We left Hanoi by bus early Monday morning headed southeast along Hiway 1, the major north-south road in Vietnam. Several kilometers out of town, we hopped on our bicycles and started the ride. We eventually ended up at the town of Ninh Binh after about 80 kilometers. The following morning we entered Cuc Phuong National park on our bikes through the country side. Children are very friendly with frequent "hallo"s and, when on the trail they were hand slapping us. I suspect it was the fact that we had on bike helmets and were quite large by their standards.
The National Park is astoundingly beautiful. We spent about two hours being rowed along a river, through rock caves, through rice paddies and open countryside. The area is very poor and peddlers are in key locations. Bargaining is expected but I found it difficult to be too aggressive.
This is truly an amazing country, without the war part.
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