Wednesday, cycling and rowing boat Ninh Binh:

We start early in the morning (8:00), there are only about 150 km to drive, but it takes us 3 hours.
At the first stop we go on a short bike ride. We see water buffalo swimming and also a Catholic church. In the local village it is customary to paint the wall fences. Afterwards we eat again with the locals, the food is really very good. It's just way too much.

Then we drive to xxx. There we travel in a rowing boat made of bamboo wood. A very nice Vietnamese woman does the rowing. The landscape is beautiful. We also row into a cave where we have to duck our heads. We also see a monkey very far away.
Now we visit a temple and learn a lot about the Budda sign and a little about Yin/Yang. At each gate you have to climb over a thin wall about 40cm high - it's supposed to keep the demons out. And there are always only odd numbers of levels - even numbers don't bring luck.
We arrive at the hotel (Le Clos de Fil) in Ninh Binh around 5 p.m. I treat myself to a very pleasant shoulder massage. We also decide to take a break from Vietnamese food and treat ourselves to a pizza. Although Ninh Binh is known for goat meat and roast duck. There are hardly any carbonated drinks in Vietnam - when I order sparkling water, I get a can of Schwepps soda water.