Ninh Binh by bus

“There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather”

John Ruskin

We were being taken by bus to Ninh Binh yes it was in the itinerary but we would arrive by bus let’s say the bus was not a luxury coach I think it was the best they could find at such short notice. It was a little bit difficult to comprehend as we drove through extreme rain dark with clouds and everyone in the various villages were busy trying to get everything out of the rain. The photos I took are not worth posting as you can’t see anything g except rain and the lens’s kept fogging up. Eventually we arrived at Emeralda Resort it was on the outskirts of Ninh Binh there was a main building with a number of clusters with maybe 10 suites in each cluster. To get from a once cluster to a dinning room or pool 7 you called an electric buggy to collect you it was wet wet wet but you had to make the most of it I even had a large frog in my room.

The photos of the resort are not mine but taken fro the resorts website shows you how nice it would be on clear day

Information was at times non existent the troops were getting restless I know the company people with us were also in the dark but wait we had paid for a luxury cruise not a bus trip

The first day in Ninh Binh we went into town and visited a church which the french had built but due to poor weather conditions most of it was closed. Next to a local restaurant for lunch let’s say not my favourite offered pizza or hamburger and with starter were meals within themselves so much food

Then we moved onto other activities nearby weaving bamboo baskets, sticky rice cake making, and then a cultural show where we were invited to dance

Weather was still extremely wet and caution was number one priority when you walked

That night once we returned we had a group meeting with Pandaw leader with us and the head of sales joined by phone. I’m not sure if he really understood our annoyance and frustration at the lack of communications and how we all felt we were wondering from one hour to the next.

We all returned to our bungalow before going for dinner, At dinner we had a printed itinerary and were told that the coach was about to be upgraded and we would travel to Mai Chau on the 13 September. For those travelling to Sapa we were told we should cancel due to land slides and flooded caused rain and water being released from a dam in China

Next day we went to the limestone rock formation that Ninh Binh is famous for our guide said it has been closed due to river level being so high but at least we go to see it was excellent the sun even tried to shine.