Ninh Binh - Cycling Tour through the Rice Fields

From Hanoi, we drive to Ninh Binh, a small town just a 2-hour bus ride southeast. Our hotel is a bit old and feels like a haunted hotel. Are we the only guests here? I should mention that we have checked in downtown, not in the tourist center, because we try to avoid tourists as much as possible. Sounds strange, but it's true. We want to experience as much of the local and authentic life as possible. Not only here, but in general. So sometimes you have to sleep in a haunted hotel. It's okay - we borrow bicycles and explore the area. The hotel owner seems a bit grumpy at first, but when he hears us speaking German, he completely changes and his gloomy expression turns into a smile. He has actually been to Germany and even speaks a little German. So we borrow two bicycles from our new friend and ride off.

The city center is not particularly beautiful, rather noisy and dirty. But the further we get away from it, the more beautiful and greener our surroundings become. We leave the main roads and turn into small lanes that lead through rural villages to the rice fields. It's as if our arrival had been expected, many children stand by the house walls, waving cheerfully and shouting 'Hellooo' loudly. The teenagers, who overtake us on their scooters and sometimes sit four on one vehicle, often turn around shyly smiling and waving. Through the gates and courtyards, we catch a glimpse of the inside of the houses, where women wash dishes in large plastic tubs, families sit together on the floor to eat, children play and dogs roam around.

We leave the villages behind us and reach an old cemetery. The tombs, which are already too old and dilapidated, serve as a refuge for a rice farmer and his herd of cattle. The cattle graze peacefully while the farmer sits on a wall and watches every step we take.

We get back on our bikes and now cross the fields on a narrow gravel road. By now, the sun has even left its place behind the clouds and radiates a pleasant warmth. Finally, we can take off our jackets again. Rice farmers work on both sides of us, wading knee-deep through the mud, while some cattle and scooters occasionally come towards us. The outlines of the mountains can be seen behind the fields, limestone cliffs rise everywhere around us. The landscape is really beautiful and we feel like we are riding through a National Geographic documentary about Vietnam.

Then we reach Tam Cok, where the tourist center of the city is located. Here you can take a boat ride on the river, very popular. But somehow we don't feel like having tourist soup right now, so we find a café, a bit away from the hustle and bustle, and enjoy the view from two loungers. We also have our new favorite drinks: a delicious coconut coffee for me and a coffee with sweetened condensed milk for Sebastian. Then we ride back and cross the rice fields at sunset - a picturesque scene.

The next morning, our hotel owner makes us breakfast and we even meet 2 more guests. So we're not alone here after all. Today we climb the Bich Dong Pagoda, which is built on one of the limestone cliffs and promises an amazing view over the landscape of Ninh Binh. The complex is nicely landscaped, there are restaurants and a small lake in the middle. We stroll around and then start the ascent. The view from up here into the valley is really great, we sit down and enjoy the moment.

The impressions of Ninh Binh are very beautiful, if you overlook the city center. Fields and mountains, villages and temples were a wonderful backdrop - how beautiful!