Today would have been unbelievably amazing if it had been just slightly less foggy. As it was, it was still fairly amazing.
Very glad to have my bike, I rode around, between rice paddocks and stark mountains all day, stopping at various places to explore more.
I started off at Mua Caves, but more on that later, as I may have been too scared to properly see this stop.
My first proper stop was at Trang An for a boat tour. A small Vietnamese lady paddled us around a loop for 3 hours (sometimes paddling with her feet like a bike), and we stopped off at various temples.
The scenery was spectacular. From soaring mounds coming from seemingly nowhere, to low cave tunnels we had to duck to get through in the boat, it was worth every dollar (all 9 of them)
After the boat tour, I went back to Mua Caves, hopeful that there might be a few more people around. I climbed to the top of Lying Dragon Mountain, and could see the promise of an incredible view, and then headed back to the cave.
It wasn't that the cave was dark - it was quite well-lit - but when I arrived earlier in the day, there was no one else there, and the only noise I could hear was the echoing sound of my feet sloshing through the ankle deep water.
The cave was quite fun to go through with others though, with a narrow walkway built to keep you out of the depths of the underground river either side, threatening to swallow you.
My final stop was at Bich Dong Pagoda. Once again, I was practically alone here, and I braved walking up the dark steps, though a cave to the top of the mountain to visit it. Conquering my fear was probably more impressive than what was up there, but it was free, so I can't complain.
The views really were amazing, and the area is still quite new to tourists, with mostly farmland around, with animals and locals seemingly oblivious to the occasional bus-load of people coming through their small town.
Tomorrow, Hanoi xx