Refreshed after a good night’s sleep and with no rush this morning with it being a day of local transport we jumped in a metered taxi and headed to Giap Bat bus station. One of the main bus stations in Hanoi it was extremely busy but we purchased a ticket for Ninh Binh and followed a cheeky little chappy who took us to the right bus. It was a constant traffic jam of buses trying to leave the station for all destinations and it ended up being an extremely fast journey taking only an hour and a half. It reminded us of the local Bemo’s in Sumatra where the buses race each other for fares, weaving, winding, beeping and yelling out of the open doors. They even drove in the ditches to pick up that extra fare but we arrived in quick time.
On arrival a lovely guy from Queen Mini Hotel checked us into a great place with light spacious rooms and only $7 a night.
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| Queen Mini Hotel |
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| Spacious Room, Wi-Fi and a View. My New Office |
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Ninh Binh is well known for nearby Tam Coc but we did have a wander round the little streets which was great and the people were extremely friendly giving you a real sense of Vietnam. We met a lovely woman who knocked up delicious hot meat sandwiches (we think it might have been the local speciality Goat) from her roadside cafe. I mention this because we went there five times in three days it was that good.
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| Main Road in Ninh Binh |
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| Finally crazy stuff on bikes in Vietnam-Anyone for a broom?... |
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| ...or some cups and bowls... |
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| ...how about a chicken? not many left |
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| Enjoying the Goat. Sandwhich lady over right shoulder |
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Mr Cau gave us a deal on his scooter for the day and we heading off to Tam Coc about 10km away. There we hired a rowing boat to take us down the river for 2 hours where we just kicked back and enjoyed the breathtaking sights of ‘Halong Bay climbing out of the rice paddies’. The lady rowed us with her feet which was pretty impressive as we floated through caves and past people fishing. It could give Halong Bay a run for its money. It does turn into a unique sales experience at the end but we bought our rower a drink and set off back the way we came to see the sights from the other direction. Hopefully the pictures will show the beauty of this place more than words. Taking a boat along the river is a must for only £2 each.
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| About to start our river cruise in Tam Coc |
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| The skill of rowing with your feet |
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| Halong Bay on the Rice Paddies |
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| Moving towards the cave entrance to float through the mountain |
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| Time to duck in the darkness |
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| The Rice Paddies |
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| Locals Clam Fishing |
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Here we go! Let the sales begin...
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Mr Cau had given us a map of the area showing us what to go and see and we spent the rest of the day off exploring the scenic routes where we stopped at the Bich Dong Pagoda which is built into the cliffs on three levels. We also stopped at Hua Cave which had a four hundred step vertical climb (it felt more like 1000) to a shrine at the very top. The panoramic views over Tam Coc were spectacular. It was worth the climb even though we were dripping with wobbly legs. It was another great DIY scooter day in Ninh Binh where getting around on a bike is a must.
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| Bich Dong Pagoda built in the rock face |
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| Travelling the Back Roads Rice Paddies Galore |
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| Hua Cave looks a long way up |
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| 400 steps more like 1000 |
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| Reaching the top was worth it... |
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| Amazing Views off the Backpacker Trail |
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| You can see where Halong Bay on the Rice Paddies comes from... |
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| It really does give Halong Bay a run for its money |
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| Those boats were us a few hours ago |
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| Time to make our way down on wobbly legs |
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Our day was cut a little short on route to Hoa Lu as the dark black clouds appeared overhead. We rushed back and the heavens opened for the heaviest storm we have seen in a long time which went on for hours.
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| The Dark Clouds Appear |
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| Time to Race the Rain |
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| Back to Queen Mini Safe but Soaked |
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The hotel was great, we ate there and were forced to try the rice wine which was lethal, had to politely decline after the third.
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| Home Brewed Rice Wine...The picture says it all |
Ninh Binh itself doesn’t have too much going on but is definitely worth a visit for the surrounding local area and to meet the friendliest people in Vietnam so far. It was a bit of a gamble as we were originally going to Sapa but it paid off.
This left us time to find the local brewery which we couldn’t but we did get to try the famous Bia Hoi Hanoi at a local draught place before coming across a true local beer drinking area on the river bank, this turned out to be a great experience with the locals, they were extremely friendly and this seemed to be the place for local gossip. The place was all about drinking beer with nibbles where we enjoyed a giant rice like papadum. Being our last evening we couldn’t resist visiting the sandwich lady to sample some great local dinner and I tried a Beer NaDa.
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| Kate enjoying her first fresh Bia Hoi Ha Noi |
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| Local brew being poured down at the river |
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| The locals gossip over cheap beer & nibbles |
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| Great beer & atmosphere |
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| Cracking beer nibble. Giant rice popadum |
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| Our Goat Sandwhich Haunt |
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| Preparing for Bia NaDa |
BIA NA DA, LAGER, VIETNAM, 4% ABV, 330ML BTL
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| Still not too sure about this one |
Now nothing that I am going to tell you about this beer is probably accurate or true apart from the taste.
I had never seen the beer anywhere in Vietnam before we arrived in Ninh Binh and the only place I saw it here was at the little street eatery where the Goat Sandwich women fed us every day. Seeing it I knew I had to at least taste it and Oh boy do I wish I hadn’t have bothered.
Probably and easily the worst beer I have tried on the World Adventure so far if not my entire life. At first it had a deep yellow colour when poured and a foamy white head which disintegrated rapidly. There was no cling and no real aroma apart from slight barley and metal. It had very little carbonation and was not very cold which didn’t help but it was clingy if not oily in the mouth and the taste was just so watery. No real malt sweetness and hops/bitterness were non-existent. The only thing I could really taste was the metallic, synthetic flavours that lasted for what seemed forever. I mean even after the meal I could still taste the badness. Not much I can say.
There is a local brewery in Ninh Binh but as I said I have no idea if they brew this beer. The brewery is called Bia NaDa Hoa Xa but Bia NaDa does not exist on line or really in Vietnam for that matter. If you see it which I suspect you won’t have a little chuckle and move on. You have been warned!
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| Bia NaDa |
On that note it was time to leave Ninh Binh and finally get back to Hanoi to explore the capital for a few days which we were lucking forward to. We fancied a change and decided to get the train back to Hanoi which took two hours. We couldn’t believe we hadn’t been on a train since India and it was a welcome change from the gruelling bus journeys. It was a welcome change apart from the screaming kids and noise, nobody seemed to sit still for a second it was like being outside on the streets with people moving backwards and forwards up and down the carriage.
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| Ninh Binh Train Station |
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| It's been a while since we travelled on one of these beasts |
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| A nice change from bus journeys & it might look calm but I can tell you it was carnage... |
Excellent! really interesting
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