A day in Paradise : Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Easily counted as the best day of the trip, Ninh Binh for us babes, was nothing short of magical.

And like Ramesh mentioned in one of the comments, whats with the babes and water? We seemed to be attracted to the water bodies in Vietnam and were enjoying every drop of it. And somehow, in Vietnam, at Ha Long Bay as well, we got the feeling, that we were being part of National Geographic Channel, with all the inspiring scenery around us. Haven’t seen so much stunning natural beauty, all in one place, in spite of having origins in Gods own country 😊

Thanks to Sudha, she chose Ninh Binh over Sa Pa, for reasons best suited for our itinerary, and this became our favorite destination of the entire trip.  And like Ha Long bay, this is also an UNESCO heritage site.

As always we started pretty early from our hotel, this time with Lan, our energetic young guide.  We had to travel almost 100 km, from Ha Noi to Ninh Binh, which is a long travel and clearly she couldn’t believe that we girls can go on chattering away incessantly throughout our trip.  By the way, did we complete all our conversations, gals?  The answer to it is a big No.  Enroute Ninh Binh was a great opportunity to peek into rural way of Vietnamese living, laid-back and serene.  And to top it, by the fourth day, we had also calmed down quite a bit almost forgetting our routines and schedules, back home.

Rain gods were merciful to us on this day, it was a bright, sunny and a clear day and it started raining exactly when we returned after our boat ride. 

At the dock - two in a Boat

Lan, our guide, checked with us if we want a route that’s swarming with travelers, but covers three caves or a more isolated ride with just 2 caves.  We picked the later, since we are not new to the crowds & anytime back home we can get to it 😊. Boat ride on a narrow water way on Trang An was the highlight of the day.   We hopped on to small boats at the dock, two in one boat, paddled by a lady rower, & a two hour ride through rice paddies, lime stone formations, caves & rural countryside which was, I fall short of words here, simply mesmerizing.

First of, the lady rowers used their legs to row the boat.  Oh Yes.  That’s a sight to watch. They seemed skilled in paddling the boat, that even if you watched them during the entire trip you will not be bored. And the technique needed to maneuver the boats under the caves, is special.

Getting into the caves  from the eyes of the other boat

Close up of one of the cave entrances where we could sit straight 

Quite dark inside the caves and the rowing ladies use headlights to show them the way, and eerie fear takes over and we were holding each other’s hand inside the caves while watching our heads, especially with our tallest girl, Jay, amidst us. As we went through portions of the cave we had to sit on the bottom of the boat and duck down. The Trang An caves were short, but beautiful. Our favorite part of the boat tour was going through one of the caves and coming out into a crystal clear, aqua blue lake.

Sudha and Rosy in their boat enjoying the ride

There were times when we felt like we were the only ones there and its easy to get lost in the beauty of the area. The boat ride took us through vibrant green paddy fields, with those occasional rural homes, tucked away in mountains amidst all those erupting limestone cliffs all around. Ninh Binh is dominated by the large limestone karst peaks which create steep vertical cliffs covered in plants. Unlike a traditional mountain range where the slopes connect to each other in a long undulating stretch, most of these peaks stand in isolation – making them even more dramatic in appearance.

Reflection of nature's bounty on placid water

posing with our traditional Vietnamese hats

Our boats went underneath this bridge and got us squealing like little children

It was so scenic, that all of us were equally overwhelmed at its beauty. It was as though, Vietnam was telling us, “You asked for peace, quiet and serenity amidst your busy life?”. Here it is drink as much as you want from the fountain of nature I am offering you !!!. Nature at its rejuvenating best showing us the prettiest and the most unspoilt part of Vietnam for more than 2 hours.

Sudha and Rosy from our boat on the way back

Ducks swimming, Lotus patches and un spoilt nature 

Ninh Binh is quite appropriately nicknamed the “The Ha Long Bay in the land” with hundreds of limestone cliffs sprouting from the ground, scattered across the vivid green paddy fields, showcasing majestic and impressive natural landscapes.

Vietnamese traditional hat and Sudha's Lotus

Sudha's Creativity

If I close my eyes, everything else fades into obscurity and I still get to see the spectacular natural beauty of Ninh Binh, filling me with tranquility.

The mesmerizing natural beauty which refuses to go out of our minds