I can officially drive anywhere

We rented motorcycles and headed out into the countryside, taking the backroads at first, driving through small communities with roads that resemble paths through the woods. Lots of concentration and plenty of bouncing around (thank god for sports bras!). As we drive through some of the villages you get a real taste for the life in Vietnam. Lots of hard physical labour, a sense of real community and smiles everywhere. We were constantly greeted by children running out into their yards screaming "hello, hello..what your name?" Occasionally that is followed by an outstretched hand and the word 'money', but here in Ninh Bihn that is the exception not the rule.

Mostly they are just happy to see you, practice the few words of english they know and move on their way. We wound our way through the back roads, no real destination in mind. The countryside is breathtaking so there were many pit stops so that we could take photos or just sit and admire the countryside.

We ended up on highway 1 for about 14km and that is where the real excitement begins. Dust is flying everywhere, buses drive past blaring their horns, bikes merge onto the highway without looking expecting you to accommodate them. Oncoming traffic in your lane does not budge but expects you to move further over (into the ditch if required) to make room for them. It took about 20 minutes to get where we were going and I am certain that I aged about 3 years in that amount of time. We returned to the guesthouse covered in a thick layer of dust but still with smiles plastered on our faces.

At one point driving past a field we stopped to take pictures of some people working in the fields. I decided to go out and visit with them. From the moment I arrived, I was greeted with smiles and the man proceeded to speak rapidly in Vietnamese explaining what they were doing in the field. He, his wife and their daughter were crouched down with knives, cutting away. I borrowed his wife's knife and proceeded to work for a while. They sat there smiling and laughing. They were clearing the field (by hand) in preparation for the next harvest of rice. Hard work..in the hot sun. We have such an easy life in comparison. Gave them all Canada pins and they smiled and waved at us until we were just dots on the horizon to them.

Yesterday we rented bicycles and bounced our way down more backroads. Today we plan on making the long hard climb up Bich Dong Pagoda. Not sure how many steps there are...but from the bottom it looks endless.