A world apart

Fair warning for you sensitive souls. You might want to skip this one.

We left Hanoi like bats out of hell. Destination: calm. Stepping off the train in Ninh Binh, I knew we’d made the right call. Peace, quiet. Then a scooter blasted me with his horn and I startled. I’m back in ˋnam, man! Dark, I know, but I was truly feeling very jangled after Hanoi.

We grabbed a cab. Trang An was our first stop, a small town in this area which is known as Ha Long Bay on land. All the beauty and half the tourism of Ha Long Bay. An ideal destination. We arrived after nightfall, which is one of the underrated pleasures of travel because it leads to surprise mornings.

Which is what we got. The province of Ninh Binh is known for its karst spires surrounded by lakes. A stunning landscape.

We took a walk to the market in the morning before breakfast and saw a pile of tied-together live chickens. I said, oh, that’s where the chicken noodle soup I ordered for breakfast at the hotel is coming from. I know that supermarket meat comes from somewhere, but I don’t often have to see that somewhere. Then we saw the roasted dog, partially covered by a dish towel, for sale. Oh hell, my life is so sanitized. Pets or meat. I can’t even imagine. Not the surprise I’d signed up for.

The thing to do here is take a boat ride. It’s a 3 1/2 hour loop, taking you through several caves, with stops at island temples. Four people in a boat with a single rower, usually a tiny woman. Once again, I’m feeling sheltered and lucky.

Trang An is a much smaller town than our second stop in this province, Tam Coc, which is more of your standard gap-year destination. The main drag is lined with T shirt shops, scooter rentals and bus tours, hostels, smoothie stands, cocktail bars, and the ubiquitous banana pancakes. Roast dog vs the backpacker special.

We got to our hotel and melted.

We decided to make Tam Coc a vacation. We wouldn’t see any sights or get in or on any vehicles for the next 5 days. We drank coffee, swam, read, drew. We walked to the strip twice a day where we found a couple of restaurants serving damn good food for a pitance.

At the end of our stay, I was charged up with quiet and was ready to head back into the storm. I didn’t know that would be literally. Next up, our first typhoon !

Onward!

Maer