Ninh Binh marks the start of stuff I haven’t done before in Vietnam. It’s only really thanks to Hector it even makes it into the route, so we’re super grateful for the recommendation, and would pass it on to anyone coming to Vietnam. It was beautiful.
We arrive two hours early to our already scheduled early arrival. To our huge relief and surprise, when we descend from the bus, we don’t step into soup. The air isn’t thick. And we don’t instantly start sweating! REJOICE!
Our homestay hosts are thankfully already up, but they’re clearly just starting out the day. Understandably so at 6am! We drop off our bags and head to one of the only cafes open at this hour, and gratefully order some coffees and refreshing smoothie bowls. Neither of us slept particularly well (if at all) and check-in isn’t until 1pm, we have a lot of time to kill with tired heads.
After a few hours wasted with blurry heads (one of us napping head down on the table) trying to figure out what we can do on the little energy we have, James has come up with a plan. We’ll take the free bicycles out for a ride and explore some of the more local scenery. Our first stop is a waterway with boat tours where the oarswomen row with their feet!
We land row our way to the next stop, Thai Vy Temple. Our way there is through lush green paddy fields, on empty single-track roads. Perfect for a bimble on the bikes, and a wonderful experience after being in cities for the last however long.
Next up is to a viewpoint, which doesn’t have much info about it when we get there, so we just wander around following what looks like a path up and up.
Clambering up and over some rocks, we make it to something that looks like a top. The view opening up to the waterway we saw before, the boats, now little in the distance, slowly meandering across, the lush green paddy fields sprawling the land below, and the karst limestone monoliths framing the scene. Stunning.
Now back to sweaty again, we head back down for our next bimble along…
…to Bich Dong Pagoda. A pagoda set into a cliffside.
Sufficiently exhausted and now back to very hot again, James finds us a place for lunch that does burgers and craft beer. There’s also a little pool in the middle to cool off my little piggies, and fans for every booth.
We kill the final hours here enjoying some much needed comfort food and booze. Before heading to the homestay to (try and) check-in. Eventually, we are invited to our room, with a spectacular view over the paddy fields behind the house. The photo does it no justice.
Having been largely awake for more than 36 hours, and still full from our luscious lunch, we spend the evening resting and having a pho from next-door for dinner.
“Just Drive at Them”
Our next day we’re going slightly further afield that requires our getting back on a scooter. Reviews of our destinations warn us of scams on arrival of people standing in your way to force you to park in their establishment. It’s not been since Costa Rica where we’ve had to deal with this level of aggressive touts.
Mentally armed, we scoot passed the first few ladies waving, flapping rags, and stepping into our paths. We get to the entrance where we have to slow down as a man stands infront of us and maneuvers with greater ease than us whilst demanding that he is the official carpark warden. He points at something on his chest quickly, then the gate sign, as if to indicate they say the same thing, but he doesn’t show us long enough to know for sure. He is adamant we can go no further. We have no idea who to believe at this point, but 10k dong here vs 10k dong 5ft inside makes little difference other than out of principle. I hop off and ask another tourist inside who tells me the parking is where he is. We give in. I’m now fairly certain he wasn’t genuine, but what could we do? These kinds of scams really do nothing but put tourists off going to these places, which means no tourists to scam, but this wouldn’t be the first place people only think of the immediate buck they can make. Entrances paid, it’s time to climb up to the viewpoint above Mua Cave.
The views are pretty spectacular. At the very top lies a dragon across the jagged rocks. Tourists clamber all over them, so of course we join the queue. It wasn’t worth it. This is clearly not for people to explore, and there are too many people up here, not to mention the ones who take 500 photos instead of letting others enjoy the experience, as I hug the dragon for stability and clamber around, hoping to find a safe foothold where there really aren’t any. The view really isn’t anything more from the dragon, so we clamber down and leave the zoomers to it.
Underneath the viewpoint is the Mua Cave that is the main named attraction here. There’s a cute little tunnel out and back, and this open cave where we enjoy the breeze, but for sure the star attraction is the view.
Up next is the Hoa Lo Ancient Capital. Having missed redoing the Imperial City of Hue, I’m a bit more energised for this one, especially now the temperature is only in its 30s. Once more we brace ourselves for the scammers, and scoot through, scooting so far through we end up driving into the Capital itself. We’re waved through the ticket gate and don’t really know what to do with ourselves, so we just park up where some other bikes are and leave off there with a shrug. There’s another clamber up some stairs for a view, but the rest is all wandering around some temples/pagodas, all well restored/retained, although not hugely well annotated so all I have are more pretty pictures:
Fully pagoda’d/temple’d out, we scoot on down to a lunch spot with a view and enjoy a set menu overlooking more rice paddies.
We were originally going to do a boat trip this afternoon, but the previous day’s exhaustion is still taking it out of us today, and with a post-lunch slump, we decide to head back to the homestay for a nap and leave the boat for tomorrow. It was very much needed. We’re now at a point of the travels that I think we’re more willing to skip things and prioritise our health and sanity.
We still drag ourselves back out again that evening though, into the rain now for the first time. James does a brilliant job scooting with no visor or eye protection, as both our minds think… “perhaps this isn’t worth the risk, perhaps we should turn back”. Before the doubts can really take hold, we near a beautifully illuminated gateway, enticing us to keep on, as the rain also starts to drop off.
Our determination is rewarded with some of the most beautiful scenes we’ve come across, and we’ve of course come across a lot! Worried for more parking scams, we park further away from our destination, but we needn’t have bothered. The Silver Pagodas of Ninh Binh are the absolute antithesis to the tourist traps across Vietnam. There’s one security man relaxing in his chair, and a handful of tourists wandering around, and nothing else but peace and quiet. No touts. No crooks. No scammers. No vendors. No-one yelling and trying to fleece us of whatever money they can. It’s slightly disorienting! Why is this place so peaceful where everywhere else is chaos? We still don’t know. Our only theory is that these Pagodas are new and so the vast majority of tourists haven’t found them yet. Most tourists also come to Ninh Binh for a day trip, hitting the viewpoints and old Pagodas, leaving for their return legs as it gets dark, meaning this night-time wonderland is empty. No tourists = no touts. Whatever, we just enjoy it, mouths wide open, taking it all in.
These Silver Pagodas are newly built, but beautifully done. Inside they are carved with scenes depicting the history of Vietnam. Some people might care that they’ve been created purely for tourists, but we don’t. They’ve been done beautifully well, and so we appreciate them as a bit of modern architecture just the same.
We dine at a Korean BBQ place that seems to be one of only a few places open, and then head back with content bellies, and revived touristed out souls.
On the journey back though we spot what look like some other huge illuminated castles or temples. There’s nothing on Google maps, but perhaps these are also new and not yet discovered. After detouring down a few backroads to try and close enough to see what on Earth they are, we eventually let curiosity win and just head straight for them. What we find, we could not predict…
These absolutely monstrous houses are plonked in some new grid-like development, of empty plots and other monstrous houses. The only other building around is a Pullman hotel that is lit up like a Christmas tree that we saw from afar. Except when we get to it, we realise it’s shut. Everything, is empty. The only life is by way of security guards sitting in the gateways to the houses. The rest of this area, empty, dark, silent. It doesn’t make any sense. If you had this much money to build these huge mansions, wouldn’t you also want some privacy? But the windows, doors and entrance ways are all visible from the street as the building footprints go right to the perimeters. They’re also really similar in style. Why would you want a mansion like your neighbour? It’s like nothing we see western money get spent on, as we scoot around this literal ghost town. We then notice all the CCTV cameras everywhere, something we’ve not seen anywhere else. We’re being watched…
We scoot around some more blocks for some hints to what this gaudy empty mansions are all about, and eventually end up at one illuminated to Christmas levels, with a car at the front door, and a draped curtain entrance. Still no-one around, but an illuminated sign of Xuan Thien group. Above the sign, a big clock, with a display of a person cleaning it from the inside. Just in case this place wasn’t creepy enough, they project a digital clock cleaner?!
Figuring we are now probably on a few watch-lists, we quickly scamper on away from the guarded but empty ghost town. Later research tells us that these are the homes of some of the wealthiest men in Vietnam, part of the Xuan Thien family. These homes are seemingly holiday homes or just investments, that no doubt will lie empty for perhaps their entire existence. Wasn’t this meant to be a communist country, we think to ourselves as we keep an eye on our wing mirror…
Trang-An Boat Gang
Having survived the night without a knock at the door to be carted away, it’s our final day in Ninh Binh and we’re off on a boat ride. We decide to take the back roads today to make the most of the incredible views and peace of scooting through the endless rice paddies.
Thankfully, today we don’t have to drive at anyone, as the official carpark is obvious and open for business. We group up with a Brit and a Maltese and jump in a boat bound for Route 2. What follows is a two-three hour boat trip, rowed by hand, through the karst monoliths, shallow cave systems, and some stops at pagodas. It’s really quite beautiful, and so much more peaceful than our tours around Khao Sok or the Philippines where you’re on noisy motorboats all the way around. This, is bliss. We’re fully surrounded by nature and greenery, and we’re not melting. Happiness.
I’d like to be able to say what any of these things are. But I’ve no idea. For all I know they’ve all been built to entertain us tourists. What I do know is that they’re beautiful and peaceful and I thoroughly enjoy the ride.
It’s time for us to say goodbye to Ninh Binh after the boat ride, as we stop off for the local dish of goat for lunch, before some more coffees, and embarking on our night bus up to Ha Giang, for our next adventure.
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Adventure – Bimbling about on bicycles through the rice paddies, so calm and peaceful, clambering through paths
Excitement – not melting from heat! Getting really decent western food at the cafe and Aussie place, getting a really great tofu banh mi at the bus stop, being shown how to eat the goat dish properly
Trauma – parking attendants/scam artists, waiting to check in after not sleeping for so long
1 Comment
More amazing pics and food. I particularly liked the Pagoda’s and the beautiful colourful lanterns and the cave pictures are brilliant. Not sure about clambering over the dragon though, looked tricky. Love the picture of James looking back puzzled on the scooter/bike and the tall vase 😊. Another wonderful blog ❤️