Tam Coc: “Why does the shower have a tree in it?”

Day 3: Leaving the City

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Travel days always give me a little anxiety. Are we going to make it in time? What happens if we miss our train/ride? I try to combat that by not having a firm single plan in mind, but rather multiple options, within reason, to get somewhere. Today we decided to travel the 2 hours to the Tam Coc area of Ninh Binh to see the towering limestone peeks and rice fields. We could hire a private car for about $100 or we could take the train for like $18. I also could have booked either of these in advance but chose not to in order to give us some wiggle room in what we wanted to do. We decided to take the 6 am train from Hanoi Railway Station (the next wasn't until late afternoon). If we missed it, we could still hire a car! We had brought along headlamps, not sure if we would actually need to use them but they proved very much worth it as we navigated the 1.5 km walk from the hotel to the train station in fairly dark Hanoi streets. The streets felt calm as businesses were starting to open for breakfast.

Taking the train with the locals is another way to experience local Vietnamese life. Even ordering the tickets at the station is a bit of an adventure. (They didn't take credit card which we've learned is the norm around town.) The trains weren't quite as nice as European or US trains but the only thing that was very different was that the first car was a full blown kitchen. Not quick, pre-made meals on this train. We are talking huge pots and pans and burners and a guy pealing and washing potatoes in a big bowl. The train goes the whole way to Ho Chi Min city so I guess it makes sense that they need to make full meals.

When we arrived in Ninh Binh we ordered a grab taxi on the app. The ride cost us a few dollars to our hotel. These ride share apps are really a game changer when you can't verbally communicate well where you want to go. Especially in countries where the alphabet is different

After dropping our bags at the hotel, we borrowed some bikes and headed out to explore the area.  One thing worth noting is that helmets seemed non-existent. Not ideal, but we went with the flow and the kids got to enjoy the idea of being quite scandalous for not wearing helmets. We pretty quickly found interesting and beautiful spots. Boat tours are the popular thing to do in the area where they take you into these cave overpasses. We opted not to do one even though they were highly recommended for families, mostly because they are over 2 hours and the idea of sitting in a row boat that long with the kids didn't sound appealing to us. We tried to see as much of the area by bike instead and in retrospect, I think it was a good call. We checked out Bich Dong Temple (another Amazing Race spot...) which I had imagined to be a single building, not realizing they have offerings and gold statues set up all through out multiple caves in the mountain side that you can climb/walk through.

After the bike ride, the kids just wanted to chill at the hotel. A new hotel is always a novel experience, this one was even more so. Our bathroom was built into the side of the cave! We were all amazed but the kids especially got a kick out of it. 'Why does the shower have a TREE in it?!' The kids also like hanging out at the hotel because it usually means they have Wi-Fi. I'm ok with a little rest period but they generally try to milk it for as long as possible. Eventually, I just ordered a grab and told them to get their shoes on. We went to Hung Mua - an infamous site with a 500 step climb to the top of the limestone peaks with temples, including a stone dragon, at the top. It's. Breath taking. Although the kids were originally grumpy about the expulsion from the hotel, they immediately started to enjoy the outting once we got there. They actually had a blast. There weren't many kids there, and I think our kids may have been the only ones on the hike up the mountain but they loved it. So much so they wanted to hike it again the next day. I was good with doing it just once. They also just loved running around the flower water fields - I don't know what else to call them. They weren't in peak season but they didn't seem to mind.

We had a difficult time ordering a grab taxi to get back, but our previous driver had left us his card, so I messaged him on whatsapp and he came and got us. He gave us a good trustworthy vibe. We tipped a little extra and he was incredibly grateful. I then asked him if he wanted to be our airport transport back to Hanoi in a couple of days and he happily obliged. With a rate at about half that of what a hotel/travel agency may book you for and I know the money is going directly to him. Win-win!

Day 4: Wandering the Rice Paddy Fields

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Waking up in Tam Coc has an incredible sense of peace. The quietness combined with the majestic limestone peaks is just what I was looking for. Our home stay had breakfast included and it did not disappoint. It started with a delicious, massive breakfast. They first gave us 5 plates of various local fruits and coffee/juice. Then brought us pancakes with homemade pineapple jam. Then a custom order of eggs and toast. To make it even better, it was served in their dining area which was in a cave yet with a view of a beautiful peak.

We've run out of clean clothes so it is laundry day! I saw a laundry service just in town that seemed pretty idiot proof - they had a big window for drop off right along the road. We each took a bag with our dirty clothes and biked it into town. The total bill was about $8 for 6.5kg and would be ready by 5 pm that day.

We then proceeded on our bikes and wandered our way to Den Thai Vi temple and some surrounding outlooks. We stopped to look at various things along the way, like the boats, goats, bamboo bridges (which of course the kids needed to test out) and random impressive temples set up inside caves.

The kids wanted pizza and burgers for lunch. They have been troopers with trying all the new food so once in a while giving them comfort food is one way to keep the spirits up and the teenage tempers at bay.

After lunch we immediately headed out by bike towards Trang An. Google maps had quite a few paths on it that we figured we would try out to stay off the main roads as much as possible. These paths were the quintessential biking through rice paddy fields, all I needed was a rice hat to really complete the moment. In true Google fashion, there was one section of trail that was a surprise moment of 'are you serious, this is where you want me to go?' It was a narrow dirt path with one bike tire width trench to navigate and rice paddy field water on both sides of the trail. The kids thought it was A-MAZING. It's one of those moments where you think, "ok what's the worst that could happen? They fall in the water and get all muddy? Ok, I guess that's not that bad."

Some of the roads were a little more dicey than others mostly because of tour buses navigating the small roads. But we figured it out and made the 7 km trek to Trang An with minimal complaining. Each of the main attractions in the area had bike parking for a small fee, here it was 10k vnd (41 cents). It was free to get into the park/temple area, you just had to pay if you wanted to ride a boat which we had decided again not to do. The kids enjoyed feeding the massive fish and watching the boat operation.

On the way back we stopped and picked up the laundry and then I did an impromptu stop at a spa and got a foot massage (which ended up being more like a leg massage) for $8 while the kids and hubby went back to the hotel.

Another plus of the service at the home stay was the cinnamon tea they greeted us with upon each return and an evening foot soak. (Not really needed after my foot massage but I'll still take it!) All in all, it was a pretty fabulous, adventurous day! And we may have spent like $60 with food/transportation/entertainment/laundry combined.