My brother and I's last journey with a visit to Vai Gioi cave in Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh province was enough for my brother to be satisfied. My promise to him was fulfilled and went well and no matter what happened.
It is the big cave here with an area of nearly 5000 square meters, a dry cave located inside a rocky mountain, where we have to climb at least four hundred steps to reach the place. Although the hot dry weather was more or less uncomfortable for both of us as the steep slopes drained both of our strength. But now the rice season is not yet ripe and about to bloom, so the panoramic view from above can see the green patch of the wonderful landscape everywhere. We move on the roads near the fields, do not follow the google map to avoid the highway with a lot of hot air and dust.
Rice fields stretch everywhere for most of the way, although this cave is nearly 12km from the city center. If we ride bikes I bet it will be even more fun. The simple life of the people here is close to my own life as a child in the countryside far from the big city. Only here they have more interest when there are rocky ridges interspersed with fields instead of rice fields stretching straight to the horizon.
We visited this cave when the sun was already quite high, but fortunately the stairway up there was under shaded trees. Extremely deserted when there are only two bicycles next to the foot of the mountain. It's lucky that it can be foreigners because I think domestic tourists are quite afraid of black and hard at this hour. And the cave should be viewed in silence by the echo effect of conversations or photography. The road is quite cool and green, clean but also quite tiring with high slope. Sometimes it's nice to have space for us to look out over the green and rugged mountains in the distance.
We took two breaks in the middle of the road before we saw the entrance of a small cave that a tall man had to lower his head to get in. But we didn't go inside right away, it was necessary to regulate body temperature to acclimatize because I could feel the cold air coming out from the cave entrance. The body needs to be well conditioned to avoid sudden heat shock. I have heard a description from the sign at the foot of the mountain that it is divided into three floors with the name as an interesting spiritual thing in the religion. In turn, it has the name: Heaven, Earth and Hell. Curiosity is stimulated to explore.
From the cave entrance is the Earth floor, following the steps cemented into the stone floor is the Hell floor, while the Heaven floor must continue to climb by tiny iron stairs to go higher. I'm more excited about the Heaven floor because the Hell floor below I can see a little bit. The Heaven floor has a greater mystery when it has to go through the stalactites.
The ceiling of this cave is quite high and it creates a longer natural stalactite with the nearby Tien Ca cave. Complexity in structure and shape is also more interesting, like large beards. The smell from the rocks in the cave is also softer, making me more excited with the cool temperature. It turns out that the Heaven floor is the smallest floor, the area is not too large and the ceiling of the cave is also low. They put inside the tomb of a Buddha statue for people to pray for. Money can be left on the small plates below as a plea, because they think this is a sacred place where the saints once resided. Good stories.
I found it more enjoyable to be at the end of the path leading to a cave entrance where I had more fresh air and a glimpse from above. It's really beautiful with the colors of this mother nature. Enjoy a little.
The Earth Floor seems to be the largest and highest, however it is quite dark because of the difficulty of conducting electricity so high. Maybe they could have done better so that visitors can see more detailed stone pillars and stalactites. My phone's technology can do better with low light so you can feel and see it better.
The bottom floor is the Hell floor which is not too special. I think they named it that because the ends of the water form a number of small, dark caverns that cannot be penetrated underneath. It was dark and scary looking like the paths down to the gates of Hell. Or maybe it's just the contrasting rhyme where certain legends are concocted accordingly. There are no locals or guides here so I can't verify it. However, it still shows well the magic side of nature inside a big mountain. Being in this cool and beautiful cave kept me here longer than outdoors, while my brother was a little scared because it was too quiet despite being quite tired after climbing so much.
But he is still happy to go to such interesting places when there is so little experience in our home country.
Anyway, this is an interesting option for travelers that I would recommend.
Please add it as an option when visiting this land.
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