XE OM time is on - Ninh Binh
Yesterday we arrived Ninh Binh (100km south of Hanoi) at 5:30 am with our sleeper open bus (11.5 hours) and it was raining. Not very pleasant but that's part of the deal - we took our "Holy Planet" - this time not for a reading session but for finding out where the hack we got dropped off and where the hell to turn - quickly ... as I mentioned it was raining and our rain coats were very well hidden in the packs.
Megan in the sleeper bus - as usual a little advantage her short size...
20 minutes later: We negotiated the hotel price from 25 to 12 without air con after we woke up the owner. The room wasn't available but since all Vietnamese are big hearted when it comes to children we were able to sleep in one of their rooms for another hour and a half.
After breakfast we finally did it: Motorbikes. The kids have been eager since a long time to rent them and I could talk the lady into having Megan and Robin on one and I took another one. When you rent them with the driver they are called XE OM.
Since we didn't want to see any pagodas or temples anymore we only went to Mua Cave. The cave itself was not terribly impressive but the panoramic view over the so called dry- Halong Bay was terrific. 500 steps up on one of those funny shaped mountains... the 3 Austrian girls from Upper Austria were already there (we met them in the sleeper bus).
Then back on our xe oms we drove through backroads inmidst of rice paddies and buffaloes to the boats that would get us through 3 grottoes called Tam Coc, the heart of the dry Halong Bay. This place has already turned into a tourist spot with vendors wanting to sell you silk sticheries or T-shirts or drinks or whatever during the boat ride. Interesting is the part that when you ask them a question before the usual "No English" is replied, but the most important words for selling all that crap are well known. We didn't have a problem since we are already proofed and trained so our driver only ruined his tip at the end - he shouldn't have asked for it because if I feel forced into tipping then I just ignore it.
The rowing technique is great instead our backward paddling here they mainly row with their legs going forward:
Why this here is called the dry Halong Bay - beat me! It was rather wet...
People working next to the Tourist drive:
After a hearty dinner with the obligated fried rice and fried goat (a local speciality - we even saw them climbing the hills) we called it a day.
Today - OK we did it again - first they laughed at my suggestion of maybe taking motos to the National park: Cuc Phuong NP. Last night they came and offered 2 xe oms for the 130km drive. I can only say - we are back healthy but my butt: it hurts. Finally some kids stuff was on: after tons of "dead" stones and holy buddahs something "alive".We went to see the Endagered Primate Rescue Center and the Turtle Conservatorium. The first place was founded by a German so you find all the monkeys named in German like Heidi, Knut und Schlappi etc... It holds about 140 creatures from 15 species of gibbons, langur and loris. What an effort they take to release them into the wilderness - some kinds are raised here so they won't extinct...monkeys make wonderful medicine in China - well worth 200 - 1000$ each.
At the Turtle farm the kids learned a lot about the why's and what of turltes and that they serve for soup ingrediences as well.
Then another 20 km into the jungle with our motos to see the 1000 yr old tree. It was a pretty strenous loop (on an easy path) 3km in and 3 out --- but it seemed very long -- We came back after 1.75 hours pretty much worn out - no food, water bottle empty BUT it was great. We were walking through swarms of 1000 of butterflies all colors all sizes - just amazing - with the motos we drove through another millions...incredible. (Unfortunately the butterflies don't show on the pics)
Another short climb up 300m to the Cave of the Prehistoric Men was well worth it since the cave was huge--- (we were thinking of you Doris! got the hick ups?) We explored with flash light and camera until Megan almost fell apart being sooo hungry. Fried Buffalo was on the menue - again local food in one of the tiny villages surrounded by the rice paddies.
And that's the guy we ate =)
It was another super day with lots of exercise - just what we needed.
Megan in the sleeper bus - as usual a little advantage her short size...
20 minutes later: We negotiated the hotel price from 25 to 12 without air con after we woke up the owner. The room wasn't available but since all Vietnamese are big hearted when it comes to children we were able to sleep in one of their rooms for another hour and a half.
After breakfast we finally did it: Motorbikes. The kids have been eager since a long time to rent them and I could talk the lady into having Megan and Robin on one and I took another one. When you rent them with the driver they are called XE OM.
Since we didn't want to see any pagodas or temples anymore we only went to Mua Cave. The cave itself was not terribly impressive but the panoramic view over the so called dry- Halong Bay was terrific. 500 steps up on one of those funny shaped mountains... the 3 Austrian girls from Upper Austria were already there (we met them in the sleeper bus).
Then back on our xe oms we drove through backroads inmidst of rice paddies and buffaloes to the boats that would get us through 3 grottoes called Tam Coc, the heart of the dry Halong Bay. This place has already turned into a tourist spot with vendors wanting to sell you silk sticheries or T-shirts or drinks or whatever during the boat ride. Interesting is the part that when you ask them a question before the usual "No English" is replied, but the most important words for selling all that crap are well known. We didn't have a problem since we are already proofed and trained so our driver only ruined his tip at the end - he shouldn't have asked for it because if I feel forced into tipping then I just ignore it.
The rowing technique is great instead our backward paddling here they mainly row with their legs going forward:
Why this here is called the dry Halong Bay - beat me! It was rather wet...
People working next to the Tourist drive:
After a hearty dinner with the obligated fried rice and fried goat (a local speciality - we even saw them climbing the hills) we called it a day.
Today - OK we did it again - first they laughed at my suggestion of maybe taking motos to the National park: Cuc Phuong NP. Last night they came and offered 2 xe oms for the 130km drive. I can only say - we are back healthy but my butt: it hurts. Finally some kids stuff was on: after tons of "dead" stones and holy buddahs something "alive".We went to see the Endagered Primate Rescue Center and the Turtle Conservatorium. The first place was founded by a German so you find all the monkeys named in German like Heidi, Knut und Schlappi etc... It holds about 140 creatures from 15 species of gibbons, langur and loris. What an effort they take to release them into the wilderness - some kinds are raised here so they won't extinct...monkeys make wonderful medicine in China - well worth 200 - 1000$ each.
At the Turtle farm the kids learned a lot about the why's and what of turltes and that they serve for soup ingrediences as well.
Then another 20 km into the jungle with our motos to see the 1000 yr old tree. It was a pretty strenous loop (on an easy path) 3km in and 3 out --- but it seemed very long -- We came back after 1.75 hours pretty much worn out - no food, water bottle empty BUT it was great. We were walking through swarms of 1000 of butterflies all colors all sizes - just amazing - with the motos we drove through another millions...incredible. (Unfortunately the butterflies don't show on the pics)
Another short climb up 300m to the Cave of the Prehistoric Men was well worth it since the cave was huge--- (we were thinking of you Doris! got the hick ups?) We explored with flash light and camera until Megan almost fell apart being sooo hungry. Fried Buffalo was on the menue - again local food in one of the tiny villages surrounded by the rice paddies.
And that's the guy we ate =)
It was another super day with lots of exercise - just what we needed.
beritfamily - 10. Aug, 12:48
Hallöchen
Eure Tour klingt ja ganz schön anstrengend - aber offensichtlich ist's wert, wenn man so euren Bericht liest. Die Riesenheuschrecke ist ja gigantisch (ich nehme an es ist eine Heuschrecke); so eine haben wir vorgestern im Zoo gesehen.... ist im Tiergarten natürlich nicht das gleiche Erlebnis ;-)
Bezüglich Daniels Geburtstag würde ich einen Wochentag in der Woche vom 23. vorschlagen. Gebe aber euch noch bescheid, wenn ihr wieder zu Hause seid.
Bussi Sabine + Männer