Road Trip in Vietnam Day #2

Day #2 in Vietnam! We rented a motorbike and joined the river of traffic south on Highway 1A. Our aim was Ninh Binh, where we were supposed to see limestone peaks jutting from the rice paddies. However, Daniel reminded me the wise counsel that it is not about the destination but the journey. Indeed our whole time in Vietnam was a journey together!

You'll see Daniel in the back left of this photo, but I took this one while we were filling our tank to show how common it is to have fancy nicely dressed women riding around the city on motorbike. Even when I bought a dress later, the shopkeeper suggested I wear the dress and not worry about going on the motorbike. "I often do it, no problem!" she assured me. Women in the Philippines, at least where I live, rarely drive any vehicles, not even motorbike or bicycle!

Here we are at a random stop getting some shade and rest from the dusty roads. Notice my Vietnam map--a find from a bookstore in Hanoi. Notice also I am NOT driving the bike! I don't think I could keep it balanced, and I certainly would not have the courage to face the traffic like Daniel did! I'm a content rider. (We also do not have a photo of both of us on it, since we obviously did not want to hand our camera to someone random while we drove past!)

Down the road, on the "journey", we hit our first roadblock--a flat tire. The bike started wobbling and I got nervous. Daniel pulled over, and praise God, at that very same place "happened" to be a bike shop! We just wheeled it in to the back of this guy's house, he fixed it in no time, and we were off! This is Daniel chilling with his family. I love how the whole family lives at the place the dad works.

South of Hanoi we got excited to see some rural views that were lovely! Limestone crags and green fields.

Rice paddies reflecting the creation of God.

We passed tons of crazy vehicles, but here's one I caught while my camera was out--a guy on motorbike carrying two balancing huge pots!

Lovely rural scenes with boats. I love Vietnam! There was so much we didn't see--hopefully you can go someday too!

Tons of various cemeteries on the way--I think these had some chinese influence (judging by the writing). I like to see how people are buried in various countries.

The sunlight was really striking these graves in a colorful way. I wonder the significance of the roofs of these graves--I'm sure it's religious since I've seen this same pattern in religious buildings in China and Hanoi.

Another Vietnamese woman--I love seeing how they carry things on bikes. Again, in the Philippines it is not common for me to see women on bikes, but in Vietnam it is very common indeed. It truly must be cultural, because it is so practical.

It's hard to capture the feel in one picture, but it reminds me of the day.

A timed photo out in the middle of nowhere. I love my brother!

Me and the ducks!

This was a national geographic find. We tried to avoid the other major tourist spots and found this one off the beaten path on our own! The little town was so interesting and unique, and the valley vast and refreshing.

I cannot name this city on the blog since we feel it is our best kept secret! If we were to come back here it would be populated with tons of tourists, in just a few years, I'm sure! You could tell that they were getting ideas about renting boats to us and having us stay overnight. Daniel was telling him "The sun is setting and we have to go back to Hanoi tonight!" The local man was skeptical that we would make it back...clouds were looming and dark was coming.

Water buffalo, or Carabou, I'm glad to see these friendly animals in Vietnam (also in Philippines). We made it back that night in the dark but I was glad the following day to have a more relaxed day...A full day but good to see a bit of the countryside.