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

Ha Long Bay, Ha Noi, Vietnam

As usual when I suggested guest posts, Sudha, picked up our Day 3 trip to Ha Long bay, and was done with the post even before I finished my post for second day. As always its a pleasure to read her posts and to me, and when it is posted for all of us it will be a revisit to one of our favorite days of the trip.  

So Ladies and Gentlemen, Sudha's guest post.  

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Now that we are sharing the series on the ‘Babes to Vietnam’ escapade, let me take this opportunity to re-live the Ha Long Bay day with you. 

In the planning: 

Jay (who now seemed convinced with the choice of Vietnam) asked why a full day for Ha Long bay. I told her, it’s like westerners coming to India and not wanting to miss out Taj Mahal one of the seven wonders of the world, similarly Ha Long Bay is the top most attraction of Vietnam and is one of the natural wonders of the world. Then I sent virtual footage of the place, so they know what to expect. Don’t know if others were equally thrilled, to just go around in a boat seeing limestone formations covered with trees. But it looked ethereal to me. I read up as much as possible. I knew already that it is going to be ‘the best’ of what Vietnam could offer and told Vincy I will write the ‘guest’ blog for Ha Long bay :-). Given just 5 days at Vietnam, we did not have the luxury of time to spend a night and two days there, like what many travel blogs suggested.  So we settled in for a day trip.

On the day, on the way:

As always up and ready early, for the adventure.

It was day 3 of the trip. We were already in the touristy rhyme and rhythm of what is expected of us and got ready for the big day. This was a group tour in a luxury bus - Hanoi to Ha Long bay. It was WOW. Really plush leather seats, WiFi, Aircon and a handsome English speaking guide, who wanted us to call him  - Mr. Vietnam (Mr.V). Our co-passengers were a Japanese mom and daughter, a young Korean Couple, and few other tourists.  Mr.V welcomed us onboard. He spoke with passion and conviction. Took us through the sad History of Vietnam, the bombing, the civil war, the repercussions. He told us about the food, language, and briefly about the cultural customs. There was so much to listen to and assimilate, I took charge of capturing it on the action camera, recorded for posterity. The road trip was smooth. We were awe struck to see the clean and green landscapes on our way. Plantations, Paddy fields, Lotus ponds, Cattle and Poultry Farms,  the place looked so fertile and bountiful. This was juxtaposed with what Mr.V was telling us. We had similar thoughts of how in 20 years the nation has risen to this level.

The destination: 

Ha Long Bay

Our Guide, Mr. Vietnam

What Mr. V and Wikipedia told : Ha Long Bay is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. The name Hạ Long means "descending dragon". The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen bio system,  oceanic and sea shore bio system. Conferred : New 7 Wonders by New 7 Wonders Foundation. We have seen this place in movies, travelogues, Instagram and the whole virtual world.

The Tourism symbol of  Vietnam

Through the DJI OSMO lens

What I finally saw :

Emerald green water, Sapphire blue sky, sunlight glistening into the waves like Diamonds. Yes l do love gemstones, so excuse me for this. The limestone cliffs were sprouting out of the water in random and some were in a solo setting and some were clustered.  We walked up the pier, and shot pictures of whatever took our fancy. 

The scenery of Ha Long Bay for a Vantage point

Our package included  - lunch, Kayaking OR boating, visit to caves.  But what we got was all in the superlative – an abundance of exotic food served on the table. A window seating with an uninterrupted view of the bay. I perched my camera clipped it to the windowsill to capture 1*5 speed footage till the battery lasted J we had our mobiles for the insta moments of #foodporn #windowithaview #cruisefun #babestogether and whatever the mind could conjure.

Food - Served just for us

Vincy gave us some insights of the NV food. Showed us how to eat prawns and Oysters … we have it on video. Helped us retouch our makeup. Kept a watch on what I would eat, tasting and telling if I should try. Being a ‘strict’ vegetarian my choices were limited . Love her : feeds me full and then shares fitness tips, well balanced ehh.  Jay is a more adventurous vegetarian and Rosy could eat anything :-) 

While we came to the end of our meal, logically we had to end it, Mr. V summoned us to the deck, so we don’t miss seeing the National Symbol of Vietnam. Oh my! what a sight, it was to me like 2 rocks kissing each other. Let the pictures do the talking. Here the sea was a very deep blue, the sky was clouded, the rocks were looking kind of ‘cute’ on its own to me.  We then went up to the upper deck to capture more pictures. We did group and solo shots of ourselves with the Ha Long bay in the background. The seascape was fantastic from this view point.  The day was interjected with a light rain. We were then scheduled to get down and get into smaller boats.

This was an amazing Sight !!!

When the smaller boat took us into the caves

Having fun at Ha Long bay

The smaller boats took us to places where the bigger one could not go to. We meandered through hanging rocks and creeks through the limestone islets, the water was so clear and pristine. The day was quite hot and humid after the spell of rain. But nothing could deter our spirits, we were awestruck of this nature beauty.

We then went to explore Sung Sot Cave : In a place filled with natural wonders, Sung Sot Cave has earned its spot as one of the best Halong bay cave to visit. Its name means Surprising Cave because of its unbelievable beauty. The cave was crowded with tourists. It was enormous, was lit naturally in some areas and artificially in other areas. The shadow play of the sun on the rocks was magical. Some of the natural formation looked like eagle, turtle, etc. Mr.V spoke about them, its historical importance, ecological significance et all.  The cave has chambers creating upper and lower levels. Narrow pathways where we had to wriggle through. It was fun. We kept hydrating with tender coconut and sugar cane juice. The exit of the cave area provided wonderful photo opportunities. We could see the bay from a much higher vantage point. How I wish I had a drone (: anyways Vietnam does not allow one easily.

Inside Sung Sot caves

Shopping at Night market

Came back to the boat and back to the bus. The drive back was beautiful too. It rained heavily for a while. We enjoyed the views and took some much needed rest during the 3 hours’ drive.  Did the day end …. NO we freshened up, had some coffee and move on to shop. We wanted to see Hanoi by the night. We felt safe. We walked to the night market area. Bought gifts and travel mementos, while polishing our  haggling skills. Came back with a treasure trove of memorabilia and memories to cherish.

One more view of Ha Long bay through the action cam

PS. Would definitely sound cliché I know, but nevertheless, I want to go back for 2 days and a night to this place. The ‘things to do’ here is exhaustive. I don’t want to dwell on what we missed… but the day in itself and time out with the babes was magical. A bucket list, ticked.  

Da Nang City, Vietnam

After a good night’s rest, we, the babes 😊 were ready for the grind of the second day. And as in any of our trips, we are up and ready, as early as 6.30 am.

This day's excitement was a different kind, as we were all going to dress in similar costume.  The pictures will tell you that.  We had planned it well in advance and we picked it all up in November last year and that gives you a little clue about the way we plan our trips.

One of the marble structures at Marble mountain - Buddha teaching his disciples

Dragon at Marble Mountain, Da Nang

The first stop on day 2 was Marble mountains. The Marble Mountains are a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Da Nang. The five mountains are named after the five basic elements of life – Metal, Air, Water, Plant and Soil. We had to cross villages that are involved in marble crafts from Da Nang and we stopped at a huge locally owned crafts store before we landed at Marble mountains. Its interesting to watch the varying colour tones of the marbles that are used for the craft depending on the mountain they came from.

The Marble Mountains were not named by the Vietnamese, but by the French after studying the chemical element of the mountain’s soil. In Vietnamese, it is known as Ngu Hanh Son (The Five Element Mountain). Named by King Minh Mang, the five mountains were once a favorite destination for either the noble classes to visit or the anchorites, a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and institution, to set up sanctuaries. However, the history of this mountain cluster can be traced to hundreds of years before that, when the whole region still belonged to the Cham Kingdom ( The Chams are a Malay people and the remnants of the ancient kingdom of Champa, which ruled southern Vietnam and Cambodia for more than 1000 years).

Girl squad in front of the Pagoda at MM

Upon arrival at the base of Marble mountains, we saw lots of souvenir shops around.   Nyugen warned us that most of them are fake stuff so we didn’t try to even check them out.   Nyugen took us to the ticket booth for the elevator which took us to the top of the marble mountain – saved us both time and energy. As the elevator climbed higher and higher, we couldn’t help but admire the beautiful trees and lush greenery growing out of the mountain. The first thing that we saw on our landing was the Pagoda. And as we walked the path at Marble mountains, we were presented with options, and none that disappointed us. Pathways split off left and right, each twist and turn leads to yet another cave, temple, or viewpoint. None of the paths were too challenging, and each one had a nice surprise at the end.

White Buddha Statue at Marble mountain

Over millions of years, the rain has eroded these limestone karsts decorating them with incredible fractal patterns along the stone walls and carving out giant caves that just beg to be explored. In some caves, our pulse quickened as the cave we wandered into suddenly becomes narrow. The daylight becomes useless as we moved into the shadowy passage and out of its light. The people in front of us disappeared as they round the corner and descend the staircase into the next room. The air is subtly scented with incense and a dim light beckons from ahead.  We four unconsciously slip into silence and communicate just with our eyes and gestures.  I was greatly worried if any of us would have a fall as the steps in certain parts were quite slippery.

In most significant points at Marble mountains, we were welcomed by the warm glow of candles, smoky scents of incense sticks and sounds of hushed voices you find inside of a temple. A giant stone carved Buddha watches over as you take in the scene.

A giant Buddha at Marble Mountain within one of the caves

Stepping on each rustic stone stair, listening to our own heart beat among the swinging rhythm of the forest, we could still feel the hundred-year-old statues whispering stories of the old days. Crowded and taciturn, high-tech and ancient, crafted and pristine, the Marble Mountains stand as a bridge leading us from the present to the past.  Visiting the Marble Mountains, walking  the steps and touching  the stone walls of the ancient caves  we understood more about this country , their people, and our own inner peace, more than any words can attempt to describe.

Some crazy shots we are capable of taking.

Getting all the four into a single frame is always a challenge and we  either have to take help of our guide or ask strangers unashamedly for pictures to be taken, which we are quite used to, by now.  In one of the caves, we approached a solo traveler, and he graciously obliged and we asked where he was from and he courteously answered "England".  When he wanted to know where we were from, I answered - one of your ex-colonies. Pat came the reply from him, " which one?"  and yeah we had a good laugh at that. When your country has habitually colonized most of the parts of the world, you are so right in asking such a question !!

yet another one in Marble Mountain

We had to make the most of the time that we had in Da Nang city as we were flying to Ha Noi city the same day, and so our next stop was the Dragon bridge and Love Lane.  Da Nang is one of Vietnam’s principal port cities. Located in the south-central region of the country, at the mouth of the Han River, Da Nang is an important commercial and educational center as well as a critical transportation hub. 

The fire breathing, water spitting Dragon Bridge across Han river

Close up of the Dragons face

Dragon Bridge in Da Nang is the longest bridge in Vietnam, offering a dazzling display of lights, fire, and water. Measuring at 666 meters in length, it is located in Da Nang City and constructed in the shape of a golden dragon. The six-lane bridge crosses the Han River and was officially opened in 2013. According to local beliefs, which date back to the Ly Dynasty, the dragon is a significant symbol of power, nobility and good fortune. While it’s a magnificent sight at any time of the day, Dragon Bridge Da Nang is particularly cool (and packed with sightseers) in the evening as it is illuminated with colorful LED lights. On weekends and annual festivities, the state-of-the-art bridge is also scheduled to spit water or breathe fire from its mouth.

There are also plenty of riverfront bars, restaurants, and cafes offering terrace seats that overlook Vietnam’s longest bridge. Our itinerary was so packed we could not see the fire breathing Dragon bridge in the night.  Yep.  We missed that one too.

My favourite pic of the day - at a cafe overlooking the dragon bridge

Adjacent to the Dragon bridge on the sides of Han river is a lane that is lined with posts on which a number of red heartines are hung.   This is the love lane and the bright red hues of the hearts did make us feel teenagers again.

Inside the Cham museum

The last pit stop for us at Da Nang was the Museum of Cham sculpture.  The museum houses the world's largest collection of Cham sculpture and is a popular tourist attraction in Da Nang as well. For us four, who are from Chennai, ( Jay really is not, but yeah she’s been living here for a considerable amount of time), after seeing all the sculptures at Mahabalipuram, this really did not awe us.  But yes, it did give us a cultural perspective with the Hindu deities including Murugan and other popular Hindu goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswathi, on display.  And most importantly we could see pictures of My Son Temple, that was destroyed in the Vietnam war, along with the early day history, their music, crafts and festivities of the Vietnamese people. Looking at the galleries of the My Son temple ruins, we got a peek into how violent conflict and warfare could ruin a country’s infrastructure and economy, and also create physical and psychological damage to its citizens.

Outside the Cham Museum

Psychedelic art

Looking out through the window

Her mind draws a blank

She’s overwhelmed

Time is the most precious gift, she knows

You were bent on this for hours

Using your precious tools

Thinking it through

Shaping it one chip at a time

She’s over the moon

Just cannot comprehend

How you could spend so much time

Creating a masterpiece from scratch

Covered in wood shavings

toiling in the confines of an artroom

you put them all back every time

to take it out another day

Numbing her rationale

She’s on a constant high

Like the clean one you get when you smoke pot

That she once heard of

Days after days, for months together

Marking, snipping, shaving, buffing, drilling,

Embossing, painting, carving, shedding blood

But most importantly, thinking it through

And the fancy wood chime blew her away

You could sweep her off her feet

Completely hypnotize her

And you leave her with this one question

What has she done to deserve this?

To be made to feel so special

And while floating up in the clouds

She wonders how to repay this destiny’s debt.

Vincy Joseph

Ba Na Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam

Statutory Warning  :  Picture heavy long post.  Don't tell me you weren't warned ahead.

The place we chose this year to visit for our girls trip was so well unraveled by Ramesh, ( which I knew he would) from the name of our guide, I guess. And the place was V for Vietnam. 

Birds eye view of Da Nang while we touched down 

Ba Na Hills was first in the list of “places to see” in Vietnam for us.   Sudha had shown, forwarded and pushed down our throats information about Ba Na hills and we were all excited about this place.   In fact, I remember Sudha telling me, (when I actually forgot the name of the Hills), remember Bana Kathadi ( it’s a name of a flying paper kite in Tamil) and you will remember Ba Na hills.  I kept asking myself, what Kathadi, all the time, till I actually set foot there.  😊

To save ourselves time, we skipped checking into the hotel and went straight to Ba Na hills from Da Nang  airport.  We were impressed with the breathtaking views of Vietnam from the aircraft and were filled with tranquility even as we touched down Vietnam.

One of the cable lines at Sun World Ba Na Hills

During our planning stages, we’d seen so many great pictures of the new golden bridge which is held by the enormous stone hands of Buddha, and also we’d heard about the legendary cable car-ride up the mountainside (which holds 4 Guinness world records, including the longest cable car at over  5 km in the world) and that it might just be worth the whole trip.  We thought we knew what to expect, but actually being on it was spectacular than our imaginations and the virgin forests of Vietnam & un spoilt greenery that these cable cars took us through will take a lot more time to fade from our memories.  The cable ride takes around 20 minutes approximately and there are multiple lines of cables with amazing frequency.

The excitement of the babes trip had started even when we had booked the tickets, but the flutter in our hearts just broke loose during the famous cable car ride to the top of the mountains.  It gives a real perspective on the geography of the surrounding area.  It was so cool to see Da Nang laid out in front of us and its not every day that you get the opportunity to ride world's longest cable car.  The ride is smooth and thrilling, similar to the ski lifts in resorts around the world.  Although this is just a transportation to the park itself. riding it is easily one of the days highlights.  And our guide Nyugen was getting used to our chatter in the cable car ride.

The Magnificent Golden Hands Bridge

  

A collage of our pictures of Golden hands bridge

The first cable car took us to the Marseille station, at the top, and we were dropped off at the first level of the mountain. We followed the excited crowds through the station to and across the Golden Bridge. This newly constructed bridge (opened to the public in 2018) is a semicircular bridge which appears to be supported by two giant stone hands, Buddha's hands, coming out of the mountain. The energy on this bridge is electric as the guests buzz around with their selfie sticks capturing every possible angle and we were not left behind.  The Golden hands bridge was also voted by TIME magazine as one of the “Top 10 best destinations of the world 2018” and admired by The Guardian as “The world’s most impressive pedestrians’ bridge”.

 

The Babes on the Golden Hands bridge

The only spoiler at Ba Na hills which we didn’t expect though, was the crowd.  So crowded, that the Ranganathan street of TNagar, Chennai would be no match for this place.  And since we are used to crowds, we managed to get some decent pictures. Apparently 20,000 people visit this place every day  and mostly Asians.

Oh, there was another spoiler too.  Nyugen kept telling us, that “The Bana Hills are so high up that the weather is different there. When it’s sunny in Da Nang, it could be misty and rainy on the top of the mountain”.  It must have been our bad luck, it was sunnier than a day in May at Chennai.  Pretty hot and humid, that I ended up with a headache.

Apart from our mobiles, Sudha’s DJI osmo  was being put to good use  and along with tons of photographs that we usually take, we are hoping we will have some awesome videos too.  The videos are in the processing stages.  Here again at Ba Na hills there are so many opportunities for photography with various displays set up for posing and having pictures taken. Huge stone statues beg to be climbed on, the well manicured flower gardens make for beautiful shots, there was this entire French village, the gigantic Buddha statue and faux ancient Greek statues are all created with an intent of creating photo opportunities.

View of the French Village - Jardin d'Amour

The queue for the funicular ride was so large that we didn’t want to waste our time standing up there and waiting, but it's the one thing we regret not doing. We were eager to get up to the French village, so then,  we were okay with skipping  the funicular ride to the Jardin d’Amour the French village dubbed "Europe at the top of Ba Na Hills”. You will be amazed at the architectural style of Europe such as ancient buildings, magnificent palaces, adjacent fences in gothic style, paved roads, designed by a famous French architect. This is where we got to the Debay Wine Cellar and the Linh Ung Pagoda where the giant Buddha statue sits.

With the 27m high Shakyamuni Buddha

Another view of Buddha, through one of the gardens

Linh Ung Pagoda is located at an altitude of nearly 1500m above sea level and has a statue of Buddha called Shakyamuni Buddha which is  27m high ( humungous) in a meditation pose on a lotus. Buddha statues and pagodas are so common in Vietnam and they transcend the serenity of Buddha to us, in spite of the enthusiastic crowds.

From there we went to the Le Jardin D'Amour Flower Garden that  consists of nine beautifully landscaped gardens with 9 unique architectural styles. It's one of the most popular tourist place in Ba Na.  Among the 9 gardens there is one  for Love.  Ahem.

At the fairy garden

Peacock Garden

The fairy garden

Ba Na Hills also has a dizzily vibrant and fascinating indoor game zone,  Fantasy Park, one of the largest indoor game zone of Vietnam that includes countless games, recreations and sports for families.  By the time we reached this place, we were so tired, the four of us sat down in silence for some time. The day was still young.

Ba Na Hills  took up most of our first day and we actually checked into the hotel pretty late in the evening after a long travel, back to Da Nang.

In short, Ba Na hills is the Disney land of Vietnam. 

I am sure the westerners, though they were very few unlike our Bangkok and Bali trips,  would have felt their privacy invaded, by the mindless tourists from Asia.  Just a thought, from a cultural perspective.

The colourful umbrellas on our way

Post script : Girls, as I write this, I realized, we could have waited for that one hour for the funicular ride and spent more time at every location and ride there.  Yeah, lets go back to Vietnam and do it all over again.

Before you all go, just one last picture for you folks ...

They three and we three :-)