Ninh Binh, Tam Coc

I left Cat Ba Tuesday morning. I sat on the deck of the boat, watching the island get smaller and smaller. I hope I will come back one day.

Hanoi was busy as always and maybe seem even more after such a long time on a small island with basically no traffic. I walked to the hotel where my friend Jim left my passport a week ago for visa extensions. I was happy to found it there , all in order.

I spend some time looking for a nice place to stay and found one near center in the fifth floor, for $15. I ate my favorite kebab from the street, than returned to the hotel and fell asleep. I am still fighting the cold.

I left early to catch a train to Binh Minh. I wasn't able able to get the upper class soft seat, so I was stuck on wooden chairs. I got stared at a lot by fellow local passengers, and was glad I only had 2 hours to go.

I got of the train on the small train station in Binh Minh. It took me a while to find a hotel. I spent the evening walking around and trying to find something interesting in this industrial, modern, gray town.

I found few charming little streets near train stations, with old colorful houses, with big wooden doors open to the living rooms. It was interesting walking around in the evening and seeing how people live.

Market in the town was nice, with lot's of tropical fruit and vegetable, cleaning supplies, clothes and even dog meat, which I haven't seen anywhere else yet.

 

Tom Coc

The main attraction of this town is Tom Coc. I hired a motorcycle driver to take me there in the morning.

What a place! Little boats floating on the river, surrounded by huge limestone rock formations, all dark gray and green, contrasting with lime color of the rice patties around.
The boatmen and women use their feet to paddle down the river, all the way deep into this amazing area. There are two caves you go through and every time you get to the other side, there is a new more beautiful scenery waiting for you.

I hiked up the hill to the temple, where you get good view of the river bellow.

It was a lovely day exploring.

I decided to get a hair cut in the afternoon. I haven't got one since I left Czech. I picked one place that looked nice and clean and walked in. The guy and girl working there did not speak any English and it took a while to find out how much cut would be and to explain what I want.

The hair stylist would be so nervous about it, he didn't even want to do it! He drew a picture of the cut to make sure we are both on the same side.

I got my hair washed and let me tell you, it was the best ever hair wash I ever had! She massaged my scalp over and over and than washed and massage my face too. It all took good 20 minutes, ohhh, it felt good.

Than it was time for the cutting. I noticed that his hands were shaking a little. It turned out he never cut tourists hair before. Well he did a great job! At the end he asked the girl to take picture of him cutting my hair with his cellphone and we were all smiles. This is proving that you don't need to speak English to understand each other, if there is a will, there is a way!