Visited: October 28-30, 2024
With the abrupt cancellation of our second night on the Ha Long Bay cruise, we had an additional day to explore Ninh Binh. Our home base for exploring the area was a homestay in the village of Tam Coc. I had imagined Tam Coc to be a very quiet and small rural town, but was surprised to see it as a dense, built up tourist area with plenty of restaurants, shops, and homestays. Because of the big storm in central Vietnam, it was a bit cloudy and rainy during our three-day stay. However, we were still able to do and see a lot in this beautiful place known as the “Ha Long Bay on Land” – an accurate description.
Day 1: Bich Dong Pagoda and Biking Around the Rice Paddies
The weather forecast for the day showed a chance of rain all day. However, we couldn’t just stay inside so we decided to wear our rain jackets and venture out on our bikes. Biking around the countryside among the rice paddies is one of the top things to do in Ninh Binh. It wasn’t yet raining so we decided to bike the 2.6-kim to the Bich Dong Pagoda, which has multiple temples in and around a cave. Even though it was cloudy and a bit blustery, the bike ride to Bich Dong was gorgeous. The scenery was beautiful and peaceful. The roads were flat, making it an easy ride.
When we arrived at Bich Dong, we parked out bikes in a guarded lot and walked to the pagoda entrance. Set at the bottom of a large cliff and upon the water, it looked beautiful. We explored the lower pagoda and then walked up stairs to see the upper pagoda with temples built inside a cave.
From the pagoda, we followed another path up and down a mountain in another direction and found ourselves in front of a beautiful large pond. From there, we took an impromptu boat ride into a cave. It was the first time any of us went on a cave boat ride. It wouldn’t be our last in Ninh Binh either! It was really cool to explore this old cave this way. Unfortunately, we didn’t take any pictures inside as it was dark.
After Bich Dong, we biked to a pizza restaurant for lunch. The pizza in the middle of the Vietnamese countryside was surprisingly good! The mango juice was also outstanding and maybe the best of the entire trip. Nate of course got a burger. Unfortunately, the bun on his burger was rock hard and burnt (much too toasted) so he had to ask for a new bun which still was brought too toasted, but better. Overall, this burger was just average.
The rain was still holding off so we biked more in the afternoon around Tam Coc. Biking in scenic places is one of my favorite activities and I enjoyed every moment. Eventually, the wind started picking up and it felt like it might start pouring any moment so we rushed back to our homestay.
Later in the afternoon, Kim and I went to walk around the town main strip while Nate rested back in the room. We walked to the start of the Tam Coc boat circuit – one of the two boat rides in Ninh Binh. We weren’t going to do the Tam Coc one, but it was cool to see all the boats taking off from the center of town. On our walk back to the homestay, we were lured by one of the many spas and got pedicures.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant on the main strip that was very highly rated but we weren’t quite sure why. It wasn’t crowded but the service and food took forever. They brought us the wrong spring rolls (ordered shrimp but got veggie) and then they forgot my dish. Nate and Kim were done eating by the time my food finally came. The food was fine but nothing special. It was another reminder that Google reviews in tourist areas are not that accurate.
Day 2: The Enormous Bai Dinh Pagoda
It was raining all morning on our second day in Tam Coc, so we decided to take it slow in the morning. There are countless spas in town so we all went to get full body massages which is a perfect rainy day activity. Luckily, the rain stopped by late morning so we went to eat lunch at another local restaurant. I had pho which was pretty good, but nothing compared to the first pho I had in Hanoi. With fingers crossed that the rain would continue to hold off, we headed out sightseeing.
Our destination for the day was the Bai Dinh Pagoda, which is one of the largest temples in Southeast Asia. Indeed, it was a massive, sprawling complex, much bigger than I had expected. To get there, we found a taxi driver in town and negotiated for him to take us and bring us back into town. We got our tickets and then took a shuttle to the back entrance.
We first visited the ancient pagoda which was a hike up many stairs and past rows of buddhas. Perhaps because of the dreary weather, there were very few people there. It felt like we were exploring the complex alone. The quiet and stillness against the grey backdrop gave me a mystical feeling. There were multiple levels, structures, and even a cave in the ancient pagoda.
We then walked to the Three Periods Temple which was a huge temple filled with probably thousands of buddha statues of all sizes. It was so ornate with red and gold designs. From here, we could also see the most photographed part of the complex, the stupa – the tall tower. It was starting to get dark and the pagoda lights turned on.
Next up was the stupa. I was worried that we’d have to climb stairs all the way to the top, 13 floors, but there was an elevator. At the top, there is a veranda around the tower with amazing views. The views were breathtaking with the lights on all the buildings and temples.
By the time we descended, we only had about an hour before the park closed. So we quickly walked through the rest of the complex to the front entrance, admiring the beautiful temples and structures lit up by lights.
As promised, our driver was waiting for us in the parking lot and we returned back to Tam Coc. We had expected to spend maybe an hour or two at Bai Dinh – but we ended up spending close to four hours, all afternoon, walking around. We were tired and hungry so we went directly to an Italian restaurant for pizza and pasta. My carbonara pasta wasn’t great, but the pizzas were pretty good!
Day 3: Trang An Boat Tour and Hang Mua Lookout
On our last day in Ninh Binh, we finally did the Trang An boat tour. This is the main attraction in Ninh Binh and most of the photos you see online of Ninh Binh. Because of the rainy weather, we had to wait until the last day in hopes of better weather. It was still cloudy on the third morning, but at least there was a very low chance of rain.
We biked the ~7km from Tam Coc to Trang An which took about 30 minutes. It was a beautiful ride through the mountainous landscape and rice fields. We parked our bikes in bike parking and then went to buy our tickets. It was about $10 per person for a two-hour boat ride on a small boat. There are three routes you can choose and we chose route #3.
This boat ride was the highlight of our time in Ninh Binh. The landscape was incredible and it truly looked like Ha Long Bay on land with the karst mountains all around. We also went through a couple of caves, including one very long cave. There were multiple points where we had to duck to not hit our heads. It was such a cool experience.
Throughout the boat ride, there were also multiple stops at temples. This was nice so that we could get up and stretch our legs a bit and admire the scenery from land as well.
Our rower was an incredibly nice and sweet man. I was so impressed by him and the many other rowers that row day in and day out for hours. My arms get so tired just going kayaking for a short period – I had so much respect for all of the hardworking rowers. He was also like a professional photographer taking the best pictures for us.
Although it would have been nice to have a beautiful sunny day, the cloudy day actually made the boat ride more enjoyable. Otherwise, we would have been very hot and sweaty. Our pictures may not have turned out as well, but we thoroughly enjoyed Trang An.
Once the boat tour was over, we got back on our bikes and found a scenic place for lunch before heading to our next stop, Hang Mua, a popular lookout point. Biking to the Hang Mua entrance, multiple locals tried to trick us into parking at their shop by lying that there was no bike parking at the entrance. I was almost tricked, but we ignored everyone and successfully parked our bikes at the official bike parking. By the time we got to Hang Mua, it was the afternoon so it was quite crowded and hot with the sun starting to peak out.
Hang Mua was also much bigger and developed than I expected. I thought it was just one mountain with a trail to the top. But there were lots of shops on the grounds with walkways among ponds as well. It was a long way to the top of the lookout – about 500 steps. We all made it to the top where there is a massive dragon statue, but not without sweating profusely.
Nate and I waited in line to climb up to the dragon statue, although I didn’t realize that’s what we were waiting in line for. I thought it was just another small stretch to get to the top of the viewpoint. It was quite precarious up there and in retrospect, I’m not sure we were supposed to go up there. I guess that happens when you just follow the crowd blindly. But we still were able to get amazing 360-degree views and pictures from the top.
On our way out, we walked through the lotus boardwalk which was very pretty with lily pads.
We made our way back to Tam Coc before the sun set and ran into some water buffalos in the fields. After a long day, we were ready for dinner. We were a bit tired of Vietnamese food, so we tried an Indian restaurant which was a success. The food was quite good!
Before heading in for the night, I indulged in one more spa treatment and got my hair washed. I love the feeling of getting my hair done so it was the perfect way to relax before bed on our final night in Ninh Binh. In the morning, we would be heading to Mai Chau.
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