An enjoyable day...

Visit to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc on the region of Ninh Binh, 110km south of Hanoi.
Needless to say it took us almost 3 hours to get there...
When I planned this travels I didn't think of it as to be guided. Guides move you about here and there and you go on their command. Not me, Miguelito prefers to read first and do his thing, but hey... when days are planned by the day, to get on a tour or two definitely saves you extra precious hours. No doubt that guides can sometimes be very helpful in taking you to the right places and give you a bit of extra information that makes one appreciate things better...

But not this one!!!!! He could barely speak any english and kept rushing us, even worst then the one the day before.


We got to Hoa Lu, which is today the relics of the ancient capital with the same name, before it changed to Hanoi. The remains are the temples dedicated to King Dinh and King Le, the two heroes who lived in 10th century and chose Hoa Lu to build the citadel of the capital city.
























Fosnhase!! Fazem um gajo ter que levantar as patas a uma altura destas!
Imagina isto nas igrejas em Portugal: ficavam as beatas tudo à porta!! Hmmm... Se calhar ate nao ta mal pensado... ã

Found out that the huge step is present at the entry of all temples. Temples worship heroes and Pagodas worship Buddha. On temples this step is present so one has to look down as he walks in and consequently bow before the King.







Funny how asian people pose for pictures. They always stand stick up, I mean, stand up straight like a stick, hands stiff down along the body and this funny look-at-me-standing-in-flont-of-this-vely-beautiful-monument smile. But these days young generations come out with this new cool attitude: they now make this V for Victory with their little fingers...
Look at them! :)






Xin Chaoooooo!! Always smiling...





Fancy a ride..?

Eh Blééé!! O gaspachinho tava bom!!

After the old capital visit, time to get to Tam Coc and 2 options were available from Han Lou to get there: bus or bicycle. Guess which one he picked...

We cycled for 4km through this congestioned road where buses and motos would pass an inch away from the bike making it shake and raising the levels of adrenaline... and dust! And they always horn to the full, right behind your ears making you jump off the saddle, the f*+ckn b#@st»ds!!

Till we reached the country...

Hey, look! The old man got stoned... And looks thirsty...

Through villages...

'

Hanging off the trees, they would keep asking us to take pictures so yet again they could see themselves on the screen. And they laugh!

And this gentleman actually kissed my shoulder, just like that. He was well over-excited... 'Listen mate, just because you want to play coooool doesn't mean you go around kissing men's shoulders, ok?'

Perhaps its cultural and I was not aware...

Through little pagodas...

Through graves on rice padies(?)... How do you say? 'My son, when I die I want to be drowned in this rice field...'

Comtemplating the views...

And guess who joined us today? Great Maggie! She was thinking of doing tour to Halong Bay but changed her mind when heard about this one, so she asked if she could come along. 'But of course!!!'

We fell behind on our bikes to the rest of the group. The guide, Lance VietArmstrong was going too fast for us. His goal: to get to point A to point B within the short time possible... Everybody was complaining 'coz we couldn't keep up the pace and most of all, we wanted to enjoy the ride.

Whereas most of the group tried to stay close to him, me and Maggie staied last: 'We made it all the way here and we may never come back... And we paied for this, so... let them go ahead... we take our time. Let's have some fun!!'

Aiiiiii moço dum cabrão, sai-me de cima do arroz do tê avôôô!!!

Chegados a Tam Coc, é a loucura! Sábado... Vietcongs aos molhos de arroz a tentar saltar para dentro destes barcos apinhados como milho em maçaroca para um passeio 'romantico'...

At Tam Coc, boat drivers try to fit as many people as possible onto this little boats. When you think there's no more room for someone else you are wrong: There's always room for 3 or for more!

Traffic congestion at the bridge. Sooooo glad these boats don't have a horn!!

Special technique...

Time for an enjoyable time without the pressure of the anxious annoying little guide. Maggie, Tasmanian, lives in Australia with her partner. She was on holiday and went to visit her daughter who lives in Thailand. Every 2 years, Maggie and her partner have a holiday on their own: each one go on a different direction and have separate holiday. When they return to each other they have new stories to tell... Kind'a makes sense to me! Yep... It does...

At the end Maggie rewarded me with this book. Thanks you for your company, we'll keep in touch!

By the time we got back it was getting late. Painful 3 hours journey to get back to Hanoi, running against the clock. No time for dinner, bread and water only. Dropped off at the hotel, got a taxi to the station...

All Aboard!! ... The Night Train!!

...to Lao Cai, on the border with China.

Still some time to have a hot instant noodle soup to comfort the stomach and socialize with other travelers before early bed.

Holland, USA, Australia, Germany, France.

Shared the dorm with this friend and wife and baby... I can still feel the taste of his feet...

Arrival 5.30am at Lao Cai
Destination, Sunday market at Bac Ha.

Shhh... Silence now... Have a good night...

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