15.3. - Ninh Binh - Boat Trip

Katja is feeling overwhelmed in the city. As someone from the suburbs, the Asian hustle and bustle and noise are just too much for her. We decide to take a trip to Ninh Binh.

The train is complicated, driving our own car is not an option, so we hire a private driver for 100 dollars. I feel quite decadent – but that’s how this vacation is anyway.

The driver is around our age, a considerate participant in traffic, speaks little English, but safely takes us there and back. It's amazing how well this chaotic traffic works.

When we booked in the hotel, we had agreed on three stops: Trang An (boat ride), Hoa Lu (ancient capital), Hang Mua (viewpoint) in that order. With this expectation, we get off at the first stop, see no boats, and after a short argument, realize that we are in Hoa Lu. Angry, we leave the place we don’t like anyway and ask our driver to take us to the boats. He does, and everything turns out well :-)