Northern Vietnam to China

Some people say "when you've seen one mountain, you've seen them all." I say that this is a false statement. We were told that Ninh Bình is just like Ha Long Bay, but on land. Since we loved the views of Ha Long, we decided to ignore that advice and go anyway. I'm glad we did. Farther south and a bit inland, the area of Ninh Bình is absolutely stunning. It is a much slower pace than the touristy Cat Ba with quiet country roads leading to vibrant rice paddies. The locals can be seen wading through them with their pants rolled up and a basket on their hips, or watching over their heard of goats. We intended to spend a few days there, but it turned into a week.

We arrived first in the city of Ninh Bình, which is nothing much to see unless you want to get a feel for non-tourist, real Vietnamese city life. There are little to no attractions, just everyday shops and people going about their daily lives. Occasionally, a group of children will wave at you and say "hello", but you will only meet locals here. The only upsides are that the train station is located in this city and it is within 5-20km from most attractions. The main place most people go is called Tam Coc, which is a tiny town not far from Ninh Bình. It has more food options, a decent range of hotels, and within walking distance of everything. I'd recommend staying there instead if you find yourself in northern Vietnam.

The river tours through the karsts are what draws visitors. Since we were there for so long, we checked out the two biggest ones. Trang An is less crowded and takes longer. Unfortunately, we were there while the river was high and only went through two caves. However, in the better season there are 9 you get to travel through. The trip was calm, more like a watery marsh than flowing river. We were carried along peacefully by a lovely Vietnamese lady who sometimes used her hands and sometimes her feet to row us through the mountains. An occasional temple on an island would appear in the distance, and we were let off the boat to explore and take pictures.

The other, more popular, boat trip is the one in Tam Coc. We decided to do it in the morning before the tourist buses came and it got crowded. Even early, there were twice as many boats as Trang An. It doesn't take long to float out of town though, allowing you to see just as beautiful scenery. The two caves on this river tour are much larger and more natural. They open up into a wide glade where an occasional fisherman is setting nets and herons perch in the trees. The karsts crowd in close here, and it seems like you are traveling in a secluded lake. Both boat trips are wonderful and worth the visit.

Boat tours are not the only thing to see in Tam Coc. There are various temples you can walk to, most of which allow you to travel along lovely country roads to get there. The Bich Dong Pagoda is popular and only a 30 minute walk from town. It is a small yet interesting structure built on a lake with a temple nestled against a mountainside. Also, not far is a Mua Cave that has a strenuous hike up a flight of stairs to the peak of a karst. A dragon statue perches at the top overlooking a beautiful view of the river and surrounding mountains.

While we would have loved to keep staying in Vietnam, a wonderful country, our visa was running out. It was time to move on to a new place, new country, new culture. Time to go to China. We spent a few days in Hanoi before our flight to explore the confusing streets, eating where presidents and TV stars eat, and watching a unique water puppet show. Hanoi is so interesting in its chaos and uniqueness. It was fun to be back again, if only for a short period of time.

The best route to travel to China for us was through Hong Kong, a familiar place since we were just there in November. Being the thrifty travellers that we are, we booked the cheapest hotel we could find in Kowloon. To our surprise and a great deal of humor, we ended up in Chungking Mansions. This building is like 6 buildings, mashed together to form a low rent district on top of a sketchy mall with questionably legal goods for sale. Our room was a closet containing a full size bed and enough space for one person to stand up. There was even a shower/toilet stall. Thankfully, we stayed only a couple of nights, just long enough for a hike up to Victoria Peak and dinner with a friend. It was raining for most of our hike, but we had a few breaks in the clouds to take photos. Afterward, we were taken out for an amazingly delicious dinner then drinks with a view of the city at night.

We had one more night in mainland Zhuhai before where we had a lovely time visiting some more friends before our flight. Our next week and a half was spent in the land of spicy and delicious food: Chengdu in the Sichuan Province. I won't lie, the main reason to come here was to eat, and we stuffed ourselves. Spicy, tongue numbing peppers with the same name of the province flavor just about every meal here, making even the strangest of foods taste delicious. We ate dishes ranging from noodles and dumplings to ox tongue and chicken intestine. Hot pot is most famous in the area, which is nothing more than chili oil and broth. You boil an assortment of meat and vegetables then dip them in more oil flavored with garlic and soy. We may gave gained a few extra pounds in the time spent there.

Chengdu is a big modern city with lots going on. In the center of the city is Tianfu Square resting atop the metro and a shopping mall. It contains a giant Chairman Mao statue, and has a synchronized light and water show everyday. Amidst high rise buildings, sometimes lit by color changing lights, you can find various beautifully designed parks. We visited a few close to the apartment we rented. Most had winding paved paths and gorgeous gardens, some had relaxing tea houses full of locals playing cards or mahjong, and a few had tall pagodas or ornate buildings to see. Each was unique and a peaceful break from city life.

A couple of other interesting sites were the various walking streets. Kuanzhai Xiangzi, aka Wide and Narrow Alley, was a crowded street filled with hot pot restaurants, souvenir shops, and tea stores. It had some interesting rebuilt building reminiscent of an ancient chinese city. A similar street was called Jinli. Equally as touristy and crowded, it was fun to walk through the narrow paths and look in the shops. This alley was full of bright red lanterns, wooden structures, and people posing for photos with selfie sticks.

Being an animal lover, of course my favorite part was visiting the pandas at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. We spent all day exploring the park, observing these gentle and adorable creatures. We even saw some babies who are nothing but wiggling fluff. Although it was designed as a standard zoo, it was still great to see them and hear about the great work this facility is doing to increase the panda population.

The last thing we did before leaving Chengdu was to visit the infamous giant buddha in the town of Leshan. I felt it was a long trip for too a short visit, and probably would have enjoyed it more if we stayed in Leshan. It is a 2.5 hour bus ride away, a little much for a day trip. That being said, it was rather impressive. The buddha is carved out of a mountain and towers over the city across the river from it. Crowds of people line up to hike to its base to get the full perspective. We opted out of the hike because of the long wait and limited time, but I'm sure it is an imposing view. An entire park with other carved Buddha's and statues, pagodas, and gardens make for a whole day's worth of exploration.

All of Asia has been wonderful with gorgeous countryside, amazing people and phenomenal food. I won't miss the heat though. We are on to colder climates and the different culture in the mountains of Nepal where we are planning some long treks. I look forward to getting to know a new part of the world and seeing new landscapes.

Ninh Binh, Vietnam
Hotels:
Kim Lien Guesthouse: $18 per night

Restaurants:
Random soup noodles near train station
Trung Tuyet Restaurant

Transportation:
Ferry to Haiphong: 220,000 dong ea
Bus to Ninh Binh: 86,000 dong ea
Taxi to and from Trang An: 120,000 dong
On foot

Activities:
Trang An boat tour: 150,000 dong ea


Tam Coc, Vietnam
Hotels:
Nam Hao Hotel: $25 per night

Restaurants:

Transportation:
Taxi to Tam Coc: 90,000 dong
Bicycle to Bich Dong: 10,000 dong ea
Bus back to Hanoi
On foot

Activities:
Mua Cave: 100,000 dong ea
Tam Coc boat tour: 140,000 dong ea
Bai Dinh Pagoda: free
Bich Dong Pagoda: free
Thai Vi Temple: free


Hong Kong, China
Hotels:
Hotel Venus in Chungking Manor $20 / night

Restaurants:
Din Tai Fung
Tim Ho Wan

Transportation:
Airplane to Hong Kong
Metro from Kowloon to Hong Kong and back: 26 HK dollar ea
Ferry to Zhuhai: 220 K dollar ea

Activities:
Victoria Peak: free
Star Ferry


Chengdu, China
Hotels:
Chengdu Panda Apartment: 248 Yuan / night

Restaurants:
Shu JiuXiang Hotpot
Chen Mapo Tofu
Random Dan Dan noodles

Transportation:
Airplane Chengdu
Taxi to and from Pandas: 150 yuan
Bus to and from Leshan Buddha: 90 yuan ea
On foot

Activities:
Chengdu Panda Breeding Center: 58 yuan
Leshan Buddha: 90 yuan ea
Tianfu Square: free
Peoples Park: free
Kuanzhai Ancient Street: free
Jinli Pedestrian Street: free

Island Life of Cat Ba, Vietnam

Vietnam is a stunningly beautiful country with an amazing countryside. However, our first impression of it was utter chaos. We arrived at night in Hanoi, Vietnam's second largest city, to the crazy and crowded streets of the Old Quarter. Tiny shops specializing in one type of merchandise are everywhere. Brightly colored stools crowd the sidewalks filled with locals and tourists all slurping down delicious street noodles. Scooters, cars and pedestrians fight for space in the road each heading in different directions. It is wild. It is hectic. Yet somehow it works in an organized chaos. I also really enjoyed this city with its incredible uniqueness. We only spent a few days here while we waited out a tropical storm, but I look forward to going back when we fly to China in a few weeks.

While the city was great, our plan was to spend the next week or so on an island in the famous Ha Long Bay. The best place to base ourselves was in a small tourist town on Cat Ba Island. It is a quaint place with only few roads and a pleasantly sheltered harbor. During the week this appears to be a sleepy fishing town with the locals going about their daily business. On the weekends, however, it fills up with mainland tourists hoping for some beach time with their families. Still, it was a nice place to stay taking it slow for a while. Between extremely high temperatures and a storm or two, laying low in our air-conditioned room was perfect for a while.

We didn't spend the entire time cooped up in our hotel. There are some interesting sites to see that are either a short hike or cab ride away. Within 20 minutes walk from the main street is a good viewpoint of the town and Ben Beo Harbor, where the tour boats launch from. At the top is an old cannon fort, left over from the Vietnam War. While there isn't much of the fort to see, hiking to the top at sunset was amazing.

Another remnant of the war is a cave that was converted into a shelter and hospital. The locals are quite proud of the structure as it was never discovered, and is quite an impressively built structure. It is three levels deep and comprised of many concrete rooms. It boasts all of the major amenities with water catchment systems, airflow, electricity, and even a training/cinema room. It was a short yet informative tour that actually has great views from the cave entrance.

Most of the island is a national park and nature preserve. A lot of it is inaccessible, but there is a nice hike to a mountain peak that has 360° views. It is two hours round trip and quite steep. The trail itself is mostly well maintained concrete and rocky steps with a sturdy handrail. Once you get to the top there is a two tiered viewing tower, or you can hike another few minutes to stand at an even more impressive spot.

The most popular attraction and perhaps the main reason why people come here is for a boat trip through the islands. We were no exception. We booked an overnight tour that included a day of kayaking. This was possibly one of my favorite things we've done on this trip. We started in the early morning with a lovely cruise from the harbor to a remote floating restaurant where we boarded our kayaks. We spent the rest of the day paddling the amazing calm water in awe, observing the many floating villages, passing through low rock arches into secluded lagoons, and past tiny Sandy beaches. The water was green and as warm as bathwater. The boat crew served up some of the best tour food I've eaten, and we had an enjoyable, relaxing experience. At night cushions were laid out on the deck where we slept under the stars. I was a little disappointed that we had to go back, as I could have spent several days on the water.

After a week and a half we decided to move inland a bit to Ninh Bình for a couple of river tours. Cat Ba was a lovely town that I hope to visit again someday. Soon we go back to the craziness that is the city of Hanoi and on to Hong Kong.


Hanoi, Vietnam
Hotels:
Holiday Diamond Hotel: $30/night

Restaurants:
Bun cha Huong Lien
Street food

Transportation:
Airplane to Hanoi
Bus to Hanoi: $5 ea
On foot

Activities:
Old Quarter: free
Hoan Kiem Lake: free
Thang Long Water Puppet Theater: 100,000 dong ea


Cat Ba, Vietnam
Hotels:
Cat Ba Hostel: $30/night
Cat Ba Central Hotel 2: $20/night

Restaurants:
Street food
Family Bakery
Phuong Nhung Restaurant

Transportation:
Bus to Haiphong, Boat to Cat Ba Island, Bus to Cat Ba town: $17 ea
Taxi to cave
Taxi to park: 360,000 dong to and from
On foot

Activities:
Boat Tour Ha Long Bay with Outdoor Asia: overnight and kayak
Cannon Fort: 80,000 dong
Hospital Cave: 165,000 dong ea
Beaches 1, 2, & 3: free
National Park: 40,000 dong ea