Ninh Binh and Tam Coc Caves

We hired scooters from the hotel for $6usd a day and headed off to Tam Coc for the cave tour. It was only a short drive and the scooters were awesome - felt just like the Top Gear guys. We left the scooters at Tam Coc and split girls and boys to get into our two person rowing boats with our Vietnamese crew. The trip down the river and through the caves was amazing - rice fields on each side and passing through some beautiful caves. It was 6km down the river and back, and despite our initially very friendly rower getting a bit annoyed when we didn't want to buy any of his rather tacky goods, it was an amazing trip, with stunning scenery.

We had lunch in Tam Coc at a very friendly family streetside restaurant, then headed down the road on the mopeds to the Bic Dong pagoda, we climbed up the steps and through the caves to find a great view from the hidden temple at the top.
Back on the road we headed back through Ninh Binh and north up the Ho Chi Minh Highway to Hoa Lu - it took a fair bit of finding, and a pretty scary ride up the highway, with the huge trucks with massive horns. But we enjoyed the riding through the paddy fields and the rural villages when we turned off the highway. When we did find the temple it was a long way up a single stairway and we were the only ones there - apart from the resident monk and his dog. But up at the top the temple the view was breathtaking; a panoramic view out over the fields and villages that we had enjoyed riding through.

Heading into the apparently legendary hotel restaurant now for a few drinks and a meal.