That's a Lot of Steps!

 What is it about Vietnam and steps? They make them BIG--tall and deep and many. True, they get you to some very cool places, but my goodness! I'd rather remember the places because of the scenes and not because of the sore muscles! Okay, okay, I'm just venting a little. The places are SOOO very worth going to, in spite of the steps.

Thanh Giong Monument is a case in point. We have done this "1000 step hike" twice before this p-day and it has some glorious scenery and sights to remember. We were excited to introduce this hike to our new district missionaries, and asked our Grab driver to take us to the pagoda at the base of the mountain so we could climb up. He mistakenly drove us to the monument at the top of the mountain, and it did NOT break my heart to skip hiking UP the 1000 steps!

The missionaries shared my happiness. 

It's beautiful from up there...

...and these are the kind of stairs I like to climb to get there!

And then we went down again...  1000 steps down... to the base of the mountain.

Our favorite spot on the way down was the Non Nuoc Temple, which is amazing, and which is why you are about to see many, many pictures of it. And if it looks familiar, that's because this is our third time here!

We were not the only District to have the great idea of this hike today!

We had a fun week in store for us. Tuesday was District Council, as usual, but my favorite thing was receiving a package from home. Our senior missionary couple from Ho Chi Minh City had taken a trip back to the states and were kind enough to bring a package back to us, and our kids were amazing enough to pack that package full of things to make their mother very happy and teary-eyed.

I have the best kids...

Allen planned our next great adventure to go to Ninh Binh on Wednesday, when the weather was forecast to be decent--not too hot and not rainy. He hit it right on the head! It was a beautiful day. 

Ninh Binh is known to be one of the most beautiful places in Vietnam, especially in the north, and we'd been looking forward to taking a tour there. It did not disappoint. 

We began early in the morning as we got on the bus at 7:15 am and rode for 2 hours to the province of N.B.  On the way, the bus always stops for a rest break at a commercial venue to give you a chance to support the Vietnamese people and today was no exception. Our rest stop took place at a company that provided jobs for disabled people, where they stitched silk art. What beautiful art these people created!

Once in Ninh Binh, our tour guide showed us what appeared to  be a palace and which was, she assured us, just a house that a rich man built because he could. Presently, 3 people are living there.

And then we really arrived...

And it was stairs once again. These stairs are guarded by a cool dragon, at least.

But stairs are stairs...

This is looking down on the river that later we would be boating down. The water in the foreground is rice paddies; the water in a bend at the back is the coarse of the river.

One set of stairs would take you up to where we went--to a dragon lying down on the top of the mountain. A different set of stairs would take you to this lower pagoda, which looks really cool. If we'd had time, we'd have gone to both places.

This is looking down on the fields of lotus flowers, and the walkways that go throughout them. I would love to see this place when the lotus flowers are in bloom.

This is the dragon on the top of the mountain. Allen hiked the last dozen feet to the top; it was too crowded for me to go, and I was also taking a call from a missionary with a problem. 

At the bottom again, I was content to keep this dragon company as I waited for the rest of the group to gather. Stairs are a workout.

This was the dancing cave, of course!

Here I am on the walkway through the lotus flowers.

Our very friendly oars-woman rowed with her feet!

The lower hill on the right has the viewpoint from which we took a picture of the river we were now on, on the boat!

The first of 3 "caves" we went under, or through, and out the other side. They were all very short, and very fun.

Another "cave".

Our final adventure of the day was a short bike ride to another pagoda that was built into a mountain. We got there by--you guessed it--more stairs.

Built right into the mountain. Wow.

S. T. A. I. R. S.

Us with our very sweet and fun tour guide May.

Thursday, we were back at work with the missionaries, getting ready to chat up a storm with people who would come to the English activity. But beforehand, we had to have some good ol' street food, the kind we were warned never to eat. But this is one place that missionaries have eaten at for a very long time, and we all feel it's very safe, and delicious. We can get a delicious banh mi sandwich for 21,000 Vietnamese Dong, or 80 cents.

And then there was English...

Friday was Young Single Adults. We have decided that we no longer need to attend, as they get along well without the "old people" to translate for, and they are sufficiently strong to run the program without us. If they need us, we're just a message away...

It being Halloween Day, we were hoping for a sight of some Halloween fun; there's not a lot of Halloween going on in Vietnam.

Saturday was busy, and it went by quickly. My music class always keeps me hopping from one person to another. If I get a new student--which I did--I have to get everyone else working on something else that will keep them busy and then start all over on how to teach music to the newbie. It's a bit tricky for me. I have 4 keyboards in my music room. My one student who is always there can be counted on; her son usually comes, as does a friend of his. That makes 3 keyboards gone, with one more definite student, one more probable student, and 3-4 more who've said they want to come. Interesting and challenging. 

English was good again, and then we went home for the evening.

Sunday was filled with meetings. Sacrament meeting held the surprise of a family with 4 kids who were visiting from the States, and who were looking for a Primary class, which we don't have. I ended up being THE branch Primary organization for the second hour. I can truthfully say that I had fun and that the kids didn't hate it. I think.

Branch correlation meeting was followed by a half hour drive to the District Center for a special Women's District Leadership Training Meeting, which was good.

And then I hurried home to make dinner and dessert for our District Missionary Dinner--I think I'll call it that from now on. We always treat our district to a dinner for the last Sunday of the transfer, just in case anyone is leaving. This week, we had one Elder leaving us, and dinner together was the perfect way to say goodbye.

 We love that autumn has arrived! Temperatures are settling into the low 80s and upper 70s, and we're getting a lot of drizzle.

And now I'm going to end! I know I'm late with the blog for this week and I'm sorry for that. It's harder than it looks when there are as many pictures as we took in Ninh Binh! I hope you liked the pictures I chose, because you may never have the chance to see the ones you didn't. 

Thanks for your love and support, your thoughts and your prayers!