Adventures with Jack and Julia

The sun finally decided to come out on our last day in Hue as we made our way to the train station. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were about to visit one of our favourite places in Vietnam. Ninh Binh is a more quiet and rural town, located about 10 minutes away from the more popular and touristy town of Tam Coc. We ended up staying there for a couple nights too, and it was also beautiful, but we absolutely loved Ninh Binh so much. If you are ever planning a trip to Vietnam, we highly recommend spending a few nights in Ninh Binh, and not just doing a day trip as many people seem to do. Our first day was spent swimming at our pool, checking out the main street in town, and admiring the amazing limestone mountains in the distance.

Our second day in Ninh Binh was one of Julia’s favourite days of the entire trip. We woke up early to have breakfast and then make our way on bicycles to the Mua Caves, or “Hang Mua,” which translates to Dancing Cave in Vietnamese. The Mua Caves is located within the UNESCO-listed Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex. You hike up 500 steps to the top and are greeted with breathtaking panoramic views over Ninh Binh and the surrounding areas. This was the most beautiful place we had seen on the trip so far. Looking below the limestone mountains, you can see boats slowly cruising down the Trang An river. At the highest point of the hike is a statue of a dragon that is overlooking the city. After taking in the beautiful scenery, we hiked our way back down, past a resident goat who was just hanging out on the steps and taking photos with people passing by. Located next to the Mua Caves is a beautiful boardwalk shaped like a lotus flower that was built in the lotus fields. Unfortunately, due to the typhoon, much of the boardwalk and the fields were still flooded so we were unable to walk the entire path. It was still very tranquil and peaceful and we enjoyed checking out the views of the mountains from below.

After a quick coffee and coconut break, we hopped back onto our bikes and headed to the starting point for our Trang An river cruise. Normally, there are 3 different routes to choose from and you are assigned a boat based on which route you choose. All of the routes take you through the river to different caves and pagodas. One route even takes you to the site where King Kong Skull Island was filmed! Unfortunately for us, the typhoon had caused flooding in all the caves, so the boats were all taking the same route and we were unable to visit any caves. Despite this, we still enjoyed the slow cruise through the lush jungle and beautiful waters of the Trang An river. After a couple hours on the water, we biked back to our homestay and cooled off in the pool before having an early dinner and heading to bed.

Our third day we were sad to be leaving Ninh Binh but were excited to move just 10 minutes away to a new place called Tam Coc. The vibes here were so different from Ninh Binh, despite their close proximity. We noticed a lot more backpackers and the town was bustling with people. We settled into our new spot and went for a walk to check out the scene.

The next day, we woke up early and had a breakfast of omelettes and coffee at our hotel. We then rented bicycles from our hotel and went on the most scenic bike ride of our lives:

We started the day at Bich Dong Pagoda, then made our way to Thung Nham Ecotourism zone where we had our second coffees and took a scenic boat tour through the bird sanctuary. We were amazed by the amount of herons and other birds to be seen there, but what was most amazing was the fish that jumped straight into our boat! We managed to get a picture of the guy in front of us tossing it back in. I guess it assumed it was safer with us than anywhere near the birds!

Afterwards, we biked back along the pathway towards the “Water Loop”, but went around the far side this time. The pathway we took is of special significance in the area as the home owners have been generations of farmers, and welcome people onto their properties to learn about traditional life, or for a beer to relax in the serenity. We managed to feed a buffalo at one stop, then we stumbled upon a small café tucked away in a beautiful garden. The owner named Nguyen Hon was so friendly and excited to show us his unique bonsai trees, hand carved tables, chairs and flower pots. We communicated through Google Translate and took many photos.

After a long 21km bike ride, we rested for a bit before having a nice dinner on the river.

Next morning, we caught our bus to Pu Luong! It’s a beautiful mountainous region filled with terraced rice fields. Stay tuned!

PS: thank you for reading our blog! If you want to support us, we have set up a page where you can help fund our coffee addiction 🙂 we miss everyone back home!