All Vietnamese Drivers are Crazy

Crazy crazy for sure. We never stop being amazed by how hair-raising even the smallest drive is. The basic rule of thumb is: The biggest vehicle on the road is the King and the smaller ones must submit to it. However, so far all our drivers (in cars) seem to have complexes and try to 'own' the road themselves. White knuckle stuff. Today for instance in Ninh Binh, our driver, while dodging motorbikes by centimetres and swerving around trucks by inches, looked like he was sunning himself at the beach, so far was his seat back.

Anyway, it has been a fun few days, we managed to see alot more of Hanoi on the 1st of December after getting off the night train from Sapa at 5am. By the end of the day we were bloody knackered having been to 3 museums, the Army museum, army prison museum and the Ho Chi Minh Museum. After a hearty meal of pho (noodle soup) and some gourmet ice cream we were ready for a rest at the hotel.

Last day in Sapa










Pics from the Hanoi Museums






For our last night in Hanoi, we went right back to basics and sat down at one of the many draft beer stalls on the side of the road. The beer at these stalls is called 'bia hoi' and sells straight out of the keg for 3000 Vietnamese Dong a glass, or in NZ terms, wait for it...around 30c! It wasn't long before we joined a group of other travelers who were stoked to meet some Kiwis.

Long story short, Anna hit the wall at 10pm and had to go back to the hotel where she got a bit more closely acquainted with the toilet bowl....don't worry, the hangover only lasted till lunch the next day and we were fighting fit for the train to Ninh Binh. We won't be taking advantage of the cheap beer for a while.

The train to Ninh Binh was a chance to get up close with a lot of Vietnamese people as this is one of their main forms of transport around the country. We were the only travelers on our carriage and there was an assortment of young and old Vietnamese on the train. The babies and children over here are so cute and will often give us a big grin and a wave.

When we arrived at Ninh Binh we had barely stepped off the train when we were immediately called over by a Vietnamese man with very bad teeth. Mr. Luong, as it turned out is the owner of one of the Hotels we read about in the Lonely Planet. First impressions aside we have realised that although Mr. Luong is one of the definite 'characters' of Ninh Binh he has a real dark side. His fiery temper has been on display towards his staff today and there have been constant disputes between travelers and himself when it comes to the bill. Luckily ours was sorted easily, dodged a bullet there!!

Traveling around Ninh Binh today was a blast, we saw the countryside properly for the first time. It felt like we were seeing the real Vietnam. We went to Cuc Phuong National Park and saw the Endangered Primate center and also did a two hour trek through the jungle. In the afternoon we went on a two hour motorboat ride past a number of villages that rely on the river for everything. Food, washing and irrigation for the rice paddies.

Cuc Phuong National Park





Ninh Binh and Boat ride












By far the craziest thing we have done so far is rented a motorcycle and gone for a blat around Ninh Binh. It was very interesting trying to drive like a Vietnamese National. I'd love to say I opened the throttle and gunned it around the back roads, but the truth is we sat at a solid 40km everywhere on the old Honda we hired. We didn't find what we were looking for outside Ninh Binh but it was definitely fun and Anna said it was comfy on the back seat. However, we've both agreed that it was a first and a last!





We are off to Dong Ha on the night bus tonight. Should be a good ride and a comfy sleep if the pictures are anything to go by. Tomorrow we plan to check out all the old Vietnam War sites in the De-militarised Zone.

Signing off,

Anna and Jamie