Tam Coc to Sam Son

The day started a bit grey and overcast but the area around Tam Coc and Ninh Binh is still great and very scenic.

Since the plan was to take the late evening train back to Hue, I had more than enough time to just enjoy driving around the area, enjoy the landscape and take photos.

It was great and I spent the whole morning just taking in the landscape without visiting too many places around.

After lunch, when trying to buy the train tickets was when I had to change plans slightly. While I could get a train ticket for myself, they could only deliver my motorbike in Hue in 5 days.

While I don't need my motorbike on a daily basis and it would probably be good for me to start doing some more walking, having it standing around in Ninh Binh wasn't really what I wanted.

So instead of waiting around, I decided to try my luck in Tanh Hoa, around 60km south or 80km via the scenic route. As far as government employees go, the ones in Vietnam all go home at 4pm so I didn't make it in time to the train station so had to spend the night.
Sam Son is only 16km from Tanh Hoa by the seaside so I figured it's the nicer place to stay at for the night.

Hanoi to Ninh Binh

After spending over a week in Hanoi it was time to head out and go for a road trip somewhere.
The plan was to go north to Sapa and Ha Giang but timing and some things with my cafe to sort out meant that I had to head back to Hue earlier.

It was pouring down with rain the whole morning so I almost expected to have to cancel he trip. Lucky it stopped by around lunchtime so despite being a bit late, I decided to head to Ninh Binh and Tam Coc via a scenic route.

The drive was great and indeed very scenic, I enjoyed being on the road and seeing the great landscape and nice small towns pass by as I made my way to Ninh Binh.

It started pouring again halfway through my journey but I didn't let that stop me and with a raincoat on I continued till the rain stopped and I could enjoy the remaining drive to Ninh Binh and then Tam Coc to spend the night (after having some bia hoi).

Day 142 - Hoa Lu, Tam Coc and Sam Son

The morning and early afternoon were spent on sightseeing around Ninh Binh. First on the list was the Hoa Lu area with the many temples around there.

The first and biggest temple was the Chua Bai Dinh temple. It was also the furthest away so it seemed best to cover it early before the tourists get here and leave the other places for the way back.

It is a very new but quite nice temple built on a hill so you have to climb up quite a few steps. The downside to it is that they built the parking area miles away so you have to pay for the electric shuttle to take you there on a very roundabout way.Quite a lot is till under construction so the facilities there could change by the time they finish.

On the way back I covered some other temples briefly and some places only from the road due to the time.
The next stop after having some brunch was Tam Coc for another quick look around there but again not spending too long in the different places.

After Tam Coc, I decided to head to Sam Son and spend the night in a hotel by the beach for a change. The place was deserted as expected in the winter months and most places were shut but I did like it better this way.

Day 120 - Drive back to Hanoi and Evening in Hanoi

After having breakfast we went for a drive around Tam Coc and to the nearby temple. The weather was great as were the views of the limestone mountains.

The temple itself is very nice and it's built at the foot and on one of the limestone mountains. You can also go climbing up all the way to the top of the mountain if you feel adventurous and have the energy.

After exploring the temple and surrounding area a bit we had to get going to make it back to Hanoi before it got dark.

The first part of the journey took us along the main road north towards Hanoi but it was a pretty boring journey and although we made fast progress, we decided to abandon this road and turn off to some of the smaller roads.
This was a much more enjoyable journey for the remaining way to Hanoi.

We made it back to Hanoi just before it got dark and had some well deserved drinks and dinner to relax after the drive.

Tomorrow will be a quiet day in Hanoi before planning my next steps now that I have the bike and it's going well.
I also have to keep in mind that realistically I can only make between 100-150 km a day on the bike along the more interesting country roads.