Amongst Nature

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Breakfast was served downstairs on a huge wooden coffee table. There was bananas, a burger and a cup of coffee to wash it all down. It may not have been called a burger in Vietnam but it looked like one.

Following breakfast we were issued with our 2 bikes ready to explore the Tam Coc area together with two Vietnamese hats. We could use the bikes to follow little streams that meandered through huge limestone Karsts. We took several paths with beautiful scenery and we could see the little local boats giving tourists a tour on the water. There was lots to see in a beautiful area.


We used the bikes to explore the natural landscape, ancient pagodas and caves. It was a great adventure and we loved being freeee!

We decided to go to the train station after our day of exploring to buy our onwards tickets whilst we still had our bikes. The only problem was it was getting dark and it would take us half an hour to get there! We decided to be brave, or foolish, and set off along the main road. The traffic was horrific and we had some pretty awful roads and roundabouts to cross. There appear to be no rules on the road so you just have to dodge everyone else. If something big is heading your way ... MOVE!

By the time we had reached the station down some pretty awful roads we relaxed a little. We purchased our train tickets with no problem but they were not as cheap as we had expected. Now it was pitch black and we needed to ride the 6km back again.

We decided to set off but to look for a restaurant to eat dinner and wait for the traffic to ease. There was nothing in Ninh Binh but further down the road a big smile invited us in. Smiling is not something the Vietnamese do easily from what we've seen. Music was playing and we were shown what was on offer. It looked edible so we took our seats. A cup of herbal tea arrived and we enquired about the song that was playing. 

We didn't find out what song it was because they thought we wanted to sing karaoke! They turned on the mics attached our phone to the massive blooth tooth speaker and BAM we were in! They replayed the song that had been playing as we arrived. We liked the song but hadn't a clue what the words were. We took it in turns to make complete fools out of ourselves with the mics. We can just imagine what stories the locals will be telling tonight.



"These 2 foreigners turned up, took over the Karaoke and were terrible."

We enjoyed our dinner of Pho Bo (beef noodle soup), paid up and left as quick as we could. Facing the pitch black dangerous road was better than more karaoke! We continued our journey amongst the traffic and arrived safely home.

It was a frightening experience for us but we were not the only 2 cyclists out in the dark with no lights and no helmets. There were loads of locals, some probably in there 80's. Don't try this at home kids!!!


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