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Published: November 11th 2008
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(Day 218 on the road)After my violent and very unpleasant departure from Cat Ba Island, I went to the city of Ninh Binh, some six hours south (of course I was overcharged about 25%!o(MISSING)n the ferry and bus as I later found out). The bus driver was crazy: Going way too fast through the small villages and constantly honking his horn, he literally forced scooters and bikes off the road into the ditch or else we would have hit them. As in China, it is Darwinian traffic laws to the extreme in Vietnam. Put simply: If your vehicle is bigger and faster, you have the right of way, regardless of any traffic laws or consideration for others.
Ninh Binh as such is not spectacular, but the surrounding countryside surely is! The primary feature of the area is an abundance of rice paddies, which are sprinkled with thousands of karst peaks in all kinds of shapes and sizes. I rented a motorbike for a day and got lost driving through some very remote back roads - it was a fantastic day with a few good glimpses into Vietnamese everyday life.
Driving out to a nearby pagoda (temple), I gave
a very old lady a lift on my motorbike, which was good fun, especially for her I: Whenever we passed one of her numerous friends along the road, she would wave at them, point at us and laugh. I dropped her at her house, where she told me I could park my motorbike whilst visiting the temple. However, when I returned this experience turned a little sour as she now wanted money for me parking there. It sure feels nice to be appreciated.
Tam Coc is another gorgeous place near Ninh Binh: It is a shallow river that flows through the rice paddies and through three caves. With the recent heavy rain in Vietnam, the water levels were high and floating through the cave I virtually had to lie down flat on the boat in order not to hit my head on the low cave ceiling. Unfortunately, I arrived very late in the afternoon (which was nice in a way because all the touts had already gone home), but night was approaching fast and we only had time to row through one cave. Even so, going back it was pitch-black inside the cave; I am glad the the two women rowing the boat were experienced enough to find their way out it without hitting anything. To make matters worse, it started raining heavily on the way back, and within seconds all three of us were soaked.
Afterwards, going back in the dark on my motorbike to my hostel was no fun at all and highly dangerous. My lights on the scooter were not working at all as I found out (great), and with no street lights either and all oncoming cars driving with their high-beams on, visibility was near zero. The pot-holes all over the street made matters worse. It took me forever to go back as I was going so slowly, wet, freezing and extra-careful as I was. Driving along, I was thinking about the Vietnamese road accident statistic I had read somewhere: In proportion to its population, Vietnam has the highest number or road deaths in the world (12.000 deaths per year plus a lot more injured people). I could clearly see why.
This ends my unpleasant visit to Vietnam. I am certain I will never forget it for all the bad experiences I have had here. If you are reading this and thinking about going to Vietnam yourself, read my
previous blog entry - and think again. In my opinion, there are much nicer, friendlier and more honest countries to go to. As for me, I am sure I will never come back.
Next stop: Lak Sao (Eastern Laos).
To view my photos, have a look at
pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete
book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).
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