Ninh Binh - Day 1

We've got an early start today as we're off to our next destination, Ninh Binh, which is a couple hours south of Hanoi. We've got a tour booked for today and the bus is scheduled to pick us up at 7:30. The hotel are kind enough to start breakfast a bit earlier for us. We shovel down prawn crackers and spring rolls and hop on the bus.

It's a very comfy bus and there'll be 19 of us all up. Our guides name is Luong but he says we can call him Alex. We like him immediately. He's got a very happy and positive demeanour and gives us lots of info about Vietnam, particularly about the death culture and how many Vietnamese believe in reincarnation.

We make one stop along the way to a big market hall/building type thing. We grab a coffee and take a look at all the souvenirs on offer but don't get sucked in. Back on the bus and we reach our destination not long after. An uneventful bus ride but we did see some water buffalo!

We drive through mountains (which we later discover are called karsts) and are in awe. It's truly stunning out here and so different from where we've just come from. There's lots of resort type accommodations around but it doesn't feel too touristy. We pull into a restaurant for our activity, which is bike riding. We haven't ridden for ages, but find it's just like riding bike. Our guide takes us cruising along a dirt path, surrounded by karsts, streams and wetlands. There's not a breath of wind so the water is like glass and makes for a stunning view. We feel very fortunate to be spending our Christmas day here. We're absolutely loving life.

We ride back to the bus and off to our next stop, a temple in the old town. We get a bit of the history, very Game of Thrones. Again, we're really not getting the whole offering of soft drinks and cookies and if you're not into this sort of thing it feels very seen one, seen them all. But we're not here for long and so far our guide has mapped out a great itinerary with just the right amount of time at each activity.

It's time for lunch. We head back to the restaurant where we rode the bikes and head in. It's a buffet situation and goat is the big meat around these parts. Although they stir fry it and its a bit on the chewy side. We also have some delicious pho, the good spring rolls and other such things. We sit with an American guy who's on our tour and shoot the shit about travel and our respective countries. This is what it's all about. He has just come from Hà Long Bay and says he's having a much better time at Ninh Binh as it's over crowded with tourists. Which we're glad to hear as we decided to skip it in favour of Ninh Binh.

On to our third activity, a boat ride. We hop in and notice the rowers mostly row with their feet. It looks like hard work. We sit back and take it all in. Karsts all around, lilly pads it's all very serene. We even go through a few caves which allow you to pass underneath a karst which is pretty cool. The ride goes for an hour which is probably a bit too long, but very relaxing nonetheless. Our boat driver tries to sell us some paintings at one point and notice all the other boat drivers do the same thing. We politely decline but give a generous tip (and not just because he asked for it).

Gosh it's hard work being ferried around. Time for a bahn mi and egg iced coffee break getting back on the bus for our final destination, a hike! It's 497 stairs straight up to the top of a mountain for views. She's a steep one and we're sweating, but probably make it in record time. The views are stunning. Again refer to the photos. Words won't do it justice.
We head back down which takes double the time because it's a real neck breaker if you put a foot wrong.

We make it to the bottom and wander around the swampy fields. Were truly in awe here and can't help exclaiming how lucky we are to be here.

We collect our bags and say goodbye to Alex and grab a short taxi ride to our hotel, which is more of a resort vibe. It's in another stunning location surrounded by karts and streams. We're looking forward to a few days of exploring but also slowing it down and putting our feet up. We grab a beer and a shower and head for dinner at the resort restaurant. The food is so-so but the spring rolls are to die, as per.

One of the guys who works the resort is keen for a chat and also to better his English. We get his thoughts on Ho Chi Minh and the government (for our survey) and talk about our respective countries and jobs. He's originally from the South in the Mekong Delta and says he prefers not to think much about politics, but his opinion is that its not a great democracy if there is only one party to vote for. And doesn't feel that Hanoi really speaks much for HCMC.

When Courts talks about insurance we ask about the recent recent typhoon and how that played out with pay-outs and repairs. He seems to think the resort doesn't have that kind of insurance and the owner would have just paid for all the repairs. Interesting. We're beat after another huge day and head to bed.