A full load of Ninh Binh (Part 1)

Nguyễn Trãi (Vietnamese Confucian scholar - 1380-1442) says: "If your scooter honks faster than it rides, you don't need a helmet, but prayer!"

07/27:

Our hotel bears the melodious name "Scenic Mountain Resort". When you take away the 'resort', the name is quite fitting.

From the window, we have a magnificent view of the karst mountains of Ninh Binh. The limestone formations resemble those of Halong Bay, except that they are surrounded, not by water, but by rice fields, wild ponds, and plenty of fallow land.

Ninh Binh is considered a gem in northern Vietnam and is touted as one of the tourist highlights of the country. Not necessarily because of the city itself, but definitely due to the swamp landscape and pagodas. Particularly the small town of Tam Coc proves to be a backpacker’s paradise and tourist magnet.

The advantage: there is plenty of Western food, which is quite welcome after some missteps in ordering at authentic local restaurants. Even though particularly Pho has secured a firm place in our menu!

Our plan for our time in Ninh Binh was to wind down, enjoy the scenery, book, and pool, sleep in and just go with the flow before the rest of the wedding party arrives.

Lounging around and resting are only moderately in our nature, so we definitely need to practice.

We recognize that the Vietnamese have a slightly different daily rhythm than we Western Europeans, or probably more so Germans, when we are woken on Sunday morning (on this holy Sunday!!!) by a circular saw making circles just 10 meters away from our room. In addition, there’s a regular industrial stapler hammering wood planks onto metal! If the time hasn't been mentioned yet, it's 6:45 am! No sleeping in for us. Since we are already awake and the noise level will probably persist, we may as well get up and go for breakfast.

On the way to the breakfast hall, we discover the source of the noise right in our own hotel!

The in-house bar is being entirely wood-finished, which will certainly look nice someday, but it becomes apparent upon closer inspection that this is not a one-day construction site, and the noise will likely accompany our stay here!

We're looking forward to it...

What we also notice now is the fact that we have landed in a dead-end that leads to two of the most frequented highlights of this area: the "Mua Cave" and "Dragon Hill".

This leads to small and large buses bustling in front of the hotel, with numerous pseudo-parking attendants shouting to lure every scooter rider into their garages, and the air is thick with exhaust fumes and high humidity!

So we seek refuge in flight, grab two (according to the hotel, new) bicycles, which actually seem to have been war-torn up and down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and set off toward Tam Coc, with the fox jogging and the hare and mouse pedaling to buy some snacks!

Just as we arrive in the town, we're hit by a nasty thunderstorm, which we actually hadn't experienced for quite some time, so that back at the hotel it’s no longer clear whether it’s rain or sweat that’s standing in our shoes!

After a quick round in the pool, we head across the street to "The Coop by Chookie's" for dinner. Here we have discovered a little gem that provides us with great 80's pop/rock music and delicious food. We also play Munchkin and ponder the next day.

Because there’s certainly much to discover!

07/28:

A lot to discover... that's where we left off last night.

Our plan for today includes a trip to a thousand-year-old tree in a bird sanctuary/orchid paradise. Since the bicycles convinced us thoroughly, we will also rely on the two-wheelers today. Unfortunately, they are different from yesterday's bikes. Bike No. 1 shows itself as already quite worn with a defective rear brake, Bike No. 2 refuses to accommodate a saddle adjustment for people taller than 1.40 m, and Bike No. 3 makes the rider unintentionally go in circles because the handlebars lack any direction for straight riding.

We take them anyway, stock up in the next flea shop with three traditional conical hats against the already blazing morning sun, and pedal off like Viet Cong!

Since Google Maps doesn’t show a direct route by bicycle (probably because Google assumes you won’t survive the route on a bike), we try the recommended walking path off the main roads. For THIS type of transport, there are routes. Why we only find out halfway through is that it leads us over the muddiest and bumpiest paths and into mosquito-infested marshlands! Covered in bites, dirt, and (of course) sweat, we arrive at the park entrance, where we must buy three full-price tickets since there’s only a discount for those under 130 cm tall. Interestingly, this applies to both "Kids" and "Adults"!

The trip is essentially a complete flop since two of the three caves available for visiting are closed, and the third is hopelessly overcrowded with Asian tourists, while we notice that we seem to be the only western tourists here, and either because of that or due to our appearance with bikes and conical hats, we are amusingly eyed!

Nonetheless, we are at least active and don’t let ourselves be shuttled here with a tour bus and then through the park with a golf cart and a phone in our faces.

The tree, which should have been our main destination, is not closed but is also not discernible because everything around it is overgrown and neglected!

Only the somewhat beautifully displayed flower fields and bonsai trees provide a nice Instagram panorama! Additionally, Andrea Kiewel could host her ZDF television garden for retirees and those who are one step further along here! The surroundings would fit quite well.

Somewhat disappointed, we ride back to the hotel, but enjoy the truly impressive landscape along the way, jump into the pool for a less-than-successful cooling off, and retreat to our favorite bar next door for a coffee!

In the afternoon, the adventurous craving kicks in even more, after the slow and eggshell-like adapting to the Vietnamese street traffic has gone so wonderfully.

Since we will be participating in a scooter tour with parts of the wedding party next Friday, and none of us has ever been on a motorized two-wheeler before, we consider renting two scooters here on-site and practicing a bit!

At the reception, we receive the well-meaning suggestion that we could also sit three on one scooter, as that is allowed here, which we thankfully decline! Also, there's no need to show a driver's license. Could Ida have driven herself?!

After a brief introduction ("Here 'On', here 'Off'") there is Vietnamese confusion as Lena asks about the turn signal and the horn.

The lady does not understand turn signal at all; nor does she understand horn, probably because the location of the horn is already genetically instilled in them.

So, after just a few hundred meters of driving, we press every available button and quickly find the turn signal, horn, and light!

Even in the thick of it, we realize that signaling achieves absolutely nothing. You are honked at even more when trying to turn left, even if you additionally stick your hand out with the turn signal.

Nevertheless, we have to admit that all of us are having a blast zipping through the rice fields, despite both scooters having malfunctioning speedometers, leaving us clueless as to how fast Evel Kneivel and family are going!

The only thing that works is the fuel gauge, which tells us we need to refuel urgently.

That gas stations here look like garages (actually, everything happens in or in front of garages), we also learn up close. An older lady comes out of her little house with a pump dispenser of gas like the witch from Hansel & Gretel, fills us up with gas for a total of 35000 Dong (1.16€) in both tanks, and lets us continue on our way. According to the fuel gauge, we should at least make it back to the hotel.

A small stroll through Tam Coc's souvenir shops, where, for example, pants identical in design from both Arc'teryx and Patagonia are sold for the price of a shoelace from the aforementioned brands, and a portion of sticky rice with mango later, we head back to our street to a pizzeria for the evening meal!

After that, we'll briefly roll in the evening's darkness in the pool and try to go to bed early. Because tomorrow morning, we'll surely be woken up again by the circular saw and Tackerina well before our desired waking time!