Cat Ba, Ninh Binh; Vietnam
Cat Ba Island
March 14, 2019 (Day 6 of Vietnam)
After a long 3 days of travel and hiking, we took another overnight train back to Hanoi, followed by a 7am bus to Cat Ba Island. We were exhausted, so we took the rest of the day to relax and check out the island. We strolled around the town stopping at the street markets, restaurants and bars just checking out what they were about. Always a mix of sensory overload, shock and excitement when absorbing so many new things!
We stayed at the Bungalow Hostel which had a great vibe. There were pool tables outside under a covered area, also near a bar and of course—great views being that we were on an island. 🙂 We enjoyed dinner, drinks and a game of pool with our travel buddies, Ben and Ellie that we met on our Sapa Trek!
The next day, the four of us had tickets to an all-day boat tour around Ha Long Bay and Monkey Island so after breakfast we walked right on down to the boat and were ready to go! Weather forecast called for rain but fortunately we only had terrible air pollution ha! Even still, we snagged a spot on the top of the boat for the best views.
Without sun, and being on top of the boat, it was windy and pretty chilly! At some point along the tour, the boat stopped in the middle of the water in case anyone wanted to jump in and swim to the nearby shore. I don’t quite remember what was said or how it was decided, but Luke was the only one of our group, and one of the five people on our boat that took the plunge. From my view, it seemed like he immediately regretted that decision as it was pretty cold, but he toughed it out and got to explore over on shore for a bit.
Once everyone was back on board, we sailed a bit further, taking in the scenery, when we made another stop for a quick canoe break! We stripped down to our swimmies, and grabbed a canoe to explore for a while. Of course, I immediately had to make sure we were paddling in sync so that we could go faster than everyone else around us.
Our next stop was Monkey Island. I’ll give you one guess as to why it’s called that…
We got out of the boat and all started heading up the small mountain nearby. It became a bit crowded as it was a single file line going up and down a very narrow, steep path. Unfortunately, it started raining when we were almost to the top and I got a bit nervous as there were many jagged rocks! Fortunately, we were at the front of the line so we were able to get to the top and back down in time. Of course Luke decided he wanted to explore more at the top but the rest of us headed down and waited for him.
There was a restaurant on the island but not much else…besides the monkeys. There were numerous monkeys walking around and while it was fun to see them, it was quite sad seeing how some of the tourists would taunt them, getting them riled up. After a full day on the water, it was time to head back to the island, clean up and relax.
On Day 8 of Vietnam, we took a hike on the island up to Cannon Fort. It was a lovely leisurely hike with great views. There was a small coffee shop that was closed at the time we were there. But there were also some tunnels and old cannons from WWII!
We were a bit exhausted from our non-stop travels at this point, and my allergies and lungs were struggling with the terrible air quality so we went back to the hotel and packed up to catch the bus to our next destination. I had actually parted from Luke for a bit to get some cash in order to get some medicine at the local pharmacy before we left. When I got back to the room I was in tears because I just wanted to be able to breathe normally again!
Thankfully, our limousine bus arrived to take us to Ninh Binh so I had hopes the air would be better there!
Ninh Binh
We booked our stay at Tam Coc Melody Homestay just a day or two prior and arrived in the evening. It was such a quaint place with only a few rooms, kind of like a giant house, and with a few tables under a covered area outside at the entrance. The folks were so nice and welcoming! When we woke up the next day, we got to see it in a better light and realized there was a waterway right next to it filled with floating plants. Someone told us that the water goes one way in the morning, and the other at night because of the changing tides. The plants actually grow on top of the water—how cool!we rented a motorbike to get around.
We rented a motorbike to get around that day with our first stop being Bái Đính Temple. There was both a temple, and a tall pagoda with a square walkway around it. There was a lot to explore around every corner but it was quite crowded so we felt a little like a herd walking together. Afterwards, we took a boat tour at Tràng An. The Tràng An grottes consists of 31 valleys, and 50 cross-water caves, and we got to see it by canoe! And for this one, we had a guide so we didn’t have to row. 😅 We went through some caves, and felt so tiny in the midst of everything. There were 360° views and it was so peaceful!
On Day 2 in Ninh Binh, we had quite the adventure! With another day on the motorbike, we saw Bich Dong Pagoda, Golden Rice Fields, and Hang Múa Mountain.
Upon arriving at Bich Dong, I wasn’t impressed. It looked like some super tiny old structure peeking out of a tree. But after getting closer to take some photos, we did some exporing and found a small cave! We also found there was more to explore. A lot more! Luke found a “secret path” that we adventured through where we ended up seeing a river and some mountain goats within 50 yards of us! Out of mere luck, a sweet elderly lady offered us a “free ride” on a raft down the river and back. She had just given a small family a ride, so we decided to seize the opportunity! She took us down a ways and the most memorable part was when we went under a cave and had to legitimately duck, practically lay down, to get underneath it. She put out her hand when she dropped us off so we tipped her and went on our way. I love—and am so grateful—that we’ve had such cool opportunities like this that have made our experiences unique.
We drove through the Golden Rice Fields on our way to Hang Mua Mountain. The fields weren’t necessarily a tourist destination, but something to see along the way. We stopped for a bit in the middle of the fields and Luke got some great drone footage while I posed for a few goofy shots.
Luke and I had both been looking forward to Hang Mua Peak for a while. It’s about a 20-30 minute hike up many stairs…but along the way there was a beautiful pagoda, and at the top was a gigantic dragon! Unfortunately, it was a bit dark, foggy and misty while we were there so we couldn’t see super great, but WOW was it breathtaking! We even saw a couple taking wedding photos on top!
And that was our time in Ninh Binh! We returned the motorbike and took a bus to the train station. This was another sleeper train and while I had done this once or twice already at this point, I had no idea there could be a "third floor” — and by that I mean a third bunk bed. Luke and I opened the door to our room and there were already four people sleeping on the bottom and middle beds so we took the top two. Twin beds, and we each had about 18” from the bed to the ceiling. So we couldn’t even sit on our bed because we were so close to the ceiling, haha I’m pretty sure I was in tears from laughing so hard at how ridiculous it was. One of the great things however, was how much smoother of a ride it was than the last sleeper train we were on! Regardless, we were exhausted and appreciated any bed we could get.
In the morning, we were in Hue!
