Our stop in Ninh Binh was another place we chose partly because the railway timetable worked well and because after a little bit of research we actually found there was definitely something worth seeing. So a visit to the limestone karst mountains, situated about 10km from the centre of town, seemed like it made for a great place for a two night stop after the eight hour slog from Dong Hoi. Little did we know that we would also come away over three million Vietnamese Dong (around US $160/GBP £100) better off than we thought!

Our hotel was really a small bed and breakfast with ideas of grandeur as it had just two guest rooms. David, the owner/manager says he will be expanding to five bedrooms in 2015. The place scored very highly on all rating websites and having arrived this all seemed to match the experience and room quality, however things did go a little sour . . . . Heather had a lightweight fleece jacket taken from the room when we were away and as part of the laundry service I lost a pair of socks. Both items, being totally honest, were not that expensive but it is inconvenient and annoying. David did however not expect us to pay for either our two nights accommodation or the costs involved with a tour to the Tam Coc area. So, with three million Vietnamese Dong extra in our pocket we can travel to Hanoi knowing the loss of these few items, whilst inconvenient, has actually saved us money!

Tam Coc itself was well worth a visit. Being taken on a rowing boat for about six kilometres, where the rower mainly used her feet, rather than hands, was a very pleasant journey. The waterways go through limestone karst mountain valleys as well as through underground caves during the two hour trip. The landscape is often referred to as 'Halong Bay on rice paddies' and hopefully we can comfirm this when we visit Halong Bay itself in a couple of days time. We also had the opportunity to climb a little above water level to visit the Bich Dong Pagoda and see views down over the countryside.

Ninh Binh itself is not that touristy and the choice of restaurants confirms that too. Very few 'western friendly' places exist in the centre but we were recommended a rice and noodle shack close to the station for our first night which did massive portions of food for between £1 and £2 (and 50p beers) and we also found a place doing wraps and burgers, served with proper hand cut chips, for our second night in the city.

Our next stop on the trip is Hanoi, about two and a quarter hours north from Ninh Binh, from where we will head out to Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay. Just two more trains (both in hard class!) and two boats to do before being back in Hanoi for Christmas.