Category Landtravel
Ninh Binh itself is a pretty small town and not much to see inside the city. The reason people come here is to see the countryside. The landscape is somewhat reminiscent of that of Halong bay with the same kind of karst cliffs but instead of islands in the sea, they stick up out of fields, rice paddies and rivers. The best (or at least most famous) place for seeing this landscape is Tam Coc, some seven or eight kilometers from the city centre. You rent a boat for two or maybe three people and a local person rows (using … Read the rest
After two wonderful days on Halong bay it was time to leave. The guy at the tour company told us the ferry back to Tuan Chua left at 8 am, 11 am or 3 pm. We figured we could take it easy in the morning and slowly make our way to the ferry terminal at the other side of the island and catch the ferry at 11. It took us a bit longer than expected to pack our stuff however, so when we left the hotel we were in a bit of a rush. When we were just a few … Read the rest
One of Vietnam’s most famous landmarks is Halong bay and the thousands of limestone islands (often called karsts) that stick up from the turquoise waters. There are plenty of operators that run boat tours to the bay, most of them out of Halong city. We tried to skip the crowds by taking a tour from Cat ba island instead. To get the most out our experience we went for a somewhat more expensive option and took a two day tour with a night on the boat. This worked out really well, we only had nine people on our boat, we … Read the rest
The night bus arrived in Hanoi around four in the morning. Still groggy with sleep I rode my bike to the hotel which was completely dark. I rang the doorbell hoping someone would answer. After a few minutes the hotel owner, who I must have woken up, let me in and quickly ushered me to a room. I slept for a few hours then took the motorbike out to the airport to pick up Renegade Wife. Since she was tired after her early morning flight, we took it very slow during the day, just wandered around the Hoan Kiem lake … Read the rest
I normally don’t get hung over when traveling, I don’t know why but seems to work whenever I’m abroad. Yesterday I relied on this a bit too much and partied a bit too hard with some friends from the hostel. I had planned to take the bike and just ride around in the national park but when I woke up I was in no state to ride a motorbike. So, I skipped that and joined another cave tour instead. The Phong Nha cave is up the river from the village so the tour starts with a 45 minute boat ride … Read the rest
Phong Nha national park is home to the largest cave in the world, Hang Son Doong. It would be extremely cool to go there but it takes seven days and costs 3000 USD per person which is just not feasible for me right now. There are plenty of other caves in the area however, and I visited two of them.
The Dark Cave is set up as an adventure, they kit you out with a life jacket, a hard hat with a light on it, and a climbing harness then send you off with a guide. The trip starts with … Read the rest
Today I didn’t have time for any real sightseeing, instead I hit the road and headed for Son Trach, a small village that works as a kind of hub for people visiting Phong Nha national park. By the main highway it’s fairly short and quick but I decided to take the scenic route i.e the Ho Chi Minh highway.
Getting there took a bit of trouble because the road was crossed in several places by the remains of mud slides and rock falls.
The way up 
One of the rock falls blocking the road. I did actually manage to pass
Hue is very close to the old demilitarized zone so there are a few military remnants in the area. The most interesting for me were the Vinh Moc tunnels, about 100 kilometers north of Hue, where an entire fishing village went under ground. On the way out, I happened upon a big communist monument of some kind. There wasn’t any information in English available but it looked cool with the big flag and everything. I will say though that the 40000 Dong entrance fee was a bit steep for a five minute visit.
Compared to the Cu … Read the rest
When I woke up this morning it was raining heavily. I waited until it had settled down a bit then got on the bike and headed to my next goal, Hue city.
I’m sure I’ve said it before but it bears repeating, this is a really gorgeous country to ride through. Sure, sometimes you will be on the noisy and crowded expressway racking up the miles, but as soon as you get into the countryside, the landscape becomes really photogenic. So, despite the rain, I stopped a few times to take pictures
Leaving Danang 
Flooded road that I had to
Hoi An is a very relaxed city, compared to Ho Chi Minh it barely counts as a city at all. The main draw is the ancient town, a fairly large area of small, old houses that counts as a UNESCO world heritage. It’s a bit touristic as almost all the houses have been turned into shops and restaurants, and most of the people you meet there are foreigners, but it’s very atmospheric none the less. I spent a good portion of my first day in Hoi An just walking around randomly in the old town. It felt really nice to … Read the rest