ninh binh for more scooter fun, this time we have advanced tio dirt roads

they say it is halong bay on land. but there is still quite a lot of water
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o my god i just spent 30 minutes writing this entry and then accidentally closed the tab instead of just clicking on it.  here we go again.

when arrived at ninh binh railway station we took our first moto-taxis.  very exciting - you ride pillion whilst trying to keep hold of all the luggage.  i actually felt safer than i do when the boy is driving!

the lady showed her sore hand and made a sad face so we bought her some lychee juice

having a go at rowing. but they face the wrong way here so in looked like a rowing muppet when actually i am quite good. just ask the boy
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we are here in ninh binh to see some more karst scenery.  if halong bay is vietnam's guilin then ninh binh is ha long bay on land, or maybe ninh bing is vietnam's guilin as i think guilin is also on land?  anyway ninh binh town is nothing to write home about but the scenery around here is stunning.  lots of lumpy limestone karsts surrounded by paddy fields and meandering streams.  we rented a scooter and headed off onto the countryside.  the scooter lady looked a little concerned as we hopped and jumped down the road into the crazy traffic - this scooter had gears unlike the automatic ones we rented in thailand and as your driving instructor might say had kangaroo petrol in it.

our mother and daughter crew.
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eventually we arrived in tam coc, after thinking we were lost due to the imaginative scale on the hotel map and nearly running over a few puppies and chickens, we eventually arrived in tam coc.  Tam Coc was made famous as the setting for the film indochina but i have't seen it so can't comment on that.  what i do know is that i was quite the celebrity in the carpark when lots of teenage vietnamese boys wanted to have their picture taken with me.  i even got to wear their cowboy hats and do the peace sign that asian people love in their photos.  when you arrive in Tam Coc you have to buy a ticket for the area (not sure what this is for) and also a ticket for a boat.  Then you go to the wharf and one of many ladies in sampans ushers you into her boat.  she then rows you upstream for about 3.5 kms whilst you sit back, relax and enjoy the view.  there are several caves to go through where us giant westerners may have to duck!  there are special rules for giant westerners here - only maximum of two westerners per boat and maximum four vietnamese!  the lady said she was getting tired so we had a go at rowing. this did not go well, not surprising for the boy who is known for his poor rowing skills, but i am normally good at rowing.  i put it down to them rowing the wrong way round here - facing forwards.  i showed the lady how we do it properly in england.  she thought this was funny but i don't think the rest of the world agrees with her.  one advantage of doing it her way is that she can use her feet when the arms get tired.  i did not have a go at this.

cave number one.
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when we got top the last cave there was suddenly another boat following us.  surprise, surprise, it was a lady wanting to sell us snacks and drinks.  i was quite thirsty from all that rowing so got a drink and some fish crisps.  but then she said we had to buy the rowing lady and her daughter drinks as well.  the lady showed her sore hand and made a sad face so we bought her some lychee juice.  i'm not sure she drank it though, maybe she sells all the drinks back to the floating shop lady at the end of the day and they just go round and round and round.  on the way back the daughter did some rowing whilst the old lady tried to sell us some rubbish embroidery.  now we know why the daughter was with us.  we did not buy anything, we especially did not buy a lemon mobile phone holder with a bikini embroidered on it.  when we got to the wharf the lady showed her hand and her sad face again so we would give her a tip.  i had already decided to give her one as the trip was so cheap and it must have been hard rowing us giant western types about, but her asking outright made me not want to. hmmmm.

in the ancient capital at hoa lua
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after tam coc we headed off to a cave pagoda where i was a little disrespectful in my shorts - oops, but i don't think as disrespectful as the screaming teenagers.  i did get to be a celebrity in their photos again though.  then we headed back through the paddy fields and beyond to hoa lua - the site of an ancient capital.  only the temples remain though and these are 6th century copies of earlier buildings. they were a lot like the temple of literature in hanoi.  i think maybe all chinese style pagodas look the same, we shall see.  whilst we were looking at some of the statues of the kings and old man showed us who was who.  i though that was nice until i realised he kept "accidentally" touching my boobs!  unfortunately for him it is cold on the scooter so was wearing several layers of clothing.  we also met a little girl who wanted to show us a nice view and then demanded money to feed the baby (herself)  she didn't want the sweets or biscuits we offered to share with her so can't have been that hungry!  we got the scooter back just before dark with no mishaps.  yay.