Day 3, Hanoi to BaBe national park.
After breakfast at our hotel we were collected by Ying and joined a German couple for the 2 night tour.
The picture is not part of the plate but carrots
Romy and Rica are great travel companions and it was most of the day in the car. Our first stop was for naarchies and very strong green tea. Ying bought us a bamboo stick with rice and peanuts inside. It was really tasty. They fill the bamboo with the rice, plug the end and then bake it in the fire.
Pic to come
Lunch was at an ugly restaurant but with plenty of interesting local food.
Rico and Romy
We passed the Samsung factory and Ying told me that the people working there seen to all get cancer after a few years. Sadly they pay a lot so people get tempted to try survive the bad chemicals that are obviously used there. Disturbing.
Ying had lost her cellphone in a bar on Christmas eve, so we stopped at a shop where she got a new one. Electronics and kitchenware seen very cheap here.
After a nausea inducing long windey road we finally reached the national park, a car full of yellowy, green faced people. And it was so worth it! The lake was beautiful and soon after Ying pointed out the villiage we would be staying in.
Our beautiful villiage
Cars are not allowed in the village so we walked with our bags over the bridge.
I thought I'd packed light...look what these guys have, also for 4 weeks travel...
It really is pretty here.
We are staying with a local family in their wooden stilt house and were shown our rooms. Simple but pleasant. Before it got too late we got bicycles from downstairs and headed off for the caves. It was a fabulous cycle past water buffalo, farm houses, dogs, goats and pigs, people taking sand and pebbles out the river, cracking rocks for building I assume. I can't imagine why this is called a national park but it was still beautiful. We got to the cave where we left our bicycles and walked the steep climb up many steps.
They use the leaves of this plant to make indigo colour dye.
At the top, just before the cave entrance Ying stopped us as a venemous snake was on the path. Roy got stupidly close to it for a photograph.
The caves were bigger than I thought.
We couldn't dawdle home as it was getting dark. The midgies were out so sunglasses needed, but soon it was too dark so we just had to endure getting the odd one in our eyes or mouth if we spoke. Cycling in the dark in beautiful Vietnam on our second day here wad quite special.
Our lodgings
W had a lovely dinner with the family and Ying at a table next to us. Have to admit I felt a bit stiff from sitting on the floor all night. Amazed how everyone here seems comfortable sitting like this...do they all do yoga? The father kept giving us a spirit his wife made from rice. Roy liked it and drank mine for me as well as accepting quote a few more...Hope there isn't a headache on its way.
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