In Northern Vietnam

After an enchanting evening riding the "Reunification Express", we arrived in the Ninh Bin area. The train ride was a sweaty, noisy and rocky 12 hours. We arrived at our destination at 4am and headed out to a hotel to shower and get ready for our ride through some beautiful karst scenery (see photo) to the Cuc Phong National Park. Karst are small rocky hills that jut straight up out of the ground, rather than a gradual grade like most hills.

The villages in the north of Vietnam are much more traditional in nature with fewer motor scooters and fewer people than the villages in the south and center of the country. The men here wear an green pithe helmets, much like the helmets worn by the North Vietnamese Army during the war.

We stayed in the national park one night and were awoken by the howls of the langur and gibbons primates at the primate rescue center next door. Our ride through the park is the first ride where we haven't seen any other people -- Vietnam is the most densely populated country in Southeast Asia.

We stayed in the port city of Haiphong last night and head out to Cat Ba island in Halong Bay today. This is my last day cycling before heading to Hanoi on Sunday, so I best make the most of it.

More from Hanoi.....