Trang An, Vietnam

 Trang An was a new spot for Dave and I and a nice surprise. It is the founding capital of Vietnam and the karst rock protruding from the surrounding lowlands created a natural citadel protecting the town.  The row boat tour took us through numerous cave tunnels and excursions to some of the many temples hidden in the hills.  Racing the cousins’ boat was good incentive to help our boat lady row to the finish.  

 We took another limo bus direct from Sapa  and stayed in a beautiful group of rooms nestled by the rock and surrounding the pool.  The temperature was hot, feels like 49C, and while the pool was well used it was by no means refreshing.

Also visited a new Buddhist temple that seemed to be going for all the records… most statues, biggest statues, heaviest statues…

Did I mention it was hot?

For the third time we also had an outing to find a shoe repair person to sew a broken sandal.  These fellows typically operate on a stretch of sidewalk and repair your shoe in no time - a great service if you can find them.