Ninh Binh - Day 2
6:30am wake-up call for The Boxing Day Test! Managed to get the VPN going in time to see the first ball. We lay in bed and watch the first hour before wandering over for some breakfast overlooking the lake and the karsts. Not a bad way to start the day.
We've put a bird sanctuary park on the map for today. Its about 15kms away and the way to get around these parts is on a bike. Either a scooter or the good old fashioned push-bike, which is what we go with because it might be a bit safer, maybe.
We head out and we're a bitt apprehensive. The roads are narrow and there is a mix of buses, motorbikes and pedestrians all over the place. And of course there's no helmets. But we are in no rush so can go at our own pace. And the cars are kind enough to toot their loud horns as they are approaching to let us know they've seen us and give us a massive heart-attack each time. Very kind.
We're enjoying the cruising, giving us a better feel of the place, seeing all the little things you'd miss if you were in a car.
We ride through the little town where we got our boats from yesterday. Our first stop is Bich Dong Pagoda (Turtle Pagoda). Built at the foot of a karst and surrounded by a lily filled body of water, it looks stunning. So stunning that there are a few photo-shoots taking place. We sit down, have a banana and take it in before jumping back on the bike.
The traffic starts to thin as we are out of town now and a few kms later we arrive at the ticket office of the sanctuary. We don't really know what to expect, but its pretty cheap and you can ride your bike all around it, so off we go.
We can't quite figure out what the vibe of this place is. There aren't exactly a lot of birds, and its seems like it still might be under construction. We think there might be a big event taking place soon maybe.
The bird part is over in the corner of this large area. We have to get off the bike, head over a sketchy bamboo bridge and follow a trail for a bit. The views are stunning, the birds are OK. We head back.
Its time for lunch.
We pick one of the many places near the Turtle Pagoda and sit down. After a long wait our beef noodle pho and chicken and bok choy dishes come. The beef in the soup is borderline inedible. The chicken dish is better. The spring-rolls are on-point, as always.
As we are leaving we duck out the back to the WC, past what is their open-air kitchen. We spot a chicken having a little snack on on the bok choy that is about to make into the meals. I wonder if the irony is maybe lost on the chicken and try not to worry too much about the bird flu I now certainly have.
We ride back the way we came. We head past a little road-side gas station right on the river banks. They've done a good job with the cementing to ensure any excess petrol runs smoothly into the river. A guy is cleaning his motor cycle there. We ride another 50 meters and spot a man fishing in the river.
We are a little less stressed on the roads as we ride, but our butts are out of practice. We haven't ridden a bike since we moved to Sydney 7 years ago. We make it back safely, the hotel workers have a chuckle about how far we went and wonder why we didn't take the scooters.
We head back out later that evening via a 15 minute taxi to Phố cổ Hoa Lư (Old Town). There is a "walking street" beside a canal with two or three pagodas which are brightly lit up, along with the two rows of restaurants lining the canal. The overall effect is beautiful, but there's not too much to do. We grab a beer and a sausage and start walking towards the centre of Ninh Binh.
We spot a little bahn mi place and park up on the plastic tables and chairs. One of the better ones we've had so far. 2 bahn mi and 2 beers for $4. I could get used to this. Although its probably not the best long-term diet.
We head onto the main drag and aim for the centre of town (if there is one). We stop off for some bubble tea; Courts can't believe it when sees the flavour is tiramisu + Ovaltine crunch. Even Jeff get's on board, it was great. We keep walking down the main street. A small child, maybe 8 years old, flies out of a shop and onto the 3-lane road without really looking. He throws up his hand to make the cars stop. They jam on the breaks, he says thanks and jumps up onto the median strip ready to do the same on the other side. We shudder to think what the pedestrian death toll is like here.
We message the taxi driver from before via WhatsApp and 5 minutes later he picks us up and takes us home.
