Thurs 30 Mar
Had to be up early as had a minibus transfer back to Dong Hoi at 6 .30am. Driver picked us up from the Tiger Hostel and we wove through back streets and fields to pick up 7 others from the Tiger Hostels home stay location. What a beautiful setting, they had a huge patio and BBQ area overlooking all the paddy fields. 4 of the folk we picked up were from Edmonton and were also travelling for around 3 months so we had a good chat to them – older than us and had done lots of travelling over the past 4 years – usually finish in style by taking a cruise – this time heading to Japan for a cruise home – via Alaska! We dropped them at the small airport first and then we were dropped at the station – about 90 mins to spare so braved eating at a street café outside the station – ordering egg & baguette with v strong Vietnamese coffee! Hopped on the 915am train when it came and had our longest journey yet – 8 hours to Nihm Bihn. Just read and did some blogging and ate the fruit we had bought the day before, had some packet noodles which I got from the restaurant cart, just had to boil water in the kettle which each compartments seems to have lying around! Started passing some pretty rice paddies and limestone karts dotted randomly around, also suddenly an increase in concrete plants – huge storage bins and rock crushing plants everywhere – ruining the very picturesque surrounds! Met on arrival at the train station by a taxi that had been organised by Nimh from the Nihm Binh homestay. We were arriving too late for a local bus transfer so it was great to have the luxury of a car taking us to the door! Took about 45 mins to get to the home stay as it was in the Van Long area, near Nihm Binh! It was quite a way out and in the middle of small streets and alleys – never would have found it on our own! We really were staying in the middle of the local neighborhood . Taxi set fee organised by Mihn was D200,000. Their home, parents home and 3 guest bungalows were centered around a bit of a courtyard with a pond off to one side. The bungalows were new and made of red brick and we paid CA$33 per night, they would make dinner for US$5 extra pp per nt. The rooms were nice and spacious and the bathrooms in the typical SE Asian style with the shower just in the middle of the bathroom, not separated from the toilet or wash basin! So the whole floor gets soaked when you take a shower! Mihn & his wife, Pho, are in their early 30’s and have a little girl of 4, and a baby due in August. They were very sweet and welcoming, wanting to ensure we had everything we needed! For many Vietnamese people the only possibility of making decent money is to be involved in tourism, therefore so many guesthouses are being built everywhere, and if not a guesthouse or home stay then any tourism related business so they can make some real money! As we were already quite late we didn’t have the heart to ask for dinner from them so Nimh told us where to go to find restaurants nearby . He had bikes that we could use for free so we headed off on our small bikes in search of food! We were really in the middle of the back and beyond so restaurants were a little hard to find – but we went into one that had a whole bunch of young locals eating – seems like they all worked in the resort hotel down the road and were about to go onto night shift! Had noodles and chicken or something pretty straight forward – prices in US$ on the menu never a good sign – convinced them to give us the local menu! Of course they all knew Nihm and his home stay – small town so they all know each others business! Rode back to the home stay in the dark and luckily managed to find it! Unpacked our bags and settled in to another new abode. There appeared to be another couple in one of the other bungalows but we didn’t see them.

Fri 31 Mar
We woke up hearing the rain…oh no, not what we wanted here in Nihm Bihn as the scenery is so spectacular! Had a lovely breakfast on our little patio – fruit and eggs and toast with coffee. The rain persisted and the wind picked up! We had looked at the forecast and so were expecting this so had planned to spend the day visiting the nearby Van Long Nature Reserve on bikes! We lazed around waiting for it to lighten up and for the rain to stop, and finally headed out about 11.30. We rode around a nearby small resort and then around the streets to find a restaurant – found a big one on the main road – expecting a group to arrive any minute as they were also a cooking school . Had many bikes parked outside – all for the group to go cycling to the Reserve after cooking. Had a good meal of Pho and ventured back in to the light rain to explore the dykes running next to the river. The further out we rode the windier it got and started to rain much harder so called an end to the day and went back to the home stay to watch videos on the tablet and dry out! Really lazy rest of the day, until Mihn called us for dinner. He had set up a table for us overlooking his pond and made delicious spring rolls, stir fried chicken dish and a huge platter of cooked veg (no idea what the one was, even though he showed us a pic on the internet we still couldn’t get the English word!), rice, and pork fingerlings wrapped in a spinach like herb and fried. Very tasty and finished off with fresh fruit! What a feast for US$5 each! We were the only ones staying this night. We went to bed praying for the weather forecast to be right and for it to be sunny in the morning!
 
Sat 1 April
Sunshine and beautiful blue sky! The storm had blown through!   Again had a lovely breakfast on our little cramped table on the patio (Vietnamese are so small – couldn’t even sit with our legs under the table) then set off on the scooter rented from Mihn – earphones in and directed by Google we wended our way through Nihm Bihn which was a little busier than we liked (poor Al did wonders negotiating the traffic and melee of bikes) – lost my cheap Costco glasses along the way so I was a little stuck for reading the phone . Needed cash from the ATM and couldn’t find one that had Cirrus logo and that would distribute more than 1 Mill Dong at a time – the ATM fees are very hefty in Asia as they know all the tourists are using them for money these days! Did spot an Optometrist though so ran in and asked for some cheap cheap glasses with 2.5 strength – had to write down as didn’t speak English – managed to get a pair of wire framed ones that did the job for about $3 US. We Traveled about 30 min to get to Tam Coc, an area of endless rice paddies and limestone cliffs where we wanted to take a row boat along the Ngo Don River to admire the surreal scenery. It is extremely touristy and has endless boats at the ready to paddle you along the waterway. We bought our ticket from the boat office (D120,000 pp) and set off with our lady rower to follow the flow of boats through the 3 caves (Tam Coc). The peaceful journey takes just under 2 hours and many of the rowers resort to using their feet to propel the oars. They certainly do have to work hard to keep the steady pace, and of course they take the opportunity to try and sell you some of “their” needle craft wares like table cloths or pictures (you see the same ones in all the souvenir shops!) . The scenery was absolutely stunning a day I can see why we had been told to defiantly visit this area. Going through the caves was a beautiful experience and just perfect time to sit back and absorb the scene around you. We had been warned by the LP guidebook that the rowers can get a little nasty about tips and start asking for them before arrival back at the dock. Needless to say she started explaining that she didn’t get paid much and a tip would be appreciated, we had already decided to give her a big tip at the end so very annoying when they start demanding it! As we weren’t going to give it to her till the boat arrived back at the dock we felt pretty irritated! As a tourist the things that annoy the most is that behavior that you tend to see in the very busy areas and with taxi or tuk tuk drivers that rip you off! Ruins your day! In the areas behind the karsts many concrete plants are being built and not only are they ruining the scenery but plumes of smoke and pollution billow out of chimney stacks, such a shame! Had a coffee to rejuvenate the spirits and continued on the scooter in search of the Bich Dong Pagoda. Beaut drive through the farmlands, passing water buffalo, goats and chickens. Arrived at the Pagoda to find the next group of hands out tying to rip off tourists with hefty scooter parking fees ( these are not controlled by the site’s but any old Tom, Dick or Mary can demand fees). Found parking by a café that we planned to have lunch at and parked the scooter for free! The Bich Dong Pagoda is a cluster of cave temples set on 3 levels, a little unremarkable but provided a good view over the fields – we found a walk nearby that took you to the top of a ridge and gave you a lovely view of a small lake, shack and palm trees below. Very picturesque! Had lunch in the café with the locals, another case of pointing at pictures to order. Now ready to tackle a climb up to the Mua Cave lookout, we set off in search of the place. Down another sleepy road between the rice paddies we found it, again a barrage of people trying to get you to pay and park but luckily got the tip from LP that you must breeze past them and parking is free inside the gates ! Shows you should do your research before going as most people getting sucked into the parking trap! You pay a small entrance fee for the site. There is a stone path that zigzags up the limestone karsts giving you a fairly steep climb to the lookout. Passed a bride & groom climbing up to have their photos taken – brave as they do this all before the big day so the dress can get dirty and in this case when we saw her on the way down, she had a rip in the lace! The view from the lookout on the top was phenomenal and had us in awe! Fabulous views over the fields and lime karsts when looking over the one side and sunning views of the river that we had been at earlier, the rowers still going strong down below! Sat up there for a while just soaking it all in, got chatting to a Kiwi couple for a while. Climbed down the steep steps and went into the cave which really wasn’t much to look at so not the draw card on this stop! Time was ticking on and we still wanted to do the 20 min drive to the massive Chua Bai Dinh, Buddhist complex. We belted along, passed the Trang An Grotto complex where the Vietnamese tourists flock to have a similar experience to the Tam Coc one. Weird that there is such a division in the 2 attractions with all the foreign tourists generally going to Tam Coc and its not the cost as they are both pretty similar! We soon saw a huge pagoda and complex looming up on a mountainside so knew we were going the right way. Arrived in a massive car park, full of buses and scooters – no avoiding the bike guards here! We had to buy a ticket for the electric bus to take us the 5km to the entrance of the complex! We really had no idea how huge the whole complex was and how popular it is with local tourists! Very few foreign tourists around and I can see why – it was completed in 2014 and is very bland and dull! The entrance leads to cloistered walkways with over 500 stone “enlightened Buddha’s” lining the route to the main triple roofed Phap Chu pagoda. This holds a 10m bronze Buddha – flanked by 2 others. On one side is the large 13 storey pagoda we saw from the road and up a small hill to a giant Buddha on the top. This is the biggest temple complex in SE Asia and so exhausting to walk around at the end of a long day! Couldn’t wait to leave and then found we either had to walk back about 5km to the bus or take the 3km shortcut to the car park. By now exhausted and fed up of the place, darkness setting in, we still had a 30 min drive back to the Homestay! Made it back – me wearing sunglasses in the dark and luckily Alan remembered his sunglasses had a clear lens that he could change over – luckily because you had to be wearing something on the scooter with all the bugs and dirt flying in your eyes! Arrived back for a quick shower and another of Mihn and Pho’s tasty dinners at the home stay. There was a Dutch family who had arrived at the home stay and so they were hopping with the dinner – we were too tired to be sociable so just ate and then put our feet up in the room! We had been lucky with the weather that day and so squished so much in.