Kenh Ga, Tam Coc and Ninh Binh

Our experience of hiring a motorbike so far has been fraught with danger, so in our normal adventurous spirit we hired a bike for 2 days to go to Kenh Ga and Tam Coc near the town of Ninh Binh.

Tam Coc is described as Halong Bay in the rice paddies and it certainly lived up to this reputation with amazing limestone cliffs popping up in the miles and miles of rice paddies. We hired a lady to take us down the river in a small boat which she rowed with her feet. The river wound past the limestone cliffs and through three caves. Absolutely beautiful.

Kenh Ga was a bit more low key. After running out of petrol in the middle of a rice field, a young guy hopped on his push bike and cycled a km to get us some petrol and we were soon on our way again. An older man greeted us at the river and hurried us onto his boat ($8 - a bit pricey we thought, but too tired to care at this point). We sailed through a floating village and arrived at a small community with a catholic church and little else. Sam got mosquito repellent in her eye half way round and it was soooo hot, but certainly a good experience.

Ninh Binh itself is un-accustomed to travellers and hadn't even got a cafe/restaurant. After many strange stares we were accepted with open arms when a local offered to buy us beers at a local bar. After a couple of hours we staggered back to our hotel and slept all afternoon in our gorgeous ensuite hotel room ($15 a night).