The goal of the day was to reach Hanoi, but it’s only 90 kilometers from Ninh Binh so we could take things easy. What we missed when we went to Tam Coc was Hang Mua,  a temple high up on one of the karsts overlooking the river. Spending the morning there was a given choice. Though the karsts are not particularly tall, they are steep and the climb up was pretty hard work with the sun beating down on you. Once at the top though, that hard work pays off because the view of the landscape below is pretty spectacular. 

  • Looking up at the stairs. 
  • A small pagoda on one of the cliff tops
  • Another small pagoda
  • Building this Dragon on top of the karst must have taken some work and some bravery 
  • The Tam Coc river  
  • Some rowing boats far below
  • The rice paddies and little villages

When we came down from Hang Mua we had some lunch then set off towards Hanoi. Everything went smoothly until we got close to the city. It so happened that we were entering Hanoi just at rush hour, and the traffic was horrible. This was the main road entering the city from the south and we were doing something like 20 kilometers an hour. It was some of the most stressful riding I have ever done. It almost felt like a victory to arrive at the hostel without incident. After checking in we had some dinner then then spent the evening in our room chatting with our room mates.