Up for our breakfast and then chill in the room a bit before we decide to get on with the day

We pay up and check out and lug our bits to Coffee Cat, a cafe that has an animal enthusiast running it

No cappuccinos but two milk coffees will do us while we play with the cat and organise some admin for the upcoming days

After, we catch a Grab that takes us to our hotel for one night in the centre of Ninh Binh, Xuân Hoa Hotel

We leave our bits and head out to look for some lunch – Dave finds Viva Mexico – Taco & Grill which seems right up our street

It’s a short walk but the humidity is making it unbearable, paired with 36° as well!

Having the place to ourselves, we get the air con pointed right at us while we share some chicken quesadillas and a chicken burrito

Next, we get another Grab and aim for Hoa Lư

This is an ancient city surrounded by the Trang An limestone mountains, it was Vietnam’s first capital city being constructed in 968AD by King Dinh Bo Linh of Dai Co Viet and he ruled here until the year 980

We’re dropped off at the entrance and have our first coconut to share between us too

The area looks like there’s just been an event and there are several buildings you can visit – we start off with Temple of Emperor Đinh Tiên Hoàng

This is in honour and even hosts the tomb of Vietnam’s first emperor

After, we go around and find Chùa Kim Ngân, a Buddhist temple, which is in the midst of having a ceremony of offering so the area is quite quiet

The map we found isn’t greatly accurate so we have to go back to the main area of the city’s ground to get to Temple of Emperor Lê Đại Hành

This is the following emperor of Vietnam who is honoured for his time holding the title while this was the capital city

We’ve learnt, over the many temples we’ve now visited, that the reason there’s incense here is because people are trying to see whether they are lucky – if they’re incense burns all the way, they are; if it doesn’t, they aren’t so they’ll pray for good luck

After here, we venture sort of out of the main area and the street we go down has many more pagodas dotted about, with Nhất Trụ Pagoda being an example of this

Time to escape the heat – we get a Grab back to our hotel, passing the waterways of Trang An as we go, to shower and do a bit of work before heading out for the evening

It’s a touch cooler but not by much ????

First point of call: dinner, and we’re aiming for a safe bet again

We’re back at Viva Mexico – Taco & Grill to share some beef and chicken fajitas – they don’t fill us but they do good to provide some meat

Next, we go North in hunt of Phố đi bộ Ninh Bình – Walking Street

We do indeed stumble upon it but it’s also home to a complex of other attractions too: two pristine and identical looking temples, many a bridge as well as a load of lanterned sampan boats

There’s also a limestone island that has a temple on top too

Within the ground level temples, they’re beautifully decorated with stone-cut stories of Buddhism

As well as this, one of them is dedicated to Dieu Lien

He was one of the key contributors to the creation, construction and management of Trang An Landscape Complex and Bai Dinh Pagoda – these are local landmarks – which were recognised by UNESCO as World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 2014 and are the first example of mixed heritage of South East Asia

We continue to wander around and find the main walking food street and a band start to play on the water

The area has a set of three bridges that are also nicely decorated with lanterns

We then find a little snack to fill us up: two gelato sticks in the shape of the landmarks here

As we head round to the entrance, we overhear some more music: there’s a whole concert thing going on on the otherside of some of the shops

We watch a solo man sing followed by a duet

Definitely feeling sleepy, we make our way back, popping to Winmart on the way home for some bits

Another shower and we chill with The Good Place on the telly before calling it a day