn’t have to wait at all, lots of boats available
The water here is so much cleaner, you can see fish and ducks and lots more life

Those blobs are goats
We couldn’t go up there, the staircase had washed away
Oh yeah, here we go!

Our rower was worried about my head, at 5’4 I was the tallest

Unbelievably cool

This feathery grass looked neat

The sun shining in made the water glow
We went under that!!
During the busy season, all 1100 boats will be in use at once. Im so lucky to be here now. the rower said it’s not relaxing at. all.
Coffee with milk means this, sweetened condensed milk. More sugar!!!
Here we are at Bai Dinh. It’s a brand new temple complex, in the middle of nowhere. Nice walking around, though.

They’re going for that 10,000 buddha thing
They all had the rub marks

All temples have water nearby, its a feng shui thing?

This statue is a little unusual, its the same size as the Buddha in the center

Its supposed to be the biggest in SEA, I dont think so.
Just a nice viewpoint

The bell tower

The Hoa Than restaurant is a great place for dinner. A good portion of food, the lady is super nice, all for 1.70.

I’m going to take back what I said yesterday about this city. It’s too negative. The people that live here are great, and it’s not a tourist destination. You still get treated like a person here.

Goodnight 

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