After a long bus, boat, mini bus and then local bus journey we arrived in a town called Ninh Binh. The local bus was a pleasure as always with the conductor trying to force Gareth to sit in a smaller seat (he of course refused pointing to his long limbs that just don't fit) and then the stopping and screaming out the window at every tiny town, oh and of course lots of honking the horn for 5 long hours!

Hiring a motorbike in Ninh Binh we set off to Tam Coc which could be described as Halong Bay on land and surrounded by paddyfields. Tam Coc is named for the three caves you pass through on your way down the river, the largest one was 125m long and 2m high above the water. We hired a small boat and a rower and set off down the river. We were lucky to be there late in the day as it's a popular tourist destination and at busy times apparently the river is like a road with top to tail traffic, but we were almost the only boat on the river apart from the women in their boats trying to sell us drinks and sweets. Many of the women who work as rowers all the time row with their feet to give their hands a break - quite a feat! The scenery is really beautiful but I'll let the pictures show you that.

The following day feeling a bit lazy after hiring a motorbike we decided to hire bikes - bad idea! We set off to find some of the local sights and got well and truly lost in the scorching heat! We cycled down tiny laneways and along river banks and through tiny towns I'm sure never saw a tourist before. Eventually we did find the ruins of Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam, and a pretty pagoda. But after 50km's of cycling in the scorching heat we were both exhausted.