Waking up in Phong Nha, we didn't know we had three rainy days of slow progress & mechanical misadventures ahead of us. We got up early with our Austrian roomies who had a 6:30am bus to catch. Had an eggy breakfast at the Easy Tiger, made friends with this timid turtle (later named Clarence after a guy to whom he bore a striking resemblance), topped up our fuel tanks, and set off.
To start with the riding was picturesque and the local kids weren't camera-shy. All was well with the world.
Pretty soon it started bucketing down, but we'd wrapped everything in a couple of layers of plastic so we just dug our heels in and tried to gain as much ground as possible. It was all going splendidly until Bry ran out of petrol. We coasted down a fortuitous incline towards the sound of voices echoing off the hills, and came upon a merry band of drunken men sheltering under a tarp by some beehives. We showed them the empty fuel tank, and one started yelling at the top of his lungs. I think he was telling the neighbour over the hill to keep an eye out for us. Then they pointed off into the distance and held up five fingers, which might have meant anything. We pushed on, and sure enough after about five minutes, here was a guy who understood enough of Bry's charade to put his lunch aside and sell her half a plastic jug full of '92 unleaded. Meanwhile Blandy played a spot of football with the lads on the road, blissfully unaware that her electric ignition and kick-start had both called it quits for the day.
What followed was the first of many rolling crash-starts (at which we are both now quite proficient). To cut a long story short, we have probably spent about 9 hours since then at a total of three roadside mechanics. We've munted the throttle, broken the brake cable, and replaced all manner of pipes and pistons. We've watched these ingenious little crouching men with their collections of wives and offspring tear the guts of that bike apart and put her back together with bits of string and toothpaste (honestly! Blandy sniffed it to be sure). It's been an eye-opening interlude.
Having woken to this scene of suburban domesticity out our hotel window, we hit the road once more and this time made it, finally, all the way to destination Ninh Binh.
Ninh Binh itself is not much to rave about, but it's right on the doorstep of some pretty impressive natural wonders. We decided to take a boat ride at the stunning Trang An Grottoes.
It was about a three hour return trip. We shared the boat with a Vietnamese couple, and the four of us paddled with typically Vietnamese makeshift oars while our guide probably narrated a fascinating account of the local geology and history which we will never know.
In places the water was so clear we could see the fish-life swimming amongst the lilies. The boat trip took us through numerous caves that were so low in parts we had to bend right over and put our heads between our knees in case we scraped them on the rocky ceiling.
Some of the cave systems we paddled through were over 250m long and so dark inside that the sunlight glared into our eyeballs when we emerged.
The other interesting thing about our boat ride at Trang An Grottoes was all the Temples and Pagodas that we visited. It's like an alien landscape out there, so far from the traffic and noise of the city, and you paddle through so many ponds and underground channels amidst so many mountains that you think you must be lost. And then suddenly out of nowhere springs this intricate structure, resplendent with statues and altars. Everyone starts praying and lighting incense and placing down offerings. It's very surreal.
All in all it was a very beautiful, calming way to spend a morning. We were grateful that our long journey of many breakdowns had come to an end (for now) and that the sun had been good enough to make an appearance. Definitely recommend the boat trip at Trang An Grottoes.
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