It was a long, but mostly flat route out of Hanoi, following back roads to the spectacular natural landscape of Ninh Binh.
Arrival in Hanoi
I flew into Hanoi from Madrid and was soon greeted with the intense sounds, smells and sights that characterize Vietnam. I hired a large taxi van (limousine) to take the bike box to the hotel in the center of the old town, and went for a walk around Hanoi.
This was not my first time in Vietnam; I previously visited the central area around
Da Nang and Hoi An, and I felt a slight wave of nostalgia about having to walk in the road avoiding the motorbikes while passing delicious looking food on every corner.
I stayed in Hanoi at the comfortable Hotel Paon for four nights, allowing me to overcome some mild jet-lag, put the bike together and to explore the city. The first evening was a short one, I stopped for some Pho and called it a day, hoping to wake up nice and refreshed the following morning.
Train Street was super touristy, but it had a nice atmosphere, with bars and cafes lining the tracks on both sides.
After breakfast I set out and began wandering the network of narrow streets that make up the old town. Before long I accidentally stumbled across the infamous train street - a narrow street where a train passes by between crowded cafes and bars. I stopped for a (strong) Vietnamese egg coffee, watched the train pass to great excitement, and continued to where I was aiming - the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long.
Thang Long Citadel in the center of Hanoi was a pleasant surprise. It contained numerous ruins and museums showcasing different eras of the history of North Vietnam.
The citadel was a very impressive site and I highly recommend visiting. The capital of what was roughly North Vietnam was moved there in the 11th century and remained there, on and off, for nearly 800 years. There are limited remains of some of the original structures, but most of the site dates from the last 200 years, including many buildings constructed in French colonial style. Inside the complex there are numerous museums explaining the history of the site, the region and various other things. You can also visit one of the command centres from what Vietnam calls the 'American War'.
Other historical sites I visited in my remaining days in Hanoi included Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, where a changing of the guard ceremony was taking place. And I also took a Grab car out to the ethnographic museum, which explained in considerable detail the more than fifty ethnic groups that exist in modern Vietnam. This was of particular interest since I would be riding through towns with large Hmong and Thai populations, in contrast to the cities, which are overwhelmingly inhabited by Viet.
Ahead of the cycling, I also felt it would be irresponsible not to 'carb-load' and consume copious amounts of North Vietnamese food. So I spent my days mostly eating Bun Cha, Pho and various other interesting looking dishes. On the weekends, the area around Hoan Kiem Lake is pedestrianised, making for a nice stroll where you can sample various kinds of street food!
Bun Cha is probably Hanoi's most iconic dish. The selection of fresh herbs and the crab roll were particularly tasty.
Over the weekend I also unpacked my bike from the cardboard box it travelled in, and was relieved to see no major damage had occurred. My bike for this trip is a Sardinha Nordest Titanium frame, built up with a Shimano SLX single speed drive train and Fulcrum MTB wheels with Schwalbe Almotion tubeless tyres. The only minor issue I encountered putting the bike together was
that fluid was leaking slightly from the front brake lever. Fortunately, I only had to unscrew it, reseat the olive and 'burp' the lever and the problem was resolved. If it had been more serious, there are plenty of bike shops in Hanoi that would have been able to sort it.
In general, I enjoyed Hanoi a lot. It was noisy and crowded, but also charming and fun to explore! After four days though, I was ready to begin cycling.
Hanoi - Ninh Binh (115km)
Walking or driving around Hanoi it looks incredibly chaotic. Motorbikes swarm around everywhere in seemingly anarchic fashion, with the occasional bus or truck charging through blaring the horn so that everyone gets out of their way.
When preparing to cycle out of the city, it can be a little bit intimidating. However, in truth, I found Hanoi to be one of the easiest, most straight forward big cities I have ever cycled in. It was an absolute doddle to ride the 15km or so out of the city into the countryside.
Leaving Hanoi turned out to be very easy; it was like swimming in a school of fish, but where the fish were motorbikes. After 15km I was already in quiet countryside.
I would normally plot a route on back roads, avoiding multi lane highways at all costs, but in Hanoi I think the opposite strategy is better. The narrow roads are more hazardous and slow going, while the highways were more fluid and felt very safe. The right hand most two or three lanes are pretty much only used by motorbikes, and most motorbikes in Hanoi only drive at around 25km/h. Given that the city is very flat, it is easy to keep pace with them (and benefit from their draft effect).
The end result is that you basically become part of the swarm of relatively slow moving motorbikes, all kind of looking out for each other. What looks like chaos from the outside, actually feels kind of organised when you are riding in the midst of it.
After 15km I turned off the main road in Yen Nguu and soon entered the countryside. Already by the outskirts of Hanoi, it seems that local children were not accustomed to seeing Westerners, as they excitedly waved and shouted hello as I passed by. This became a very common experience in the smaller villages throughout the trip.
The ride was mostly flat and was surprisingly quiet given how populated the outskirts of Hanoi appear on the map. It was mostly riding along canals and through small villages for the first 60km until the village of Lang Yen.
The scenery became really impressive as I entered the Van Long Wetland Reserve
From here, the ride turned from pleasant and interesting into beautiful and spectacular. A new road climbed gently through jungle and passed the Chua Ba Sao temple, with several other impressive temples also in the surroundings.
It would soon become even more impressive as a short off-road section took me into the Van Long Park, home to rice paddies, lakes and towering karst rock formations. Van Long is a popular place for boat trips and was a lot quieter than Ninh Binh; I stopped for lunch here, enjoying some fish spring rolls and chicken pho. All that remained was an easy 20km to Trang An - the area of Ninh Binh where I would stay.
Former capital of Hoa Lu
This last section was a very nice ride through impressive karst peaks. I took a slight detour to visit Hoa Lu, which was the capital of North Vietnam before it was moved to Thang Long in Hanoi in the 11th Century. Very, very little remained of the original town, but it was a charming location, set on the water of Ninh Binh.
Ninh Binh
Ninh Binh is sometimes described as being like 'Halong Bay on land', thanks to its extensive waterways and towering limestone rock formations. To me it seems a slightly odd description, because I think Ninh Binh actually has more to offer and is, in many ways, more spectacular than it's maritime counterpart.
The city of Ninh Binh itself is not much to right home about. There is one particularly nice walking street (Phố đi bộ), which is very popular in the evenings for its food and markets; however, most visitors to the area stay in either Trang An or Tam Coc.
The waterways, caves and limestone karst are the main attractions in Trang An
From both Tam Coc and Trang An you can take boat rides out into the waterways, where you can visit temples, row through caves and generally enjoy a very serene experience. I initially wanted to kayak through the Trang An area, but it wasn't possible - kayaks were apparently only available from the Hoa Lu temple area, which was not so scenic or inviting.
So, along with a lot of other visitors, I took a boat out from Trang An. This was quite a commercial enterprise, with hundreds of boats waiting, ready to take out groups of three or four tourists on the water. I shared a boat with a very nice couple from Mumbai, and together we embarked on 'Route 3', a three hour trip. The boat was rowed by a lady, who navigated us expertly through narrow caves and dropped us off at various temples to look around. There were also spare paddles on the boat, so we could lend her a hand.
It looks , but once you are on the water it still feels peaceful
I was extremely impressed by Trang An. Despite being a big tourist draw, it didn't feel overly crowded once you left the starting point, and the prepared itineraries all looked very interesting. Some of the temples supposedly formed part of the capital of the region in the 13th century when Kubla Khan and his successors aimed to conquer Vietnam. The ruling Vietnamese dynasty abandoned Hanoi and headed to Ninh Binh, which was more easily defensible since the Mongol horses struggled to cope with all the water.
There are plenty of temples to visit. This site briefly served as the region's capital following the Mongol invasion.
Another attraction in Ninh Binh is the Hang Mua complex. Situated between Trang An and Tam Coc, this is a short hike up several hundred steps to a stunning viewpoint. I read that it gets extremely busy during the day, so I headed there early morning and had reached the top by 8:30, with only a handful of other people to be seen.
A spectacular view from Dragon's Peak
It was a beautiful little hike, which even had a bit of scrambling at the top, where a large concrete dragon sculpture marked the summit. As I was leaving the complex, several coaches were already pulling up, so I would highly recommend going early!
A lotus garden at Mua Cave Complex
The hike is easy enough to follow. Below is the route that I followed from my accommodation in Trang An to the Mua Cave complex. As I mentioned, I imagine this would be much less enjoyable when the crowds arrive, as the steps are narrow and steep in places and there could be a lot of waiting around. Arrive early!
