Brilliant ingenuity. Water wheels used to move water uphill. |
Just like our previous two days, we found great pleasure in meeting the locals and observing them going about their day. For the most part, people would engage us. A few seemed amused by the kids (read: loud American kids). We passed this one farm with a husband and wife busily working. My kids just had to stop when they spotted their mama dog and her new pups. I felt guilty that we were in the way of people trying get real work done. We finally managed to DRAG the kids away.
But, once we got into the village, we were the ones being followed (hahaha). Groups of kids walked by, circled back, and walked by again. Little waved from their stilt houses. Kids on bicycles navigating the same dirt paths shyly glancing at us when they passed. What do they think of us?
Trekking through a village, we popped out somewhere roadside and lo and behold there was the car waiting for us. Oh, wow - I was suddenly aware that this car was super clean. You could tell that the driver took pride in the upkeep of his vehicle. We were sooo dirty. Gingerly, we climbed in. Back in the car, we headed towards Ninh Binh with plans to stop somewhere along the way for lunch. We were enjoying all the passing sights (incredible things you see here) when Molly started to complain of car sickness. Her complaining got worse and we worried that she would throw up. Oh, that would be bad. In. The. Pristine. Car. We decided that we should get her a bite to eat, but for some reason couldn't find anywhere to stop. So, we stopped at a sugar cane juice stand. Well, this was neat. Yay, for car sickness. Just kidding. The mom and a whole lotta kids here got a big kick out of us. Quite a delightful stop even though it turned out that none of us care for sugar cane juice. But, we can all say we tried it! There was nothing else sold here and by this time, we were all feeling ready for some lunch. Back in the car, we were practically begging to stop at the next suitable place.
Whoa, thank the stars above, we stopped for lunch. Never was a bowl so welcomed! That one really hit the spot.
We finished our adventure with a return back to Tam Coc Garden. Rolled in so muddied, dirty, and smelly that the staff exclaimed "Whoa, where did you guys go?!"
This stinky family is off to shower, but we will never wash off the soul-changing LIFE effects from this off the beaten path, off the grid, kissed by clouds hiking adventure.
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Squeaky clean and celebrating! |
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Chairs?! Hahahaha |
We left the bulk of our luggage at Tam Coc Garden and scaled down to a couple backpacks and 2 carry-on sized bags. We brought plenty of mosquito repellent (not really needed) and sunscreen (needed). Cooling towels worked wonders! You will need good hiking sandals/shoes especially if you encounter rain, but also bring flip-flops for around the home stays. I still recall with a chuckle that moment when we rolled into Tam Coc's lobby feet and legs caked in mud.
This was definitely one of the BIGGEST highlights of our overall Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia trip and was in fact, the BEST thing we did in Vietnam. Ready for YOUR Vietnam trek?
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