Ninh Binh Province Tour in Vietnam

On January 21, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Vietnam2 Comments

Known as the “Inland Halong Bay”, visiting Ninh Binh Province makes for a perfect day trip from Hanoi, Vietnam. There are several potential locations to visit when doing a tour of Ninh Binh Province and, unless you are planning to spend more than one day, you are going to have to choose which sights you want to see. One of the tours included the Bai Dinh Pagoda, which is the largest pagoda in Vietnam, as well as the caves of Trang An where the movie Kong: Skull Island was filmed. We chose to do what seemed to be the more popular tour that included the ancient capital of Vietnam, the caves of Tam Coc, and the incredible views from the mountains above Mua Cave. It was a full day tour that include lunch with a meal that is representative of the Ninh Binh Province.

Hoa Lu – Our tour started with a visit to the temples of Hoa Lu, which is the ancient capital of Vietnam. The temple of Đinh Tiên Hoàn is dedicated to the first emperor of Vietnam, Ninh Bo Linh. Sitting next to it is the temple of Lê Đại Hành is dedicated to Lê Hoàn who is the second emperor of Vietnam.
Boats Going One After Another Through the Caves
Tam Coc Caves – A highlight of the tour is taking a row boat along Ngo Dong River and going through the three caves that make up Tam Coc. Seeing the oarsman rowing the boat with their feet is certainly very interesting. The scenery is absolutely beautiful and is definitely clear why Ninh Binh Province is compared to Halong Bay.
Amazing Views of the Ninh Binh Province
Mua Cave – The main reason for going to Mua Cave is to climb the over 540 steps to the summit of the mountain to see the incredible views of Ninh Binh Province. The observation deck provides 360 degree views of the region and also overlooks Ngo Dong River where you can see the boats touring the Tam Coc caves. It is a very steep climb, but well worth the effort as you see the mountains in one direction and the rice paddies and fields in the other.
Goat Stew
Traditional Lunch – In addition to the restaurants, you could see women on the side of the roads selling cooked goat meat as we drove throughout Ninh Binh Province. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant after visiting Hoa Lu and before doing our tour of the Tam Coc caves. We enjoyed a goat stew as well as some typical fried spring rolls.
Beautiful Scenery

When visiting Hanoi, going to Halong Bay is certainly a must, but if you have the time, we’d highly recommend doing a day tour of Ninh Binh Province. Most of the tours include a traditional hat to help protect you from the sun, which is helpful when on the river. Our Ninh Binh Province tour was one of our favorite memories of our time in Vietnam. The tour is typically 11 to 12 hours long and the tour company will pick you up and drop you off from your hotel in Hanoi’s old quarter.

Titop Island on Halong Bay, Vietnam

On January 16, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Vietnam8 Comments

There are many interesting locations to see when taking a tour of Halong Bay in Vietnam and Titop Island is certainly one of them. There is a sandy beach where visitors can go for a swim to get out of the heat, but the highlight is climbing to the observation deck with the incredible views of the bay. Titop Island is one of the most popular islands in Halong Bay, so be prepared for plenty of crowds coming and going during your time there.

Titop Island was one of the first locations that we visited during our two day tour of Halong Bay. The island itself is named after Gherman Stepanovich Titov who was a famous Russian cosmonaut and there is a statue dedicated to him on the island. We were told that the island was named Titop instead of Titov due to the translation to Vietnamese. After passing the statue of Titov, there is a place to purchase refreshments and access to the beach with a few chairs for those that want to relax on the beach.

The main reason for visiting Titop Island is to climb the approximately 400 steps to get to the top of Titop Mountain and see the amazing views from the observation deck. It is a steep climb, but well worth the effort as you can see Halong Bay from every direction stretching out away from the island. It also gives you an opportunity to see how many different cruise ships are also touring this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We enjoyed all of the excursions that we took from our cruise ship during our tour, but Titop Island was probably our favorite location. We didn’t walk on the beach or go for a swim, but we definitely made our way to the observation deck to see the views and take what are probably some of our favorite photographs from Halong Bay. We spent about two hours on the island, but we were pretty much finished in less time than that.

Hoa Lu – The Ancient Capital of Vietnam

On January 14, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Vietnam11 Comments

Located about an hour south of Hanoi is Hoa Lu in the Ninh Binh Province. Hoa Lu was the capital of Vietnam in the 10th and 11th centuries. There are two temples on the site, one for the first emperor of Vietnam, Ninh Bo Linh, and the other temple is dedicated to the second emperor, Lê Hoàn. The two temples are very similar with the temple dedicated to Ninh Bo Linh being slightly more elaborate.

Inside the Temple Dedicated to Dinh Bo Linh

Temple of Đinh Tiên Hoàn is the temple dedicated to Ninh Bo Linh and is located on the grounds of former palace. Ninh Bo Linh defeated all of the other competing warlords to create the first imperial dynasty of Vietnam. The temple was built to face the river with the mountains behind it in order to create positive energy. As you enter the grounds of Hoa Lu, the Temple of Đinh Tiên Hoàn is to your left and the Temple of Lê Đại Hành is to your right.

The Temple of Lê Đại Hành is dedicated to Lê Hoàn who was the head of Ninh Bo Linh’s army. When Ninh Bo Linh died, his son, Dinh Toan, was only six years old, so Lê Hoàn was named as his regent. There was a rebellion to try and overthrow Lê Hoàn’s authority, but he successfully defeated those who attacked him and he officially took control of the country and created the second imperial dynasty of Vietnam. Lê Hoàn also married Ninh Bo Linh’s widow and had two sons of his own.

The history of Hoa Lu as the ancient capital of Vietnam is certainly quite interesting. Later, in the early 11th century, the capital of Vietnam was moved from Hoa Lu to what is now the city of Hanoi. Hoa Lu was the first stop on our tour of the Ninh Binh Province and we spent about two hours walking the grounds and visiting the temples.