MFC: Ninh Binh, Vietnam
Part of My Favorite Cities series, where I pick my favorite city in each of the countries I visit and write about why.
In January 2019, my cousin and I met up in Hanoi to spend a week in Vietnam. I stuffed this short trip in with a bunch of day trips and overnight stays, which in hindsight was maybe a bit extra.
This was before I figured out that #onebag lifestyle, so instead of my gorgeous portable Osprey Fairview backpack (I’m not sponsored, I just love this thing to hell and back), I had to drag a very inconvenient suitcase all over North Vietnam.
There are things that I would change, as someone who’s travelled a bit more since then. But while I have some things I can beat myself up over, the absolute one thing I’ll never regret is going to Ninh Binh.
Ninh Binh is a little city in the Red River delta in Northern Vietnam. It’s not far from Hanoi, and visitors often make it out as a day trip.
The whole area has got a healthy tourism industry, due to being known for its incredible landscapes, biking and hiking trails, and the nearby Tràng An Scenic Landscape Complex, which is now a World Heritage site. That 2017 Kong: Skull Island was filmed in Tam Coc, one of the sites in Tràng An. I never watched it lol.
We arrived in Ninh Binh late at night, after taking a 2ish hour train from Hanoi.
(Fun fact: on the train I met a Vietnamese guy who was THRILLED to practice speaking English. We talked the whole trip and it’s my favorite travel memory.)
I remember feeling so worn out and exhausted by the busy-ness of Hanoi, and I was immediately grateful for the fresh air and quiet rice paddies.
We took an uber to Tam Coc Sunshine Homestay, where our host had stayed up waiting for us, bless her. This place is my favorite homestay in the entire world. A bunch of detached rooms center a courtyard of bikes and flowers. After two weeks of hostels, my cousin and I were beyond thrilled to have a private room and shower.
The next morning, our host, Nga, and her family made us breakfast on the roof: omelettes, bread with fresh orange jam, fruit, coffee, and mango smoothies. We were honest-to-god giggling over how good it was.
Somewhere in the distance, someone was playing Vietnamese EDM. It sounded like this. I was super into it.
After that, our host gave us a map and directions to local caves and hiking trails. She also rented us two bikes, and we began on our journey out of town.
We spent the whole morning riding dirt trails, passing little settlements. Eventually we made it to the river, where we bought a ticket for a boat tour.
The boat tour was fun. We rode with two Australian dudes, one of whom wanted played his lo fi hip hop music to study and relax to playlist. To be totally honest with you, I’m judgmental and I feel like normally I’d be kinda side-eying that, but it was…actually nice.
The landscape out there is all the adjectives. Gorgeous, scenic, unbelievable. All of them.
Our boat rower, who spoke no English but had arms that could put Rosie the Riveter to shame, dropped us off at a temple and then Skull Island. There, you can walk around and see what’s left of the set.
Locals hang around here dressed in costumes from the movie, and you can pay to take pictures with them. I wasn’t interested in that, but hey, it’s good money for the locals.
After the boat tour, my cousin and I took our bikes back and headed towards The Lying Dragon Mountain, a very steep hike up some stairs. It’s named after the stone dragon at the top. Look, I know I’m not athletic by any means, but that hike kicked my ass. Stairs and stairs and then MORE STAIRS.
But, as we told two fellow travelers on our way down, it would be worth the pain of those stairs. The view from that mountain is something I’ll cherish forever.
We biked back to town, grabbing lunch at a random local spot: spring rolls and pork stuffed fried tofu.
And by then, it was time to leave :(
We tried to get the train back, only to find it was delayed by like 8 hours. So we RAN to the last taxi van available, and stuffed ourselves in with a group of Koreans. We chatted (some in Korean!) on the way back to Hanoi.
thanks for reading!
The places I choose for my “MFP” series are often calm respites from the more chaotic, bigger cities on my trips. Ninh Binh is no different, and in fact probably the best example of this.
Between meeting that boy on the train to yummy breakfasts made by kind hosts to scenic bike rides, I felt really appreciative of the peace of this place.