Call me crotchety (or don’t, name calling isn’t nice), but the older I get the more I’m drawn to more rural and quiet settings where one isn’t bombarded by domed sort of stimulation. Luckily our next leg of the trip was able to accommodate just that as we left thousands of motorbikes and their horns behind us and headed south to the mountains of northern Vietnam.

Pu Luong

Pu Luong is a small village just southwest of Hanoi, located within the mountains of Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa Province and is an under the radar destination for tourists and locals alike to escape the busy city for something a bit more relaxing. Here, rice terraces dot the stunning mountain scape and locals spend their time running their small business or hard at work to ensure this next rice crop. Our afternoon was spent walking through the matriarchal village which prides itself on its handmade clothing, talking to women about their craft and understanding the dynamics of a town that goes against western tradition. Although we visited between rice seasons, the scenery was still striking and the clean mountain air provided the perfect environment for our evening dinner next door to our hotel at 0km Pu Luong where Lauren succumbed to the pizza offerings and I had an incredible grilled duck in a sweet sauce with a local craft beer that was the best meal so far on the trip. The following morning, we were awaken by a (presumably) blind rooster but were rewarded by a sunrise that can’t be found anywhere else.

Ninh Bihn

Another early day began with another long bus ride from the mountains to the town of Ninh Bihn, southeast of Hanoi. Ninh Bihn was the first time on the trip that I’ve felt like a tourist, only because the village seemed to have more tourists than locals. The draw to the area is Thung Nang, a natural preserve and UNESCO Heritage Site that is known for its remarkable limestone mountains and the deep caves that water erosion has created over millions of years. We took boats through the snaked path that brought us through the preserve and within the caves. Outside of the scenery, an unexpected eccentricity were the rowers that piloted our boats. While most would assume one would use an oar with your arms and upper body, this group has become masterful and propelling the boats with their feet and many were simultaneously taking pictures with their phone. I didn’t ask but I can imagine that if the 100 pounds these ladies weigh, 90 of which is likely quad muscle. Apparently there’s a legend here that if you get hit by drops of water while going through the caves you’ll soon welcome a baby. I got hit twice so there will either be some sort of divine intervention at work or I’ll be one of the exceptions to the rule.

We concluded our visit with dinner at a restaurant simply called ‘Family Restaurant’ which provided local favorites at ridiculously low prices. Lauren and I got two full plates of delicious food (see notes below) and drinks for like $10. Living up to their name, I had a very hard working 10 year old providing excellent service and was pouring tap beer like a pro. Afterwords our group had drinks at an Eastern European expat owned bar called Rustic Garden that scammed us out of a few dollars as they pull a bait and switch during happy hour pricing. I would avoid that establishment if you ever find yourself in Ninh Bihn.

Ha Long / Lan Ha Bay

The next morning, we were awoken by yet another rooster that would benefit by a wristwatch (leg watch?) as he first crowed at 2am. The early rise just made the anticipation for Ha Long Bay all the more exciting, not to mention that it as also the beginning of one of the luckiest days I’ve had in recent memory. Ha Long Bay is composed of 1,969 individual islands (I know that off the top of my head as I won a bus ride contest Sunny was running that earned me a free beer!; lucky event #1) best known for it’s striking scenery. Each island grows out of the ocean like popsicles of varying sizes with striking limestone patterns on the side and a range of vegetation growing on nearly every side. Most recently this landscape was used as a set of the most recent King Kong movie and after navigation through part of the bay, it makes sense as to why they did.

We boarded our ship, the Sena, as it would provide our accommodation for the next 20 hours or so. Led by our guide Tom, we took ‘bamboo’ boats further into the bay to Light Cave to have a look at one of the shallower areas that are the home a local species of monkey, but unfortunately we didn’t encounter any.

Back onboard, Tom had arranged for a variety of group activities that the 10 of us and 6 others could partake in. Ranging from karaoke, squid fishing or simply enjoying the view but the3 most interesting of which was a spring roll cooking class and competition that he led to provide a receipt of a traditional spring roll but more importantly, how to roll it. One by one we grabbed our rice paper and filled our spring rolls and after a tense and prolonged determination, my spring roll tied for first place with an Italian woman (lucky event #2) where I won another local beer.

Drinks taste so much sweeter when beating out other competitors and they provided a great ending to our only night on in Ha Long Bay and an even better setup for the next morning that began with a Tai Chi lesson (led by the one man band that is Tom) and where we took tandem kayaks to explore the area further where the Sena couldn’t reach including the filming location of King Kong. The views were stunning but I almost appreciated the workout more since it helped justify the fantastic food I’ve had to date and help burn calories for the variety of things I’d try for the remainder of the trip.

Travel/Post Details:

Post includes travel from November 29 – December 2, 2024

Accommodations:

• Pu Luong: Pu Luong Retreat
• Ninh Bihn: Le Clos du Fil
• Ha Long Bay: Sena Cruises

Other Notes:

• The bus ride to Pu Luong was about three hours from Hanoi, weaving through the winding roads that navigated through the mountain range. Normally Lauren would get carsick but I’m happy to report she arrived with the contents of her stomach.
• My lucky day seemed to be restricted to spring rolls and obscure Vietnamese trivia as I was able to correctly guess 10 or so questions throughout the course of the day, sadly the rest didn’t earn me a free beer.
• The Sena was a fairly posh boat that had 16 cabins, of which 10 or so were booked while we were there so it felt even more intimate. The sunset that morning was slightly disappointing but still beautiful because of the scenery.

Food Summary:

• 11/29:
  • Lunch: Mai Chau Sunset Hotel and Homestay in Pu Luong where we all shared fried fish, what I’m calling ‘sticky rice cigars’ (sticky rice rolled in a banana leaf), stewed beef cooked in bamboo, spring rolls, vegetable salad and sweet rolls.
  • Dinner: 0km Pu Luong in Pu Luong adjacent to our hotel. Lauren wimped out and got a Hawaiian pizza and I had their grilled duck in a sweet sauce and a local craft beer called ‘Tay Bac’, a Belgian saison that was surprisingly smooth. This meal was the best meal so far on the trip and would 100% recommend.
• 11/30:
  • Lunch: Tam Cox Memory Restaurant in Ninh Bihn. Another family style type meal with spring rolls, beef in a black pepper sauce, stir fried chicken and goat, pan fried eggplant with soy sauce and fresh pineapple for dessert. I tried everything but the goat since it was in a curry and didn’t sound appealing. Lauren and I both agreed that the beef was the star with great flavor and well cooked.
  • Dinner: Family Restaurant in Ninh Bihn where Lauren had chocolate crepes and fried corn and I had stir fried tofu and vegetables. Recommended by our guide, it was very affordable (cost less than $10) and they had Hanoi beer on tap!
• 12/1:
  • Lunch: Aboard the Sena cruise boat in Ha Long Bay. Family style service with a mango salad, grilled shrimp, fish, beef and mince pork, pineapple fried rice and a crème brule type dessert they just called ‘caramel’. Sunny bought me a Ha Long Sapphire lager as a reward for knowing one of his trivia questions on the ride to the bay. The grilled beef was the highlight here but nothing that was served was overly exciting.
  • Dinner: Aboard the Sena cruise boat in Ha Long Bay. Family style with pumpkin soup, grilled squid, fish and chicken, steamed shrimp and Longan sweet soup for dessert. Very similar to lunch in terms of excitement but the oddity was the sweet soup which was lotus seeds and melon submerged in sugar water. The seeds had the consistency of chickpeas and the entire experience was odd and unsatisfying.

Featured Image: Sunset aboard the Seta in La Ha Bay