Huong Tra Hotel Ninh Binh

... me anything. After Hanoi, that was quite refreshing, to say the least :) I also passed not one other Westerner.

Hired a motorbike and driver for the day yesterday (a very extravagant $10) and went off to see Tam Coc, and was rowed through a series of caves, very beautiful (although not so much as Halong Bay), and an assortment of other local sights, mainly temples. Climbed quite a hill at Hoa Lu (the old capital of Vietnam), hundreds of steps up to a fab view point ...

... and went to Van Long Reserve. We were alone on a small boat with a little woman and discovered the wonderful nature of the area.
After that, direction Ken Ga, where we met Trang, a Vietnamese who gave us some beer and something to eat in his own house. What hospitality!
At the end of the day we visited Hoa Lu, an old capital of Vietnam. I climbed a rock (thanks Jason for the training !) and enjoyed a great view (look the pictures).
Next: South Vietnam and Muine
See you
Cyril

... wanted to share their lollies with us. Lights went out after our dinner stop & then it was lots of tossing & turning & little sleeping!!

We arrived to it being still dark & 3 other people hopped off as well. ( they were from Austria). A moto driver showed up & had a hotel card so Nath & I decided to ...

... Vietnam – anyone who deals with visitors on a daily basis view you solely as money to be made. We sat down and discussed whether we even wanted to spend any more time in Vietnam or go straight into Laos as we’d rather not to spend any of our hard earned cash in such an unfriendly country. However we didn’t want to give in just yet, so off we went to Ninh Binh.

First impressions were not good, we’d ...

After the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, Ninh Binh was verrrry strange as it was still and quiet.

We only spent a couple of nights there and did everything in one day. We hired bikes and cycled to Tam Coc where we did a 1.5 hour boat trip through a series of caves. It was very similar to the trip to the perfume pagodas (except with caves!)... The scenery was beautiful and it was a very peaceful trip.

We then cycled to Bich Dong Pagoda ...

... 3pm - about 2 hours later than planned... here's some travel tips if you're planning a trip to Asia:
- always add 2-3 hours on to journey times
- always carry toilet paper
- always carry your waterproof jacket with you (in rainy season)
- try not to get involved in conversations with people trying to sell you stuff - you could be there for a while

Anyway, arrived in Nha Trang, checked into the Backpackers and hit the beach for the last few hours of ...

... scenario di rocce che spiccano da risaie e corsi d'acqua, navigati da barche a remi che trasportano i turisti, accompagnano la nostra mattinata. Durante il tragitto abbiamo visitato cimiteri tra le risaie, la pagoda di Bich Dong, che e' stata ricavata nella roccia, Thai Vi Temple e Mua cave (un tempio raggiunto percorrendo una ripida scalinata). Ore 13.00 sulla strada verso Hoa lu, facciamo una sosta per ...

... a petrol station for tea and cigarettes to shelter for a while. When we realised it wasnt going to stop, we all got back on our bikes and rode on. Our guide then got us a little lost (whoops), unfortunately this mistake was to take us to Highway 1A (the main road traveling from North to South of Vietnam, always busier up north) OH NO!! Sedges bike decides to stall not once but 3times as lorries, Motos, and cars are thundering past splashing the water from ...

TB: We had a very long travel day, we cruised back to Halong City by boat, had lunch, then crammed into a minibus 3 1/2 hours back to Hanoi. We waited at our hotel for 2 hours then to another mini bus that took us to the "bus station". Apparently we were on a local bus - we were the only white faces on board, actually was refreshing to travel with locals for a change. The music was so incredibly loud on the bus and they played ...

... When you're stationary. When you're flying along the motorway, overtaking on blind bends and blasting your horn all the bloody way, it's terrifying. Add to this the fact that I had the FRONT, top, centre bunk and it becomes worse still. Through my feet, I had a clear view of the oncoming traffic, the road and how the driver thought it was appropriate to avoid the former while staying on the latter. And to top it all off, if the worst did ...