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Published: June 12th 2010
Still wiping the sleep from our eyes we stepped off the overnight bus from Hue and were greeted by Mr. Xuan. He showed us to his hotel which was imaginitively named, Mr. Xuan's. The hotel was, depsite the five floors of stairs to our room and the noisy construction work outside, just what we needed after a long trip.
Since leaving Saigon we had travelled 1,600 kilometres and now came to the quietly emerging area of Ninh Binh around 90 kilometers south of Hanoi. The town itself is nothing more than an urban sprawl of shops and non-descript buildings but it is the countryside that is the main draw.
After a nap and some breakfast we hired a moped and hit the road like everyone else in Ninh Binh it seemed. The main road that runs through Ninh Binh is fast flowing with horn blaring lorries and speeding motorbikes conjuring up a dusty nightmare. Nonetheless we made it out to the ancient town of Hua Lu where we explored old remains and temples. We were now cruising around limestone karsts and quaint little villages, pleased to be away from the main road and in amongst the rural life. Then
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Sheltering from the torrential rainwe got a flat tyre.
Having repaired our tyre the friendly people then tried to overcharge us, just like mechanics anywhere I suppose. We got out of it with a fair offer considering they had given us tea. With a dodgy tyre and the heat taking it's toll we headed back to our hotel exhausted after what seemed a long day.
The next day we reluctantly hired the same bike again as we had put petrol in it to last a few days. We donned the crazy roads again and travelled the 8km to Mua Cave. The most stunning aspect was not the cave, however, but the pagoda that sat 300 steep steps atop the moutain. Once we had sweated our way to the top we had the most beautiful view over Tam Coc river that meandered it's way through the limestone karsts and rice fields below. It was both calming and enlivening being above all of this with nobody else around.
Having viewed the river from above we descended for lunch (and bia hoi of course) before hiring a boat to take us on the Tam Coc river. By now it was around 4pm and the
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Grandmother and Grandson team sun was mercifully behind the clouds. We paid our ticket at the booth and were asigned a rower and his grandmother it seemed.
Soon we were off and the unique rowing technique employed by the rowers of Tam Coc was in action. Instead of hands to pull the oars they use their feet. We, on the other hand, were ushered into helping out with our own paddle by the chatty grandmother.
We rowed along the river passing the tree covered karsts, looking on in awe (or is it oar). Not ten minutes had passed before the heavens truely opened and the storm came. Granny whipped out her poncho's and put a conical hat on Han. The rain was pounding down as we all rowed in unison, our laughter triggering the granny's and vice versa. The scenery then took on a magical aura. We were on the river, amongst the towering karsts and in the nature. The rain only enhanced our senses and sense of occassion, where we were. We passed through three caves along the way where we got brief respite from the rain and could check our camera was still working. Then as we turned around to
go back the rain stopped and we were able to amble back in a more relaxed nature as the sun began to set. We were drenched but happy having battled the elements in a breathtaking setting with granny and her foot rowing grandson.
We were extremly pleased to have a hot shower when we returned to our hotel as believe it or not we were cold. Ninh Binh, we found, had little in the way of nightime activity and a distinct lack of good food which was unusual for Vietnam. Even Mrs Xuan's cooking, which Lonely Planet deemed "legendary", was little more than mediocre. Ninh Binh seemed more of a gateway to the beauty around rather than a town with much abound.
So another day and another moped adventure, this time to Van Long Nature Reserve and the pretty riverside village of Kenh Ga. It was a longer drive of 35km to get there but the scenic serenity as we left the busy road made it all worthwhile. We drove down the windy lanes to Kenh Ga village where hay was laid out all over the cobbled streets. It felt like we were going back in time as
we waved to farmers and children that lined the quiet settlement. Looking back we weren't quite sure whether it was actually Kenh Ga, but who cares when your having fun.
On the way to the Nature Reserve we stopped for lunch at a quiet, tree shaded cafe. With nobody speaking English we ordered what we thought would be baguettes but turned out to be a very strange dish of possibly cured pigs skin and various other horribles. We graciously ate what we could of this odd dish whilst eagerly swigging our bia hoi. When we had eaten a respectable amount we motioned to pay only to be presented with an inflated bill price. We had agreed a price before eating and now it had gone considerably up. We argued for quite a while before we paid our agreed price and left, victim to "rip the tourist off" syndrome.
The boat trip on Van Long Nature Reserve was the perfect remedy to our weird lunch experience. There were no tourists, the sun was shining and we had an enthusiastic rower. It was so hot in fact that we had to buy ourselves some conical hats to shade our faces
like the locals. They may be conical hats to the Vietnamese but on us they were more comical. The hour and a half trip took us around lush vegetation and yet more mountainous karst scenery. As we gently moved to the rowing motion I was almost lulled to sleep but the sounds of gibbons in the mountains and the sight of colourful birds in the wetland kept sleep at bay. It was another magical experience.
The area of Ninh Binh was a beautiful place to be with so much to offer the intepid mopeder. The limestone karsts like "Halong Bay on land" provide a dreamy landscape for exploration as long as the flat tyres, crazy traffic and dodgy food don't get you first. Vietnam continues to amaze us!
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mouty
non-member comment
Conical
I wonder why people think it is ok to treat visitors badly. They do the same in Cornwall!. The rivers and rowing sound fantastic though and you must be up there with Seb on the motorbike fron by now. love Mx