...the slower pace is welcome

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Once again, we're not really sure if we're on the right bus. Even though we bought tickets from the official desk at the bus station, we're instantly surrounded by touts trying to hustle us onto their buses. We eventually pinpoint the guy who has the right bus code on his log book and manage to get on his bus, but the doubt remains the same. Once again it turns out fine, but the ridiculously hectic technique of the touts leaves you unsure of anything and your head spinning.

Minibuses are excellent places for people watching. I can't help noticing that about half the guys on the bus wear their fingernails long and filed like a girl's, one guy is even wearing nail polish. This trend seems to transcend age...I want to find out why they do it! A few hours on the road and a passenger (no long fingernails) almost has a fight with the ticket guy (has long fingernails) over short-changing. They both lose their tempers ínstantly and stand (crouch) shouting at each other in the small confines of the minibus. It blows out as quickly as it blows up and before any potential fingernail advantage could be used, but I remind myself to remain calm when questioning prices or haggling as tempers seem short.

Tam Coc is known as the Halong Bay of the rice paddies...huge limestone rocks rise up above saturated fields of rice with a river winding it's way through. We stay in Ninh Binh, the nearest town to Tam Coc, at the Hostel Xuan Hoa. Out of the city our $10 goes much further as we're shown to a luxury room with satellite TV and bathtub...woo!

It's good to be in a small town; after a mad 2 weeks that has taken us through 4 cities in 4 countries...Rio, New York, Tokyo, Hanoi, the slower pace is welcome. Everyone is so friendly and no one is trying to sell us anything! Kids run out to shyly wave and practise saying "hello!" and we wave back and practice saying "xin chao!", which sends them running away giggling. We soon learn the words for happy new year, "chuc mung nam moi!" which always guarantees a big smiley response from adults and kids alike.

We knew North Vietnam could be chilly at this time of year, but it seems we've arrived in the middle of a cold snap and it's freezing! We're also blessed with wind and a light drizzle, but Tam Coc is, nonetheless, a beautiful place. We spend 2 hours being rowed around the rock formations by our teenage guide who has a wild-style foot rowing technique. We pass Buddhist shrines, one way above us at the top of one of the hills has dramatic dragon sculptures, and travel through low dark caves. It's stunning but totally freezing and by the end of the 2 hours I can't feel my face, hands or feet. Even after walking 8kms back to our hostel I'm still not convinced that all my toes are still there.

We decide to catch the train back to Hanoi; a five hour journey spent in a carriage filled with excited people on their way to spend the Tet celebrations with family. The couple opposite, and everyone else in the carriage, have been on this train for over 30hours, since Saigon. The mood is cheerful as everyone is on holiday and the carriage is full of bags of treats and gifts wrapped in red paper for good luck. It feels like Christmas and the enthusiasm is infectious...tonight is New Year's Eve.

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