Pagoda with Goats in the Monsoon, Sampan through the Karst, Lotus flowers are gorgeous, 1st Motorbike experience

For my 1st full day in VietNam, we sure had some serious highlights. Despite the fact that both Fallon and I were walking zombies today, we packed in some pretty cool experiences.

The day started off in the wee hours of the morning for me as my sleep schedule is super out of wonky. Fallon had an all night training for her Fulbright Scholarship in Finland next year so we went into the day knowing that we would both be zombie-like. 

Breakfast at our homestay was banana pancakes - they were kind of like crepes. The woman who runs our homestay has more energy than anyone I have ever met. She was determined to get a good picture of us eating our breakfast. It nearly put Fallon over the edge (especially since her coffee had not kicked in yet 😉).

Morning view from our homestay in Tam Coc 

Banana pancakes at our homestay for breakfast 

The woman who ones our homestay is very enthusiastic - she wanted a good picture of us eating breakfast.

We rented motorbikes from the homestay (about $5/day). Apparently my motorbiking skills were not up to par (granted it was a super small winding path to get out of the homestay and the throttle was very sensitive) so my driving privileges were revoked and Fallon and I rode double for the day. It was probably a good thing that I didn't end up driving a motorbike because it took me a while to settle into the fact that there are zero driving rules in Vietnam. People drive on the sidewalks, down the streets on the wrong side of the road, there are bikes/dogs/people/big trucks on the roads, traffic lights are ignored, and horns are honking constantly. Luckily, we found a parking lot for me to practice so that I might have at least some skills for the Ha Giang loop. I have so much respect for what people are able to accomplish on motorbikes around here. 

Not long after we left town, there was a lotus field next to us. We pulled over to check it out. I nearly lost my mind with how beautiful they were. I may have taken about a zillion pictures, but it is impossible to capture just how stunning they really are. In Vietnam, lotuses have lots of symbolism everywhere and is the national flower. They are also used in cuisine and medicine. Because lotuses rise from the mud without stains, they are often viewed as a symbol of purity. Since they return to the murky water each evening and open their blooms at the break of day, lotus flowers are also symbols of strength, resilience, and rebirth.

The flowers smell so good!

The seeds and seed pods

The buds are tight and don't have much color 

The bud gets a little bit more color as it opens up 

A seed pod

Check out the pistil and stamen - they don't even look real

When we arrived at Trang An, we were impressed by how well the site has been done. For our sampan (kind of like a skiff) tour, we chose route 3 because we asked a few employees and they recommended that route. We ended up in a boat with two people from Madrid and they were really friendly, but definitely didn't know how to get in and out of a boat - there were a few close calls. Our boatman was a woman who was super fit. She paddled all 5 of us in a boat that is not streamlined for almost 3 hours.

Going along the water with huge karst (limestone mountains) all around us was incredible. We stopped at several pagodas along the route. The reason Vietnamese people settled in this area is because it was natural protected from Chinese invaders. After paddling along for a while, it was easy to understand how this labryth made a good fortification - it was easy to get lost. 

We also went through several caves along the route, one of which was really long. The ceiling was low and we had to watch our heads for the stalactites. It was impressive how well our boatman navigated the caves. And the caves themselves were mind bending that we were paddling a boat under karsts (mountains).

One of several pagodas/spiritual stops along our route

Lots of koi in the water

Our boatman paddled forward - it looked like it was so difficult 

Lots of Buddist influence 

Table and stools are made from limestone 

Entering one of the caves 

Inside one of the caves

Stalactites inside of a cave 

In many places the ceiling was super low

The exit from the caves is in sight

Looks like a mules ear formation 

The reflection of the karsts was sweet 

Another cave - it was much shorter 

Our necks were on a swivel the whole route

Another stop at a pagoda 

The walkways are made of bamboo. It feels flimsy, but is surprisingly strong 

More koi in the water

Cool reflection 

Kind of a frightening statue inside a pagoda 

Fallon has become a motorbiking pro

Steamed goat testicles - sounds tempting but we did not partake

After our sampan your at Trang An, we headed to Hoa Lu. It is ancient citadel nestled among the karst mountains. Before we went into the citadel area we decided to get some food at a small family restaurant. I decided to get a regional speciality called com chat (fried rice crust). The woman who served us wanted to show me how to eat it so she took my food, broke my rice with her hands and then showed me how to scoop the soup with the rice. It struck me that this would not happen in the States - we don't touch other people's food, but it was totally normal here. Apparently, we were a bit of an attraction as the whole family came to hang out with us while we ate (grandparents, kids, etc). We chatted with the help of Google Translate. I couldn't finish all of my food so the family ate what I didn't which is another thing that usually would not happen in the States 

The entrance to Hoa Lu

Fried rice crust - a regional speciality 

The woman who helped me learn how to eat the rice crust 

It was clear that the monsoon was about to hit as it got super windy and everyone started battening down the hatches. Fallon and I decided that we would try to see Hoa Lu and take shelter somewhere if we got caught in the monsoon. We don't know much about Hoa Lu because there were not any signs that we could read. But, we could tell that it looked wicked old.

When the monsoon started, we had just wrapped up seeing the citadel so we made a beeline for a pagoda we saw in the distance. We made it there in the nick of time. Just as we were settling in we found that we were not the only ones there - a small herd of goats also took shelter in the pagoda. So excellent!!! They were super entertaining to watch as they jumped all over the alter. There were also water buffalo right outside the pagoda who apparently are not phased by the monsoon. If this was not quintessential VietNam, I don't know what is - such an awesome experience.

The goat shepherd 

The water buffalo don't seem phased by the monsoon.

On the drive home, we saw a Vietnamese cemetery. The graves were really interesting. 

We rode our motorbike back to Tam Coc by early evening so that Fallon could get some food and some shut-eye before her training that started at midnight. I went out to for some food once Fallon turned in and then called it a night. This day turned out so well.

The boat dock for the sampans in Tam Coc