Ninh Binh

We are sitting in an internet cafe in a city called Ninh Binh where there are six year old boys smoking a cigarette on a nearby computer. Along with the Canadian couple beside us, we are a little shocked. I guess we shouldn't be. Anything can happen in Asia.

Our last day in Hanoi we did very little, but anticipate leaving. The heat and the vendors had sucked all the ambition out of us. It was 32 degrees at 10 AM so it probably hit 40 that day. After the humid heat we're experiencing, the hottest Saskatchewan day will seem almost pleasant. We walked around and bought some souvenirs and ate lunch at our standard semi-Western establishment. To escape the heat and stop walking, I got the idea we should ride a bus for a while and see some more of the city. The bus we chose ended up being supremely crowded and I became quite conscious of the stench of my unwashed clothes. I feel sorry for the people who were next to me. They probably think all Westerners stink. The great idea turned into the stupidest idea ever as the route was not scenic or interesting. We disembarked and boarded a bus with the same number going in the other direction, figuring it would return us to our origin. Wrong. We ended up stopped out by a highway and had to walk back to Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter. We definitely put on enough miles without really seeing or doing anything. We did run into some more people from the slow boat trip to LP Bang.

Despite being told that the open bus system is for the "Khao Sahn Road I hate Asians crowd", we opted to take a ride on this system. It's a cheaper ticket where people can get off and on as they please - as long as they don't mind being ambushed by the cafes where they are dropped off. We chose this instead of the normal bus because it picked us up at our hotel. It was late, but we did make it to the city of Ninh Binh before it was too late. And we did stay at the hotel we were dropped off at. I feel a little like a sellout.

Ninh Binh is about 90 km south of Hanoi on the road to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). There are a higher percentage of Christians here and a lot more churches so some people call it Vietnam's Bible belt. In all the Asian countries, Vietnam is only second to the Philippines for number of Catholics. Ninh Binh itself is rather boring, just a small city on the road. It's the attractions nearby that generate the tourism here.

We rented a motorbike with no helmets and took off with a map provided by our hotel. To avoid traffic, the owner had pointed out a route for us to take. The map is not to scale and quite confusing so we found ourselves on a tiny trail through the Vietnamese suburbs. Eventually, we gave up on his directions and found our way using the main road full of buses, bicycles, trucks and plenty of honking horns. We found our destination: Tam Coc.

Tam Coc is best described as Halong Bay on the rice patties. Big cliffs and rocks with fields at their bases. For a fee, we were toured around the area via a rowboat on the river. At a bridge, we stopped to pick up the rower's wife and she assisted him with one paddle on the side. Some rowers were rowing with their feet. A good majority of the rowers are women with their conical hats. The water was first in a canal but then opened up onto a plain with reeds growing on either side. We were rowed through three cave/tunnels through the rock. It was very beautiful.

But then we stopped. A lady rowed up with a boat full of drinks and snacks. I was hungry so I bought some peanut rice cracker things and tried to share them with the rowers. They refused. Then the vendor lady insisted we buy drinks for the rowers - not just water, but energy drinks and pop. I offered them some of my water, but they refused. It was a little confusing, but eventually we left.

And then the rower woman pulled out her embroidery and started poking me, "Madame, Madame". I wasn't interested and tried to ignore her so I could enjoy the return trip. But then she pulled out a runner . . . embroidered in Norwegian hardanger? It was so bizarre. It looked exactly like the stitching my aunt had taught me with cut out squares and other patterns. I decided to buy two, but didn't have the correct change. She didn't have enough change. We rowed over to another boat where a woman produced some old looking bills. Red alert - if the bills look a little old, no one will take them from you. Don't accept them from someone else. I refused the bills. Eventually she accepted the change I did have, but frowned upon receiving my own old bills. The rest of the trip, she kept shouting and talking to the other boats. I think she was pretty angry. They sped up their rowing. I think they wanted to get rid of us.

After meandering through a village with small streets lined with rock walls and houses at the street's edge, we had lunch and I had a nap. Then we decided to try our luck with the map again and try to find a boat village. Stupidly, we took the advice of the hotel owner and started down a gravel road by the river. It didn't look too far on the map. Wrong again. After an hour of a bumpy and dusty cattle trail, Gregg was so sick of driving that we tried to find the road. We had ice cream and then tried again to find the village. No luck. We did see some boats and thought that was enough. We found an ancient capital and saw some old stuff, but after a while, a person tires of seeing old stuff. Old woman would come and say hello and introduce themselves in a very friendly manner. Then they would ask us to buy water. I'm definitely tired of being seen as a walking ATM.

On the way back to Ninh Binh, the redness of Gregg's sunburn became quite apparent. We stopped so he could apply sunscreen. Soon he had an audience of a dozen people. One guy told him to wear a long sleeve shirt. Good advice.

Since the train was full, we're headed on a bus to Hue tonight. Hopefully we can get some clothes washed there.