The Trang An Landscape complex is a UNESCO listed heritage site. Called the Ha Long Bay of the land, the landscape comprises stunning Karst peaks, some partly submerged in water. The only choice one has to make, if you have only a day at disposal, is where to take the boat ride – Trang An or Tom Coc? I chose Trang An as the boating is on a bigger wetland as against a narrow river, more number of caves and finally, recommendation from our car driver!
The boat ride is breathtaking
I rented a car from Hanoi and it took about 2 hours to reach the Trang An Ecotourism boat complex. Best to get there as early as possible as it can get very hot post noon. At the ticket counter, I had the option to choose a route but all routes take the same time. The entire boat ride, though breathtaking scenery, took about 3 hours and I passed through 4 narrow caves with 3 stops at temples/monuments. At one such stop, cold beverages, ice cream, coffee etc. was available. The pictures say a lot more than words can.
Vegetarian food hard to find
At the boat complex, there are restaurants but we struggled to find vegetarian food. Finally, at one restaurant, noodles was available and I also ordered ‘steamed vegetable bowl’. When the bowl arrived, all it had was spinach! The noodles had bit of a strange smell and I had never eaten bowl full of spinach at a time. I forced myself to eat just a little bit so as to survive till I got back to Hanoi.
A Buddhist temple, Trang An, Vietnam 
A cave entrance in Trang An, Vietnam 
One of the temple stops in Trang An, Vietnam 
Limestone Karst, Trang An, Vietnam 
Boating at Trang An, Vietnam. The start/end point is seen in the background 
Inside a cave in Trang An, Vietnam
There are other activities you can indulge in but that would require an overnight stay.
