Ninh Binh

After boarding the train on Tuesday evening, we arrived in Ninh Binh 12 1/2 hours later. The night on the train was quite alright.

In Ninh Binh, we had booked a homestay. We were greeted warmly by the homestay mother. She hugged us and gave us a fresh mango juice. After checking in, we even got breakfast 😍. Even though we have been traveling around the world for eleven weeks now and have met so many kind people, we are always excited when we receive so much warmth and hospitality!

We had a beautiful and spacious room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony. Our personal highlight was the bathroom, as the shower was separated by a glass wall. This is not common in Asia. Usually, the shower head is simply attached in the middle of the bathroom and there is a drain on the floor. It's the little things in life...😄. The homestay also had a pool, but it was heated by the sun and more like a bathtub - definitely not cooling at 38 degrees.

In total, we spent four days in Ninh Binh. After the motorbike tour, our plan was to relax. We actually managed to do that for 1 1/2 days - after that we got bored 😂. On Friday (July 14th), we rented two scooters for a day trip. Usually, we always have one scooter and Chris drives. This time, Madlin wanted to drive herself. The scooter tour went well for 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the brake lights on our scooters were not working. We only noticed this after it was too late. Madlin realized too late that Chris had to brake. To avoid crashing into him, she tried to dodge and ended up falling on the gravel road. Fortunately, the injuries were not serious: abrasions on both hands and legs, a slightly deeper wound on the right leg, and many bruises. We still had our first aid kit from the motorbike tour, so we quickly treated the wounds. We returned the scooters and went to another rental shop. Madlin's 'adventure urge' was satisfied and we drove together on one scooter again 😅. We visited the Bai Dinh compound - one of the largest grave sites in Asia.

On Saturday, we had to pack our backpacks again. Before that, we went to a big supermarket to buy some things that we ran out of. Although there are many brands that are also available in our country, such as Tempo and Haribo, it was still a big challenge for Madlin to buy shampoo because all the bottles were labeled exclusively in Vietnamese. After shopping, we had a long phone call with a good friend. We always enjoy receiving calls from our loved ones!

In the afternoon, we went to a viewpoint. We had to climb 500 steps uphill. Quite a sweaty affair at 37 degrees 🫠. The ascent was worth it. We were rewarded with a wonderful view. Ninh Binh is also known as the dry Halong Bay. The many rocks are similar to those in Halong Bay, only they are not surrounded by water.