January 20, 2015. We started out this morning for Hoa Lu that was the capital of Vietnam during the 10th century .  We visited the remains of two temples.  One had offers of crackers and beer that had been left by people worshipping that particular king.  Incense is big in these temples, too.  Strong incense. It's enough to make your eyes burn.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside but there were two people on the grounds with water buffaloes that were more than happy to let you take their picture, for a fee.  The guide, Bon, had warned us about the people who would take our pictures and then try to sell them back to us.  No one in the group got sucked into that.
Then it was time for the bike ride.  The 16 kilometer ride.  Stella and three other women opted out.  I rode 12 kilometers and then decided to give it up.  Especially after one of the women crashed on her bike.  We had turned off the pavement by then and it was bumpy dirt with potholes.  Eileen wasn't hurt so that was good.  The ride was billed as leisurely.  Not a race, Bon kept saying.  Uh huh, sure.  As soon as we started out, the men went FOOMPH and were off.  Nothing leisurely about their pace. I honestly didn't think I was in that bad of shape but I certainly didn't try to keep up with them.

When I decided to ride in the truck the rest of the way, I climbed in the cab.  The driver didn't speak English so we nodded at each other and started off.  When we got to the "turn in the bikes place" I didn't know what to do so I stood around for a few minutes wondering if the others were going to find me.  The driver pointed at the restaurant across the street.   So I went over and didn't see anyone from the group although I knew we were supposed to have lunch after the ride.  I'm standing outside watching for the riders to get there.  And watching and watching and watching.  15-20 minutes go by and I'm beginning to wonder if they would ever find me again.  It's a weird feeling to be in a foreign country with no idea what to do and no way to communicate with anyone.  I was getting increasingly worried about this when the rest of the riders showed up.  Thank god.  We go upstairs for lunch and there's Stella and the other 3 ladies having a beer.  Their comment:  oh we didn't see you.  Sigh.  Oh well it all came out ok.

After lunch, we went to the river and climbed into two person sampan boats.  The women row them with their feet which is amazing to see.  Stella was in the middle and I was in front.  Another woman climbed in beside Stella and paddled.  It was a two hour boat ride up and back to the dock.  We went through two caves which was cool.

I have lots more to tell you about today but it will have to wait.  Still on jet lag and tired.  Tomorrow, we go out on Halong Bay for an overnight stay on a boat.  I doubt there is wifi so talk to you in a couple of days.