This morning we went on a bus trip 100km south of Hanoi to Ninh Binh and specifically to Tam Coc to see what is referred to as Halong Bay on land. It has the same type of limestone islands and has a river system around them. Tam Coc is famous for the people
Who take tourists on row boats on the river and row with their feet on the oars. We were taken on a two hour trip down the river. It was very hot and sunny so we enjoyed the three caves that we went through as it gave some relief from the heat. It was lovely scenery surrounded by rice growing on the sides of the river is what seemed to be water at least up to the workers hips. They were harvesting it and loading it onto small boats which they then rowed down the river - back breaking work!
Our bus trip each way was about two and a half hours and we got to see a different area of Vietnam's north.

Tomorrow we catch a flight to Danang in the centre of Vietnam and will then go onto Hoi An for a few days. We've loved our time in and around Hanoi.