Ninh Binh 🇻🇳

We got back from Ha Long Bay yesterday afternoon where the hotel owner met us and apologised about moving us to the sister hotel, and gave us a key to a free upgraded room. After sorting all our bits out we decided we needed to do the first bit of laundry as we are quickly running out of underwear – the joys of travelling. We spoke to reception who assured us that our washing would be ready for collection at 10pm that evening… so we headed out to Hanoi Social Club; a hip cafe with antique furniture and a chill vibe. We also decided we really wanted something other than rice and soy sauce, so we ordered a pull pork sandwich and a huge bowl of nachos. They were incredible and I would 100% recommend this place to anyone coming to Hanoi, espeically if you do fancy a change from Vietnamese cuisine. They hold live music events here too.

It was now getting dark but there was one more thing left on the Hanoi list – Thang Long Citadel to tick off another UNESCO site. I knew it would be shut but I was hoping I’d get a slightly closer look at it as it looks so pretty lit up at night. Unfortunately it’s surrounded by a huge wall and multiple guards. As it was actually a fairly decent trek we decided to stop for a drink, and popped into a watering hole next to the citadel. The vibe was really creepy and the people who worked there just stood and stared at us whilst we had our drinks. After a quick browse of the menu and deciding we definitely didn’t want to join them for a salty turtle, we paid up and left. We then headed to beer street – a street full of bars and loud music! By this point it was raining.. again.. so we decided to have one to take in the atmosphere before calling it a night. We got back to the hotel just after 10 and were handed a bag of clean clothes. Unfortunately.. these were not our clothes 😬 they apologised and said that due to the weather the clothes wouldn’t be dry and to ask again the following day. Fingers crossed its not lost, otherwise we will be wearing the same pair of pants for the next 3 weeks 🤣

It was another early get up this morning as we joined another trip, this time to the Ninh Binh province. We usually get picked up by minibus, however 2 people turned up on scooters and said they were here to take us to the main pick up point. So we jumped on the back and weaved our way through the crazy traffic whilst clinging on for dear life! Our first stop was to Hoa Lu – an ancient city surrounded by the Trang An limestone mountains. As the capital of the country for 41 years, Hoa Lu has many palaces, pagodas, tombs and pavilions that were built by different dynasties. Having a guide with us meant we finally got to understand what was happening when people take beer, light incense then sit and pray in the temple – it’s a way to honor and remember their ancestors. It was a very peaceful place to walk around and I would have liked more time there, but that’s always the case with these types of trips. We then grabbed some bikes to ride through a traditional village. Unfortunately the main route they use was super wet and muddy, so it was a quick up and down the concrete paths for views of the mountains.

This afternoon, we went to Tam Coc and took a traditional river boat along the Ngo Dong river. Tam Coc means ‘three grottoes, and these include Ca cave, Hai cave and Ba cave, meaning the first, the second and the third respectively. The ride took around 2 hours, and even though it was raining, it was still lovely to sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The locals even ride with their feet! Ours asked for a tip at the end, which I didn’t mind.. but he then told us how much he wanted!! So because he was being cheeky, he got half of what he asked for 🤣

Our last stop of the day was Mua cave and the 500 step climb (although it felt waaaay more than that) to the lying dragon. All of the guide books have something along the lines of “get panoramic views of Tam Coc with fields, blue rivers, and majestic limestone mountains. This combination makes a wonderful picture. ” We knew we wouldn’t get that because of the weather, but yet again, we had a cloudy rainy view. It’s also incredibly busy up at the dragon itself with long lines to get a photo. The rock steps around it are narrow and slippery, so we abandoned going up to it.

All the research said the same thing.. Vietnam is great to visit in February. I know the weather can’t be helped, but it’s been disappointing that it has so many amazing viewpoints to offer, and we’ve seen none. I even asked the guide if this is normal and she said no. I guess we’ve just been really unlucky 😔 we head to Hoi An tomorrow where the weather looks warm and dry.. so 🤞🏻it stays that way!

In other news…. we have our laundry!!!