We didn't realise how green Vietnam was until we made our way North. Here is is very obvious, making a lovely contrast to the beaches of the South. In Ninh Binh we made our own way on motorbike to Tam Coc "three caves", this is what the vietnamese call "Halong Bay on land". Just as stunning as Halong Bay, we took a 2 hour row boat along the Ngo Dong river which weaves it way between limestone kasts and narrow caves. We were very impressed by the unsual rowing technique where they use their feet.
Spent a few days in Vietnams capital Hanoi where we ate our way through the old quarter, a maze of narrow streets where food stalls and craft shops spill out. We saw Halong Bay by doing a day trip from Hanoi where we discovered one of the Worlds natural wonders. Had a local Vietnamese lunch on the boat and then took to the emeral waters on kayaks to get a closer look.
Our favourite place in the North was Sapa. A hillside town at 1,600m and home to many ethnic minorities, it's surrounded by green peaks and rice paddies and at night becomes shrouded in mist. Sapa never fialed to be beautiful. Made some great friends in Vietnam, Hedley and Rosie especially who we kept bumping into along the way, lots of fun memories and dinners spent together. The four of us had a good day out on the bikes to a local market in Coc Ly, which thanks to Hedleys' iphone and google maps we actually managed to find! Lovely seeing the colourful flower H'mong people which gather at Coc Ly once a week from nearby villages. Even the ride there was beautiful with dramitc scenery through the valleys. A great end to a great month in Vietnam!
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