Phew.

Ninh Binh has not been the kindest to us.
Beginning with the train. We were the only foreigners on it, so it seemed, and just before our stop, the conductor firmly poked my arm and allerted me "Ninh Binh!" as he walked by. we started to get our bags ready but were unsure of which direction to go from there, which ended in the condoctor running back and yelling at us in Viatnemese to get the hell off, to the laughter of the entire train as we bashfully ran out from the wrong direction.

Things didn't get much easier from there. No real map apparently exists of this city and we wandered for over an hour searching for the streets our trusty notes told us we'd find one of our guesthouse options. We finally found one one a bit pricier and less homey than we'd like, but after hours of wandering with backpacks and getting unfriendly stares, it would do.

There are many natural wonders around this city, but móst are impossible to get to unless you hire a car (very expensive). There isn't any public transportation that could take us to any of our destinations, and we decided to rent bicycles and pedal off to the one adventure we could realistically make it to. Our first day went alright. We rode around the village and saw the limestone cliffs rising out of the rice paddys, then rode back to our hotel.

Today, we wandered the streets for another hour or so in search of a cheaper guesthouse before giving up and realizing we wouldn't make it to the national park an hour away (with a hired driver) or any of the other recommended hot spots, so we purchased the night bus to the next town for this evening.

After our decision to cut our losses and get out, we rented the bikes for our second ride out to the village. (An interesting place! Beautiful and mysterious. Many skittish dogs waiting to be cooked.)

This time, we purchased the highly reccommended boat trip through the caves (Tam Coc).
On our trip thus far, we've encountered many requests for money from most everyone around us in various tones and ways. Lately, it's gotten a bit more intense. Vietnamese people are a bit more obvious and pushy about it than Thai, so it seems.

After being told we had to pay a fee to park our bikes, we were ready for our boat journey. Our rowing man spoke to every other (there were many) boat rower that passed and judging from their laughter and suspicious looks at us I figured we may be the subject of conversation.
After a short way down river as he was schmoozing with the boat next to us, they suddenly rowed alongside and a Viatnamese woman hopped from their boat into ours.

Soon after, we were rowed alongside a boat selling drinks and snacks and told "Buy for your guides, Viatnamese gift!" So we bought a beer for our rower. Within minutes, the woman in our boat brought out item after item for us to purchase, after we told her we didn't have any more dollars to spend. "Yes! You have bucu money!" She repeatedly firmly poked us and showed us tablecloth after tablecloth, as we attempted in vainenjoy the view (for which we'd already payed "tourist fees"). Finally, we were approaching dry land. "Tip! Tip! Two tips! One for each!" I pointed to the beer, and they yelled "No! Tip!" We shook our heads and hoped they'd still let us off.
Thankfully, they did -- although another family ran away so panic stricken from their boat I'm not certain they got off as easily.

We were glared at, growled at and spat at by the local children (who I sadly also saw throw things at a miserable chained up monkey... "cultural differences"...)

After seeing a mountaintop temple, being hassled by 3 more people for various "tips" we felt obligated to give, dinner at one of the many local joints with Dog, Cat, and Goat Penis on the menu, we were ready to head back.

Though I knew we'd experience many different and educational cultural experiences, some places you just don't feel you are wanted in for long.

As Kevin said, this trip isn't always necessarily "fun". We have essentially one outfit each (we really need to do laundry) and though we've been told these countries are "welcoming" to tourists, I think a lot of the people here resent our presence. I am intrigued by their culture and awed by all the beauty, but sometimes it feels like we are awkward gawkers staring as they attempt to live out their lives.
I hope the people we encounter in our near future don't mind our curiousity, and again look forward (after the 10 hour bus ride that awaits us) to the next destination.