Day 54! The night bus was definitely better than what people have told me… but it messed up my sleep schedule and therefore, messed up my posting schedule haha! Sorry for the delay!

I closed my eyes on the night bus and woke up in Ninh Binh!

Maybe I got lucky with what bus I got, but I slept like a rock! I also semi fit in the tiny bed I was given.

One of the issues with putting a motorbike on a bus is that the bus workers will empty your gasoline (they lay the bike sideways).

This makes sense but would leave you stranded in the early morning with no way to leave the bus stop.

Luckily for us, they didn’t empty it and we had enough to get from the stop to the area we were planning on staying.

We did check a few gas stations, but they were all closed at 4am.

But what wasn’t closed was a cafe in Tom Coc, which is just outside of Ninh Binh, and the area I stayed last time in this town!

It was a cramped 20 minute ride in the cold, cloudy morning but we arrived to warm food and drinks.

After eating, we wandered to a homestay near the cafe and hoped someone would be awake to let us in and maybe even have beds available for us.

We unfortunately woke up a very kind lady who owned the homestay, BUT it was worth it because she had beds for us and I spent the rest of the morning sleeping.

The homestay wasn’t a very sociable one, so for lunch it was still just Lea and I.

Since I’d been here recently I knew of a good spot for lunch and this decision kickstarted a wonderful afternoon!

We went to Tom Coc Noodle Soup Restaurant, where I knew the father and son run restaurant was going to be another great meal!

They served a really tasty stir fried noodles with beef and after scarfing it down, the eating didn’t stop there!

Their family invited Lea and I over to their table to join them for more food! And when I insisted I pay for that as well as the food we ordered, they didn’t let us!

The son, who spoke decent English, told me that they want their costumers to feel like a part of their family! I think all restaurants could learn a lot from these two!

After enjoying another delicious meal and goofy conversation, Lea and I ventured to find a warm beverage on the cold day.

I don’t drink coffee, but I tried my first egg chocolate (usually egg coffee). It was an interesting experience and one I’d definitely try again if given the chance!

Once the cup comes out, they light a small fire under the drink. Once it goes out it’s time to drink it! The egg is pretty thick and really captures the flavor of the chocolate and then underneath the layer of creamy egg is where the actual hot chocolate is at.

After enjoying a little bit of warmth, we thought it’d be a good idea to not just sit around and let our exhaustion take the better of us. So we hoped on my motorbike and headed to the Mua Cave!

The Mua Cave is a very popular tourist stop in Ninh Binh. There is a couple small caves… but the main attraction is a hike up 500 steep stone steps to a 360 degree panorama of the town and surrounding landscape!

Even with the haze, it was super pretty and a nice outdoors activity that got me sweating and feeling a lot warmer!

When climbing up the many stairs, which were a bit slippery from the clouds, you’re met with a fork.

One direction leads you to a small Buddhist Pagoda overlooking the valley below! The other direction leads you to a lady Buddha statue and then a small climb to a long stone dragon!

If you’re brave enough, you can climb your way to the back side of the dragon which leads to an awesome view!

The dragon started to get a bit crowded so we decided it was our cue to leave the precarious spot.

On my way down I saw a man wearing a CU Boulder sweater and asked him if he had gone there! Turns out one of his kids currently does and then he returned the question and asked why I was curious.

I told him I went to the University of Kansas and that CU was about to return to the Big 12 and his wife’s face lights up and she says I’m a Jayhawk as well!

If I remember correctly, she said their daughter was going there as well and so we took a picture to share with her!

I of course told them I was the mascot and we dove into a quick chat about KU basketball and how small of a world it was!

This, on top of the lunch with the family at the restaurant, made my day! The second KU alumni/teacher I’ve met while traveling so far and I’m sure they won’t be the last (technically I met someone in London as well that was from Lawrence but didn’t go to KU)!

We then explored the small caves, which weren’t much of anything, and went on a muddy walk through a small forest that led to a rice field.

There was also a small pond with a lily field that we walked through, but the lilies are all dead for the season.

After a fun outing, we made our way back to Tom Coc, where I was craving a Banh Mi! So I went back to a very yummy street cart I went to on my previous visit here!

It was then time to find our bus to Hoi An and have our escape from the cold north planned!

We walked to multiple bus travel buildings and eventually settled on a bus for 750,000 Dong and my bike would cost an additional 450,000 Dong.

It is a long bus ride… but this was a frustrating amount to pay after my cheap bike rides to the north! It is what it is though since I want to keep my motorbike around!

For dinner I got some fried pho (a bit different from the fried instant noodles I’ve been getting).

And then I called it an early night!

Tomorrow we’ll do a bit more exploring of the tourist activities Ninh Binh has to offer before hopping on our night bus to my favorite place in Vietnam, Hoi An!

I can’t wait to get back to the warm weather!

– Elie