Ninh Binh - absolutely stunning!! Vietnam really is gorgeous!

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I woke up this morning with the worst hangover ever, but somehow still made it to the train station by 9.30am. The party last night was wicked, but this morning it really didn't feel worth it. The train to Ninh Binh is hard seat only, so it was quite uncomfortable sitting on a hard wooden chair for 2 half hours, but it was quite interesting. I was the only Western person in my compartment - I don't think many people to go Ninh Binh independantly, most people just do it as a day trip from Hanoi. Some of the Vietnamese people around me tried to talk to me, but I couldn't understand what they were saying and they couldn't understand me, so we all gave up trying to have a conversation after a few minutes.

When I arrived in Ninh Binh I walked to the hotel recommended in Lonely Planet, which was not too bad. It seemed a good place to organise a tour from, so I hired a motorbike driver for the afternoon to explore the surrounding scenery. I wish I could ride a motorbike, it would save me a fortune!! My motorbike driver, Phu, seemed really nice though and we managed to see most of the local attractions in just 4 hours, which was great. It meant that I only needed to stay for one day and could head off to Hoi An ASAP (I wanted to get there early, so I can be sure of a hotel as they might be fully booked as it gets closer to Christmas!!).

The first place on the tour was the one everyone does, Tam Cok. Tam Cok is totally amazing, its a bit like Halong Bay with limestone mountains, only instead of the sea, there is a river and lots of paddy fields. I did the boat tour that everyone does, which takes about two hours. For two hours a guy paddles you up the river and through a few caves, then half way through tries to sell you lots of napkins (they always find a way to try and sell you stuff in Vietnam!!).

The next stop was some sort of temple, which was a bit boring so I didn't stay there long, before heading on to the next attraction, which was my favourite!! I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a temple or what but you had to climb up hundreds of steps then were rewarded with the most awesome view of the area!! It was breathtaking!! The last stop was the old capital of Vietnam, Hoa Lu. I didn't really stay here long, as by this point I was feeling really tired from all the travelling and my late night the night before.

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