A gold star for Vietnam

Vietnam has been awesome. We’ve had a month here and we wish we could have stayed for longer. The people are SO warm and welcoming (everyone always says hello), the culture is fascinating, the food is incredible, the history is rich and the scenery… well the scenery is out of this world. For a country that has seen so much recent suffering, it’s fresh, full of life and is incredibly beautiful. It’s up there with the best countries we’ve ever been too. All in all, a gold star on the flag is fitting.

24^th January – 27^th January (Ninh Binh/Tam Coc)

After arriving by bus from Cat Ba we set out to explore Ninh Binh, or specifically the Tam Coc area. Whilst the main street in Tam Coc was quite touristy and for want of a better phrase ‘a bit naff’, the surrounding countryside made up for it. After a disappointing lunch (overly fried tofu) our first stop was the Bich Dong Pagoda, a small temple about thirty minutes from town on foot. The temple is built into the rock and we were treated to great valley views from the peak. The area is similar to Phong Nha, but with more rivers and lakes. Then came one of the most weird but wonderful of our experiences in Vietnam. Helen had downloaded the app called maps.me (a great shout for anyone travelling) and marked just past the temple was a small privately owned cave… Being intrepid explorers, we couldn’t resist. We were led around the cave by the owner. English = 0/10. Love of his cave = 10/10. Passion to share his cave with tourists (who clearly speak no Vietnamese) = 15/10. We ducked and weaved through small passages, looking at fossils and crazy rock formations with a constant torrent of explanations (the cave was huge!!). We haven’t got a clue what he said (maybe something about the sea…?). Nonetheless, well worth the 30 p (10 k Vietnamese dong).

• 

• 

On the 24th we rented bikes and made our way to the Hoa Lu ancient capital. The site was the capital for the Dinh dynasty (the first monarchy system in Vietnam) and early Le and Ly dynasties. It was the capital for 42 years for an empire spanning from Northern to Central Vietnam in the 10th and 11th centuries. Thereafter, the Ly Dynasty moved the capital to Thang Long (see Hanoi post), before it was moved again to Hue. It’s been really nice to visit all three sites and piece together Vietnam’s ancient history. Basically it all started in 968 when Dinh Bo Linh defeated 11 other warlords and declared himself emperor, setting up the capital in Hoa Lu with a state government, trade and minted coin and naming the country Dai Co Viet (the country of the great Viet people). Dinh Bo Linh was murdered in 979 and like all good stories it involved a traitorous general and a devious mistress. As we walked around the site we could see why it was a choice for the capital as the limestone mountains that dominate the landscape would help protect against enemies (except your own generals…). The site was not as well structured as Thang Long (our favourite of the three) or as big as the capital in Hue and there are few original remains left (although that’s not surprising given the age of this capital and Vietnam’s turbulent history), but for 20 k it was worth a visit, even in the rain. The next stop on the Tour de Tam Coc was Bai Dinh Temple, another 10 km from Hoa Lu. It is South East Asia’s largest Buddhist complex and although more modern, it was extremely impressive with a towering stupa and huge golden Buddhas, positioned in front of golden lotus leaves. We escaped the rain in the temples, marvelling at the statues. One of the funniest things was the offerings, which included fruit and money but quite often candy, soft drinks and crackers.

• 

• 

• 

On our second full day in Tam Coc we woke to a thunderstorm, so used the rainy time to do some planning for the next month. We’ve been doing things fairly ad hoc, but it’s nice to have a bit more structure now (a few flights booked). We then walked to the Thung Nham bird park…albeit in the rain again!! Our stay in Tam Coc has coincided with the holiday season (known as Tet), so the walk to the park was really quiet and we enjoyed chatting, whilst admiring the scenery. We then explored the Vai Gioi cave, ascending different levels from Hell, to Earth, to Paradise, which fittingly featured stunning valley views. We then stumbled across an amazing little cafe, Tuan Vu, near the Bich Dong Pagoda where we had noodles with vegetables and tofu in tomato sauce with lemongrass. Then the lovely host gave us some Tet cake to celebrate New Year. It is made of sticky rice with mung beans in the middle and is boiled for six hours. It was gross. We ended up giving one piece back under the pretence of fullness and hid the second piece in my bag so not to cause offence! A memorable lunch.

After a rather sleepless night thanks to New Year celebrations, we walked out to the Hàng Mua cave and viewpoint. The views from the top of the ‘lying dragon mountain’ were wonderful and we could imagine that with vivid green rice fields later in the year it would be even more spectacular. The cave itself was a bit average and not a scratch on the random man’s cave from day one. After another lovely Vietnamese lunch we walked to Trâng An, where the river winds through the towering hills. Unfortunately a lot of the walking was on a road, but otherwise we could have been in Jurassic Park. Then (FINALLY) on the edge of town we found some planted rice fields, with the distinctive bright green set magically against the darker hills. As a side thought, Ninh Binh has goats living in the hills, which is fab. What’s not so fab is the fact that these goats are sold on the side of the road. Cooked but whole. Best not to dwell on that too much…

• 

• 

• 

Vietnam travel tip #9: If you are in the country for Tet, don’t eat the cake…

Vietnam travel tip #9b: As a more serious comment, we both wished we had stayed further outside of Tam Coc town. For anyone visiting Ninh Binh there are nicer areas on the outskirts of Tam Coc that are prime for exploring the countryside.

28^th January – 29^th January (Pu Luong)

The car journey from Tam Coc to our last stop in Vietnam, Pu Luong, was gloriously green. Rice paddies, towering limestone hills, farms and forests. It took four hours, but seemed shorter as we marvelled at our surroundings. It will come as no surprise that Pu Luong was also top dollar. Even more rural than Sapa but with the same tiered rice fields, lush valleys and mountainous peaks. After dropping our bags we confidently strode out towards Hieu village and waterfall. An hour later we were halfway up a hill without a clue where we were… Instead, we spent the afternoon trekking, wandering along quiet footpaths and through tiny villages. Sometimes getting lost pays off…

• 

• 

After a cosy night in our homestay (a very simple wooden cabin with a mattress on the floor) we set out for Kho Muong village. Two hours of trekking took us past small villages and over a big hill to the impressive Hang Doi cave. It was HUGE and exceeded our expectations. We then set out for the elusive Hieu village and waterfall (from day one) trekking for another four hours only to find January wasn’t a good time to see the falls (they were disappointing as you can probably now guess). Never has the song ‘don’t go chasing waterfalls’ been more appropriate. Having said that we could see how the falls would be spectacular with more rain and reminded us a little bit of Erawan waterfalls in Thailand. It was a long walking day and we got back to our homestay feeling tired, but very happy.

• 

• 

We spent the last morning of our Pu Luong experience meandering around the rice fields and taking in the views. Tomorrow we depart Vietnam, ready for our Laos adventure. We are very sorry to be saying goodbye but are looking forward to the next country on our grand tour of Asia.

Vietnam travel tip #10: Part A) Go to Vietnam. Part B) Make sure you spend as much time as possible here. There is SO much to see and do in this wonderful country.