Trang An

What to say about the Ninh Binh region of Vietnam? There are so many words we could use. Chief among them: magical.

Also humid. Beautiful. Peaceful. Hot. Friendly. Full. Affordable. Fun. And like most places we’ve visited this summer, sweaty. (We keep saying, “I’ve never been sweatier in my life!” And then we do the next thing, go to the next place. And we say it all over again.)

So what exactly makes this place so special? The leafy limestone karst pinnacles that jut out of rice and lotus fields and lime green rivers like fingers coming out of pudding. Which is a weird image, but, gosh, it’s breathtaking! And it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So more people than us agree. (And have certainly described it with more grace.)

Part of the appeal for us might have been the juxtaposition of noisy, busy Hanoi and the rural quiet of roosters crowing and cicadas humming and goats wandering. Our accommodations had bicycles to borrow, too, and we could pedal those old jinky machines down our dirt road to all our sightseeing destinations.

Like a river boat cruise. Half a day in the middle of peaks and temples and water and jungle plants and ducks and frogs. And caves. Caves that are actually tunnels. Through those peaks, to the other side, to more peaks, more caves, more temples. A watery labyrinth where the untrained eye can only detect dead ends. Where the only sound was birds and insects and the rhythmic slap of our guide’s paddles in the water. Where pagodas tower above (with no conceivable path to them) and riverside temples hide in shadows below. And we duck our heads away from stalactites and point at the biggest dragonflies we’ve ever seen and sweat under our umbrellas while our rowing lady isn’t even breathing hard.

It was fabulous. So fabulous we considered going back again our second and final day, to do another route.

But we decided to diversify. Pedal the other direction. Trust Google maps to take us to Hang Mua. Twin pinnacles that have stairs carved into their backs, and a dragon spine along its back. Well, the map took us within spitting distance. Right to the back door. Right through several people’s gardens and rice fields to a locked gate. (Good thing we’ve had some mountain biking practice at home!) We watched folks taking pictures in the lotus fields below the trail, beginning the ascent up to the summit shrines, and we turned our bikes around to try again.

So we started out sweaty, which might be some of our excuse for the state of us by the time we reached the top. It was also in the 90s. With 100% humidity (maybe 125% this time). And although we tried to count each stone step, we lost count on account of going so slow! So I can only tell you what the website says, which is over 500. The view from the top was beautiful. Rice and river and pudding fingers and boats on one side. Lotus fields stretching to town on the other. But that dark rock, man, it absorbs the heat, and gives it back generously. Look at the colors of our shirts! Ha!

The lotus fields were very picturesque and had a whisper of a breeze, thank goodness. But the highlight was certainly the bike ride to and fro. As we were tooted at by passing vehicles, politely announcing their presence, and as we slalomed through the hopping-est restaurant full of locals ever, and as children yelled “helloooo!” from their front stoops.

And each afternoon we got to return to our bnb. A marching line of bungalows under a cliff. A cold blue pool which looked out at a little valley. A lantern-lit restaurant for dinner which meant we only had to walk across the one-lane dirt road in the evenings. We met a variety of lovely traveling people, like we were at a hostel for like-minded folks. We took bike jaunts up the way to pet puppies and watch ducks swim and accept gifts of bananas and papayas from people’s yards.

If we had known, we would have spent a full week here. Especially considering the cost was less than $200 for everything we did and saw and ate and slept in. But like so many places, we now just have a reason to come back!

And so we are on our way again. To our last destination in Vietnam. But we are adventuring to our next adventure, by taking an overnight train! We have a private sleeper car, which I’ve been promised is purple, and which will carry us through the night to Da Nang, back to the ocean, to city comforts and amenities again. Okay! Let’s go!