Unexpected treat in Tam Coc

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Day 4
We planned a side trip today as an afterthought, but it turned out to be amazing. After a 2 hour drive we arrived in Ninh Binh to visit two 400 year old temples honoring the general who united northern Vietnam in about 1,000. After this we went on a 2 hour boat ride at Tam Coc which is billed as the inland version of Halong Bay. Since it was so hazy in Halong Bay, this was actually more visually interesting since we were much closer to the cliffs that rise straight up on either side of the river. The people who row the skiffs do so with their feet. Not what you see at the Head of the Charles. Our guide was a very nice young man from the hotel who talked a lot about what it like to live in Vietnam as a 30 year-old. He and his girl friend work 6 days a week to save their money so when then get married next year and subsequently have children, they’ll have some money saved because they will not want to work such long hours. I wasn’t feeling great and he recommended ginger tea with honey which was delivered to our room shortly after our return.

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