One of the best meals we've had in Vietnam!

On Thursday, we took the minivan back to the city of Vinh. We simply went and stood on the main street. We were actually waiting for the number 31 bus that runs between Con Cuong and Vinh, but there are also the same system of minivans that we took to get to Con Cuong in the first place. And we were only at the stop for five minutes before one came along, so we hopped in it.

It was quite a bit quicker going back. We must have got in the "express" van, because it didn't make nearly as many stops as the one we took going up, and it was a little more expensive, at 120,000 dong ($4.90 USD, $6.60 CAD) per person for the two hour and twenty minute ride.

They dropped us right at our hotel in Vinh. We booked a place only one km from the train station so it's easy to get to for our trip to Ninh Binh today. We got our things into our room, then walked to the train station to buy our tickets.

They love their dragons in SE Asia!

We booked "soft seats" (as opposed to a cheaper hard bench seat) on the 11:29am train today from Vinh to Ninh Binh. Cost was 205,000 ($8.40 USD, $11.30 CAD) each for the 206 km (128 mile) trip that takes almost three and a half hours.

Then we went to find some lunch. We passed by a covered market, and we know that's usually a place to get a good meal at a cheap price. It was pretty dark and dank and there weren't many stalls open, but we found one lady who looked like she was ready to make us some food.

This place makes Bun Thit Nuong.

We had no idea what we were going to get, other than the fact that we know that "bun" means rice noodles, so it was likely to be gluten free. The woman spoke no English, and we all laughed about the fact that all we know how to say in Vietnamese is "hello" and "thank you".

Anyhow, she definitely understood that we wanted some food, and she set out to make it.

The chef at work.

This is what we ended up with!

So you take the sauces that are in the other bowls, and just dump them into the bowl. Then add in some salad fixings, and hot peppers if you wish. And it was absolutely delicious. The meat (pork) was tender and nicely seasoned, and it was probably the best meal we've had since we got to Vietnam.

And the cost? Only 40,000 dong ($1.65 USD, $2.20 CAD) each.

We always laugh and joke that when we're in some random place in a foreign country that is off the beaten path, we say "we're the first Canadians to ever be here". And often times it's probably true. Such was the case in the little market stall eating lunch.

Then we went and walked the city. Once again, we were the only ones walking. The Vietnamese are not walkers. They take scooters everywhere. And once again, we did not see a westerner all day.

Local architecture.

I know it's raining, but there would not be anybody walking on a sunny day either.

Scenery along the way.

Yes, they love their dragons.

Not a soul out walking.

Except for us.

Tons of flowers around.

Me, with yet another dragon.

Big park and square.

While there is nothing touristy worth seeing in Vinh, it's a nice enough city. But I can understand why tourists on a vacation don't come here when there are other more worthwhile things to see in Vietnam, and most tourists have limited time in the country.

Back to our room...

It was listed as an "apartment".

Pretty sparsely furnished.

But the bed is comfortable.

480,000 dong ($19.70 USD, $26.70 CAD) for the night. Not bad, but we're glad it's only for one night.

We could easily spend three months just in Vietnam. We will be returning at some point.

In the meantime, our visas run out on March 7th. So, we are heading north on the train today to Ninh Binh, where we will definitely see other tourists. It's a popular spot on the tourist route. We'll be three nights there, and then we'll go up to Hanoi for one night before flying to Bangkok on the 6th.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Record low deals on iRobot Roomba Vacuums.

And in Canada...

Check out the deals at Amazon.ca.