Writing this on the road to Ninh Binh. The place was a highlight when Pip and I visited 5 years ago. Think of those misty mountain Chinese inkwash paintings with craggy Karsts rising from watery fields.
Was almost going to miss out on visiting Ninh Binh as we lost a day or two with Lees coming late. Lee must have been sick of me raving about this Halong Bay on Land, so he suggested I go while he had a day of rest. So that's exactly what I'm doing. It was a good call
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His stroke effects the left side of his body, so there's no control of his leg and arm on that side. But he's had a fierce determination to not let it stop him from doing what he wants to do, so there's heaps of adapting he has had to do.
His speech is now 100% and he now is mentally astute, at the ready to make a quip or joke.
It was a bit of a mad crazy thing to do, to meet up with the crazy old bastard in Vietnam and maybe that's the kind of risk takers we both are. I've had too many years of Independence to sacrifice any of that. My life, wherever that is, will be south of Sydney and his will be north of Cairns.
But so far so good.
It surprised me that he was in his element stepping out into Hang Bo Street with motorbikes, rickshaws and cars coming in each direction, footpaths being taken up with bike parking and street vendors, and both of us cripples managed to squat down on a red plastic stool to tuck into a kind of Pho on the verge between footpath and road. Unable to only use one chopstick and a spoon, he made a right mess, but was ecstatic with the buzz of it.
We booked Monkey Island Tours to take us to Halong Bay. One night on a junk. And one night on Monkey Island. Pip and I did this in 2010 and loved it. We are one of 1000s of tourists going through this UNESCO World Heritage listed place daily but still it is magic.
The serenity of those limestone Karsts rising from the bottle-green depths of calm water is extraordinary. A labyrinth of Karsts, each with steep sided cliffs and it's own unique formation. To lie on the top deck and breath it in is awesome.
Our fellow travellers consisted of 6 Koreans including 3 children, 5 Indians from Tamil Nadu via Mumbai, 2 sullen German Guys, 1really friendly Gujerati guy from Texas, a couple from England, and a retired American couple, Judith and Richard. She was an anthropologist and he a medical professor. They had raised their children in the Congo. So you see us fruit salad of international citizens, bound by the means to travel as tourists.
Our Guide, Can, was good natured, informative and really obliging. Went out of his way to help Lee up steps, onto other boats etc. And the crew just have that essentially Vietnamese qualities of relaxed and friendly efficiency. Nothing is ever a big deal
Meals were fantastic, healthy and varied from banquets to buffets diy spring rolls to BBQ of freshly caught squid, fish and oysters. And great use of choko in many forms to make that old weed delicious.
Monkey Island Resort had been developed since 2010 but not spoilt. Still a bungalow with a beach to ourselves and a place where time stays still. You just feel so relaxed that you want to stay there forever.
(I break here, to announce that today is a very special day. My daughter Nikki got married to Andrew. The beginning of a wedding that will take 2 years to complete - feeling stoked!)
Nikki and I are both Monkeys and I crossed over the mountain to the Monkey Beach. It wasn't far but it was steep with craggy pointed limestone. I took it very slowly and carefully but it was my first bushwalk post hip op blues. Im pretty proud of myself for doing that.
We were rewarded by seeing monkeys on the beach and trees, doing antics of every kind. They can be aggro so a woman with a pole helped keep them at a distance from people if they were getting ready to jump.
It was a full day by the time we got back to Ha Noi. I'm so tired now after another day at Ninh Binh. I'm going to post and be done with it.
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