Ninh Binh was a little bit of a disappointment, to be honest (in relative terms, of course, as it still compared very favourably to sitting in an office in the North of England in November!). That old expectation versus reality thing again, I think. It probably didn't help that I spent the entire first day lying on my back in our hotel room with damp cotton wool pads over my eyes, trying to recover from the eye strain I'd got from one or both of sleeping on a night train with contact lenses still in and air con blowing on my face, and then using the laptop late at night with the lights off (my eyes don't react well to the light / dark contrast for some reason, perhaps an optician could explain?...Kev, about a five percent chance that you read this, I reckon?...). (On the plus side, mind you, the upshot of this day without sight was that I've now fully introduced myself to podcasts, and am happily subscribed to Five Live Football Daily, Guardian Film Weekly, Guardian Politics Weekly, Sky Sports Weekly, National Geographic and Guardian Focus!). And although I managed to get out and join Paula on day two, as I found I could at least open my heavily bloodshot eyes in daylight without crying, the right one in particular still wasn't that comfortable, so not the ideal physical condition for sightseeing, fun and laughter.

However, sore eyes aside, we'd heard tales of nearby Tam Coc's similarities with Halong Bay, albeit on a much smaller scale, and there were lots of other recommended sights in the area, both scenic and historic, so our expectations were quite high anyway. But alas ultimately not met. A different time of year, with a brighter sky and more golden rice fields, and we might have come away with a slightly enhanced impression, but the reality is that the karst scenery just isn't in the same league as either Yangshuo or Halong Bay, and I think the area has had its day. Wherever we went, new, wider roads were being laid, and land was being prepared for building, with concrete foundations, piles of sand and stretches of turned over earth all around. Clearly, the potential for tourist dollars has been spotted in recent years, and the transition is being made from what was a pleasant, rural backwater to a well developed profit generator.

But all was not lost! After a couple of days near-ish to Ninh Binh, we decided to venture a bit further afield, daring to hire a moped again and find our own way to the Cuc Phuong National Park, about 45km away. It sounded promising, 222 square km of primary tropical forest, an abundance of different animal and plant species, and the personal endorsement of Mr Ho Chi Minh himself, and despite some rain, it didn't disappoint. We navigated the roads successfully on the first morning, arriving at the park by lunchtime, and in the afternoon visited the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre, the Turtle Conservation Centre, and took a walk through the extensive botanical gardens for a couple of hours (plenty of loud and varied creature sounds, but no sightings!). We stayed overnight in stilt housing accommodation inside the park, then took the moped 20km further into the heart of Cuc Phuong the next morning for a jungle trek. Unfortunately, the rain must have sent all the forest creatures scuttling for shelter out of sight again, but we had a good time anyway - proper jungle!

And then home to Ninh Binh (where, incidentally, our hotel was really good, with nice rooms and a really good, courtyard common area, set right away from the roads), a moped ride through dust and diesel fumes that must have equated to smoking about sixty cigarettes each, but on the plus side I reckon I'm getting the hang of handling these machines (Vietnamese roads and traffic being a much different kettle of fish to my previous efforts in Cuba and Greece)! And we got a night bus the same evening, giving us just enough time to eat dinner and make the acquaintance of American couple Shawn and Sabeen, who amongst many other incredibly similar experiences on their travels, had been teased and then let down by exactly the same piece of cheesecake (only it wasn't, that was the problem, it turned out to be sponge) as we had about a week earlier in Sapa!

Right, that's all for now. Next stop, much recommended Hoi An!