Hanoi to Ninh Binh

I arrived in Hanoi in the afternoon and took a taxi to Thu Giang guesthouse. I had called there yesterday and booked a room to avoid any hassles of getting a hotel but when I got the hotel they told me they were full. They said they don't book rooms by phone because sometimes people don't show up. Well they didn't tell me this on the phone. They said they didn't tell me because they could help me find another room. I didn't need help to find a room, there were 3 hotels alone in the same alleyway, so I checked them out. I ended up staying Manh Dung guesthouse, just across the street, for $10. For Hanoi, that was a good price for a decent room that would have cost a few dollars cheaper somewhere else. The staff was super friendly and accommodating.

The next morning I took a taxi to the airport to meet Thip. We took another taxi to the bus station. Since she was only visiting for a few days, we didn't want to waste any time in Hanoi. We took a bus to Ninh Binh, 2 hours south. We came to Ninh Binh to visit Tam Coc, an small place packed with limestone mountains best visited by canoe and on a bike. We stayed one night in Ninh Binh.