The Long Hotel Ninh Binh

... First stop was the ancient city of Hoa Lu where the first Vietnamese kings lived a thousand years ago. With the huge amount of elapsed time gone since then most of the city has now gone but there were still a couple of temples left. These buildings and the surrounds were much more impressive than the tombs we visited in Hue even though they preceeded them by about 700 years! Everything was just better preserved and obviously lovingly looked after and maintained. Back on the bikes we ...

... to find a cash machine. We couldn't believe how many ATM there were down one street we counted 6 and all were out of order. <br><br>While walking around we spotted a park. It was very strange as there were monkey's in a cage<br>with no water or food, which was not nice to see. I'm not sure why they are there as no one is getting paid to look after them. You could see the monkey's were hungry they were trying to eat plastic. In the park had a rusty old derelict ride, a huge pond full of large ...

... passed not one other person. So good to get away from the crowds.<br><br>I really do feel I've found a part of Vietnam that not many other people have, and I'm liking that :)<br><br>Have also decided that getting around on the back of a bike is the way to go. Driving through tiny villages, scattering chickens and goats in our wake, admiring the scenery with water buffaloes glaring at me from the roadside. Far better than my alternative option - hiring a bicycle - after all, it ...

... speak english &amp; take us to the guesthouse we wanted to go to. On the way heard these loudspeakers VERY loud at major intersections. Apparently at 6am every morning they receive local news, and encouragement from the government on different issues. Part of being a communist government ... they get updates on what the government is doing for them ...

... Vietnam &#8211; 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&#8217;d rather not to spend any of our hard earned cash in such an unfriendly country. However we didn&#8217;t want to give in just yet, so off we went to Ninh Binh.<br><br>First impressions were not good, we&#8217;d ...

... a bit sick of trees by that point... Each tree looked pretty much the same!). <br><br>It was hard work but a very fun day! We celebrated with food and beers at the Gate reception (where we were staying). The portions were MASSIVE and the food was yummy! Just what we needed after our day of exercise...<br><br>The next day, we visited the Botanic Gardens which was a lovely 3km walk but was basically an overgrown garden! <br>

... party on at a beach bar/club..... there were more Vietnamese tourists there than Westerners which was cool.... random party..... started with a fashion show... the posters promised a bikini show but there were no bikinis, just ill-fitting clothes! After an hour of that, we had a Blind Date show using 4 westerners, v funny! Then the party started, cheesy dance music on the sandy dance floor with all the guys 'n' gals from the boat trip... fab! I headed home about 2am ...

Ore 9.00, oggi Elisabetta ha uno xe-om (conducente di moto) speciale (il suo maritino Marco). Dopo colazione con una moto noleggiata all'hotel, decidiamo di esplorare parte dell'isola che sino ad ora non avevamo visto. Dapprima ci dirigiamo verso due spiagge e poi prendendo una strada in salita arriviamo a una ex base militare in un punto panoramico da dove si puo' visionare cio' che ci circonda a ...

... pot holes, oh and its still raining - Hard!!! Finally on Highway 1A praying for the bike to keep running there are busses about 1cm away from us as trying to get onto the bridge before the path takes us into the river. It is not skill but luck we are alive to tell the tale. SUCH A GOOD DAY! - So much fun!!!!!!<br><br>Our last day in Tam Coc we took another tour out to the National Park (this time by car) to see some Monkeys, a Big Tree and a Cave with Bats in ...