Our entryway has a small garden, with miniature figurines of a tiger and villagers. There are small goldfish who have been hiding most of the winter here in Hanoi, and the main rock is the same kind of limestone to be found throughout Vietnam. It looks like this:
Being in Ninh Binh was like living as one of the figurines in the garden. It was misty and gray when we were there, but it was so peaceful and wonderful. We packed our time there with riding bicycles, going on peaceful boats, eating great food, and hanging out with cows and ancestors in the rice paddies.
We rode about 35 km on Saturday, including all the way to the bird sanctuary. We pulled up to the ticket counter and the girls behind it laughed in a congenial way. They seemed to be saying, “Holy shit, you rode all the way here on that?”
The landscape in Tam Coc is more like a dreamscape. I’ve never been in a place like it. It was like riding between worlds on the reflecting rice paddies, in the mist.
Here are the rest of the images from our trip, without comment.
Reverse Retrograde 
Thank you Coleen for another delightful voyage seen through the window of my virtual train, my little tablet. I love the peaceful images and I feel the mist.