Tam Coc - Day 1

The plan today was to get to ninh binh. But an Israeli guy i had beers with last night informed me i should be going to tam coc instead. Ninh Binh is the city, and tam coc is the nearby attraction.

Its a 12 hour train ride from hue to ninh binh. Ugh. So i decided to fly past ninh binh to hanoi ($75), then bus two hours back to ninh binh instead. Brilliant :) Then caught a taxi to Tam Coc. Which brought my arrival time to 4pm.

My hotel is gorgeous. I can't believe i only paid 20 for it. And the staff are ridiculously funny and nice.

After working with them on some logistics for my next destination i set off to get some quick photos before the sun comes down and also before the dark rain clouds nearby became a reality.

Hiked about 20 mins down a dirt road and the scenery is stunning. Huge rocks coming out of the ground straight up. And there's rice fields and small rivers all around them. Amazing. Tip of the iceberg for what i know is here. And then the rain came and wow did it ever come down. I ran back but i could have swam back and been equally as wet.

The heavy rain didn't stop for several hours, so i grabbed a few beers and hung out in the lobby chatting with a parsian couple who sold everything and are wandering asia looking for a pretty place to settle and start up a business. Two of the staff joined us too.

I was asking the staff about a good restaurant nearby and they invited me into their lunch room to eat with them the food they had thrown together. Some rice, chicken wings, egg and some leafy green stuff. Simple but good. And free :) Very sweet of them. Then stayed up chatting with them for hours to close out my night.

Very anxious for tomorrow and praying i dont get a monsoon again.Read more