This part of our Vietnam trip was quite different from the previous two weeks. Weather-wise, we had expected the Mekong and HCMC to be very hot, the central part to be mild but a little rainy, and the north to be cooler but dry. We were fortunate in some ways because the South was less hot than usual and the central part went through a heatwave so we had glorious weather with sunny skies and no rain. However, this meant that the northern part of our trip was a whole lot colder and rainier than usual. And so, the Ninh Binh-Cat Ba-Hanoi part of our trip was a bit more challenging to work with!
It’s also quite a difficult area to get to. As I mentioned in my last post, to get from Phong Nha to Ninh Binh he had to take an eight-hour sleeper train. There is an option for a VIP room with just two beds, but this is not available on all trains and if it is, it’s often booked up very far in advance. It’s also expensive. We decided to take the hit and book the top and bottom bunks of a four-person room. What ensued was a pretty miserable ride. We had read online that oftentimes the air conditioning is blasting so if you’re on the top bunk you’re susceptible to freezing. We prepared for this, but in reality, the air conditioning was broken and so we were boiling. In addition, the door kept getting jammed and so we were panicking that we wouldn’t be able to leave easily. Victor had an upset stomach so he was particularly nervous about it. I eventually figured out how to open it, so we were able to try and go to sleep in peace.
However, a few hours in, an elderly woman on the bottom bunk on the other side received a phone call in the middle of the night and proceeded to speak very loudly. It must’ve been 2 or 3am. We figured she was trying to get off the train, but no, she stayed on for another hour or two. Needless to say, we did not sleep well and were so relieved to leave the train.
We arrived at our accommodation at about 7am. It was obviously too early to check in, but our host made us a delicious breakfast and suggested we take advantage of the early hour to get going on some activities. We hired a driver who took us to our first activity of the day, Trang An Boat Tour. As I mentioned, the weather was quite different here compared to the rest of Vietnam (southward). It was quite foggy, rainier and cooler, i.e. around 15-17 degrees compared to the 26-28 degrees in Phong Nha and Hoi An. Nonetheless, we really enjoyed our boat ride because the fog made the scenery mystical.
There are a few different routes you can choose. Route 1 consists of 9 caves and 3 temples, Route 2 consists of 4 caves and 3 temples, and Route 3 consists of 3 caves and 3 temples. When researching online, many travellers suggested Route 3 because it takes you through the longest cave in Trang An. We chose Route 3 but in hindsight, I would suggest going on whichever route has the least amount of people going to! While we were at the boat dock at the opening time, we were quickly overwhelmed by hundreds if not a thousand school children. You separate into different routes before boarding the boat, and yes, all of the children were going on Route 3. We probably should’ve picked a quieter route, but we were able to fall behind a bit to let the children go ahead.
As I mentioned, Route 3 includes visits to 3 temples. The complexes were really neat to explore. I enjoyed seeing the different architecture and buildings against the beautiful landscape.
There are also 3 water caves along the route, which we entered with the boat. This was really fun as you got up and personal with the cave walls. I thoroughly enjoyed this part and the caves were very different from the ones we saw in Phong Nha.
Ninh Binh is often known as the Ha Long Bay on land because of the beautiful, tall karst mountains.
We then had our driver drive us to the Bái Đính Temple Spiritual and Cultural Complex. It’s a famous spiritual and cultural attraction located on Bai Dinh Mountain. The complex consists of an ancient pagoda and a newly constructed, larger pagoda.
Once inside the complex, we walked along the Arhat Statue Corridor. It’s an almost 13km long corridor with 500 stone statues of Arhat, carved in different forms. Arhat, in Buddhism, is a perfected person, one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved nirvana (in other words, spiritual enlightenment). The corridor is renowned as the longest Arhat statue corridor in Asia. The pagoda owns the greatest number of Arhat statues in Vietnam, each was created by skilled workers from the most famous handicraft villages in north Vietnam.
Behind the Tam Quan Gate is the Bell Tower. It’s an octagon-shaped tower with three storeys of varying sizes. It’s 18,25 meters tall and supported by a platform shaped like a lotus. Inside is a bronze bell weighing 36 tons.
Next to the bell tower is the Kuan-Yin Hall. The hall is made almost entirely of wood and contains an 80-ton bronze figure of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Avalokitesvara is a tenth-level bodhisattva associated with great compassion in Buddhism. Sometimes the 11-headed Avalokiteshvara is represented with thousands of arms, which rise like the outspread tail of a peacock around the figure. This is the case with the beautiful figure located here.
Situated at the highest position in the Bai Dinh temple complex is Dien Tam The. This building is the most important and impressive part of the Bai Dinh complex. The temple worships three identical statues of Buddha, which represent the past, present and future. These statues are recognized as the biggest ones in Vietnam.
At around 2pm it started to pour, so we harboured indoors for a little while and then decided to call it a day.
We got back to our accommodation in the afternoon and proceeded to take a well-deserved nap. Once we were up, it was very dark outside but we went for a little wander into the village. We stopped for coffee at Konnai Coffee. This is a pretty neat brand. They provide coffee from beans grown in the Son La province of Vietnam to the northwest of the country. In 1992, the Son La government decided to industrialise Arabica coffee beans to help farmers develop their economy and get out of poverty. Only a few selected areas in the Northwest, especially in Son La province, meet the required soil conditions to grow high-quality coffee beans. Konnai started in 2012 and has been exporting roasted coffee to China, Saudi Arabia, and the US, and supplying green coffee to multinational trading companies in Vietnam. In 2019, Konnai established the Vietnam Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA Vietnam), contributing to improving the livelihoods of ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Their goal is to bring the high-quality coffee industry to Vietnam to help the economy and you know, their coffee tastes pretty good!
After a jolt of energy, we walked around for about an hour and then started to look for dinner. The village is full of bars and restaurants, so we were spoiled for choice. We settled on the Family Restaurant as it looked inviting but wasn’t too packed. We didn’t expect amazing food, but we were pleasantly surprised with our dinner. We also stopped for a beer at a place with firepits, super cozy!
The next day we woke up to a chilly morning in Ninh Binh. It was raining quite a bit, but we knew if we wanted to see anything we would have to brave the weather. We borrowed a couple of bikes from our accommodation, put on our rain jackets and ponchos, and made our way to Bich Dong Pagoda.
This small but charming pagoda complex is quite popular in Ninh Binh, mostly because of the lotus flowers that bloom in the summer. Obviously, we were not here in the summer, but the entrance was nonetheless beautiful.
At the base is the Lower Pagoda. You climb up 100 steps to the Middle Pagoda, and then a shorter set of steps to the Upper Pagoda. Inside each cave temple are looming statues peering from the haze of burning incense. As you make your ascent, there are also wonderful views overlooking the valley.
We ventured back down and cycled just a bit further up the road to visit a small and very off-the-beaten-path temple, Chùa Linh Cốc. It’s an active temple and so there are usually monks going about their daily business here. The pagoda is pretty underwhelming, but you need to locate someone to pay a small fee and unlock the gate to the cave. The cave is small but impressive.
After our little morning adventure in the rain, we cycled back to town for lunch. I was craving a dish that I hadn’t yet had in Vietnam, vermicelli noodle salad! We went to An Phong Restaurant – Coffee & Bánh Mì and had exactly what I needed. Although, we must’ve arrived at a strange time because the restaurant staff (i.e. family) were having their lunch!
We then went back to the accommodation to take a well-deserved hot shower and nap.
At around 3pm we got back up and noticed that the weather was finally looking better! The sky was brighter and the clouds were starting to thin out. We grabbed our bikes and cycled to the nearby temple, Thai Vi. On our way, we got to see some of the boat tours passing by.
The Thai Vi Temple is small and, unlike the other ornate temples in the area, this one has a simpler and gentler appearance. The various gates are particularly impressive and obviously represent a time of prosperity in the area, i.e. the 13th century. When looking into this temple you’ll often find reviews referring to a monk who plays traditional instruments. We saw this man who looked exactly like a portrait of Confucius. If you stay around long enough, you’ll be expected to provide a donation, so we decided to roam around the complex and hear the music from afar.
We continued our bike ride to take in the beautiful scenery around us. We went around a lake and went down any little alley we could find. Cycling is definitely the best way to enjoy the area.
By this point, the sky was clearing up quite a bit so we were lucky to have some peaks of blue! We dropped off our bikes back at our accommodation and walked a bit further out for dinner. We went to Thảo Béo Restaurant Bar and had delicious whole-grilled fish with my favourite tomato tofu.
After a good night’s sleep, early the next morning, we were picked up by a car to take us to our bus in town. We then embarked on a long journey to Cat Ba island, more on this part of our trip in my next post. Thank you, Ninh Binh, you were magical.
Despite the foggy weather, Ninh Binh was incredibly beautiful and fun! What do you think of this Ha Long Bay on-land destination?
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