Ninh Binh, Vietnam is BEAUTIFUL! 😍 (Trang An Boat Tour, Mua Caves, & Bich Dong Pagoda)

This is definitely the most beautiful place that we have been to in Vietnam so far. This is ridiculous. After spending an insanely epic few days adventuring through the Toulon cave system, including seeing six different caves, swimming and camping in gorgeous locations, we hopped on a quick plane ride to Hanoi plus a two-hour train to make it to our next destination in Vietnam, Ninh Binh. Ninh Binh is a province located in North Vietnam and is known for its towering limestone karst peaks and beautiful valleys, giving it the nickname Halong Bay on land. We had heard that many people preferred Ninh Binh over Halong Bay, so since we only had time for one, we decided to come here instead. And over the next couple days, we're going to be exploring some of the area's top sites. Our bungalow has bikes to rent, so this is going to be our main mode of transportation while we're here, and we are super pumped about it because we have loved biking around Vietnam. Except for on busy roads with cars because they drive pretty crazy here, and helmets on bikes seem to not be much of a thing. This bike ride is crazy, we are just biking through all of these rock formations. One of the most popular things to do in this area is to go on a boat ride, and there are two main areas where you can do this, Trang An and Tam Coc, and after reading about both, we settled on Trang An because we heard people enjoyed it more and there was less hassling from the vendors and the boat drivers. So how it works is that it costs $250,000 per person, and there are three different routes to choose from, and each one is about two and a half to three hours long. We tried to research which one was best, but they all offer a little bit different experience, so we're still not sure which one we're going to choose. So route one has nine caves and three temples, route two has four caves and three temples, and route three has three caves and three temples, and one of the caves is the longest one in the whole area. So I think since we've spent a lot of time in caves lately, we're going to pick the one that's going to give us the most amount of time out of caves so we can soak up all the scenery. So we're going with route number three, baby! You get your boat when you get here, so you don't have to book in advance, and they usually wait until the boat is full with four people, but since we're filming, we wanted the boat all to ourselves, so we paid for four tickets, which was one million dong. The Trang An Landscape Complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is full of striking karst formations covered in rainforest jungle, with some as tall as 200 meters, as well as caves. And from what we read, archaeological findings in the caves revealed that there has been human activity in this area for over 30,000 years. We just made it to our first temple, and one really neat thing about this tour is that they'll drop you off at the temples so you can explore them freely, and then when you're ready, just hop back on the boat and keep going. One big rule when visiting the temples here is to have your shoulders and your knees covered, so you'll notice I throw on the cardigan when we get here, even though it's not cardigan weather at all. This temple is believed to be 1,000 years old, with different restorations and expansions over the years, and is said to be one of the most sacred in the country. And just seconds after leaving the temple, we made it to the first cave of the trip, the Dot Cave, which is the longest cave in the complex at 1,000 meters long. The ceilings are really low. Watch your noggin. I almost knocked my head. It's amazing! This cave is massive. We've been in here probably almost 10 minutes, and there is no end in sight. It is just wild to be in here. We were really debating between going into more caves or going into this really long one, and right now I'm really glad we chose this really long one. It is unreal in here. It kind of just feels like we're on a Disney ride. We survived the first cave. That was so awesome. We have made it to temple number two, and this one looks much larger. It seems like it's a whole complex, and what's really cool about it is it is tucked in between all these giant spires. We have been to a handful of temples while here in Vietnam, and what impresses me every single time is just the amount of detail in the architecture. They are just stunning. Even on a gloomy, misty day like this, the scenery is just jaw-dropping. This is epic. Just all of the shapes of these karst formations, they're just so pointy, they're just jutting out of the ground. This spot right here is exactly what I pictured Halong Bay looking like. Wow! Fun fact, they filmed parts of King Kong's Skull Island right in this area. Oh yeah, it feels nice in here. Wow, this one's really neat. This is our final temple, and I think they saved the best for last. Not only are there three gorgeous buildings over here, but there is a pagoda out on an island with the most epic backdrop ever. We just met subscribers in Vietnam, of all places, on this boat ride. There they are! Zai and Lou! Bye! Thank you! The boat ride was incredible, and our driver was the sweetest, and while it's not required, we did read that it's customary to tip $25,000 per person. But I loved every single second of that boat ride, and it's so hard to put that experience into words, but I think the best words I can think of are relaxing, breathtaking, and magical. It's mostly flat, but there's a little bit of a hill right here. Use those legs! This is a really great area to bike though, and we are doing all the biking that we can because we are kind of training for an event that we're doing this summer, which requires a lot of biking, and we don't bike that much, so this is good for us. While here in Ninh Binh, we're staying at the Trang An Lamia Bungalows, which is located in Trang An, close to the boat ride that we just did, but a little bit away from the city of Ninh Binh itself, and also Tam Coc, which is a more bustling area that is popular to stay in. And y'all, this place is amazing! It is a gorgeous garden paradise that is surrounded by stunning limestone cliffs and has a variety of different accommodations, and we booked their deluxe bungalow with Mountain View, which is incredible, so we're going to give you a tour real quick. One thing you'll likely notice when you first walk up is that the outside is all bamboo, which we love because it gives it a tropical vibe, but what makes it even better is the inside is too. The main room of the bungalow is the bedroom, and it has a circular bed, which we've never slept on a circular bed before, and let me tell you, this bed is the most comfortable bed we have had in Vietnam. It is so pillowy! They also have a little coffee and tea station, and very important, we also have an A.C. The bungalow also has a bathroom, but it's not like your typical bathroom. It's an outdoor bathroom! There's a toilet with an attached bidet, which we've learned that the locals call it a bum gun. Ah! Destroy all the bums! Plus a really cool sink made out of rock, and it looks like they just went out there and picked the piece of rock off and carved it out and made it into a sink. And there's also an outdoor shower, but my favorite part about the bathroom is that there are trees growing in the bathroom. You just feel immersed in nature here, and it may be a bit of a trek to get to town from this spot, but we are loving it out here. It's nice and remote and peaceful, and really the only noise we hear are animals. Since we are out in nature, you might be wondering what the bug situation is, especially since the bungalow isn't airtight. There are some cracks here and there where bugs can get in. We have noticed some mosquitoes, but we haven't noticed being bit by them, but one way to counteract the bugs is the bug net. So every night when it's time for bed, we just get this net out, and it feels like we're sleeping in a little cocoon. And in our opinion, the best part of this whole bungalow is the patio. We have a table and chairs, a little soaking pool, and just look at this view. This place cost us $61 USD per night, which is our most expensive lodging while here in Vietnam, but as soon as we saw this place, we knew we had to stay here. One nice thing about this bungalow and many of the places you can stay in this area is they have a restaurant on site, so we can eat meals here easily. We've eaten almost all of our meals here so far, and we've tried a bunch of different things, but today I've got this grilled pork with sweet and sour sauce, which I also got last night, and it was so good, I had to get it again. And I got the pork with chili and lemongrass, which I've also had before, and I loved it. And we had to get coffee, because we're in Vietnam. One of our goals while here in Ninh Binh was to relax a bit. We've been pretty go-go-go ever since we got to Vietnam, and we just wanted to soak up as much of this amazing scenery as we could, instead of feeling like we had to do a whole lot. So if you need us for the rest of the day, this is where you'll find us. This morning we're heading to Mua Caves, which is a mountain peak with a stunning overlook over the area. We hear it can get pretty busy, so we're getting an early start this morning, so we can hopefully beat the crowds. So one common thing that happens in this area is when you go to some of these tourist sites, they try to convince you that you need to park sooner than you actually need to, and they try to make you pay for it. But for the spot we're going to today, we're able to park at this Eco Lodge that's here for free. Everywhere it says, park at the Eco Lodge, it's free, don't listen to the people on the street. We just had our first lady try to block us in the street and make us pay her to park, but we just kept on going. Alright, the man working at the ticket booth said we could park over here, but... It says 5,000. We read it was free, but 5,000's okay, we can do that. I don't know if this is a scam or not, but it does seem slightly legit. Besides the parking fee, it costs $100,000 per person to get in, and now we have 500 steps to the top. That is where we're going. We're about 30 steps in, and I'm tired already. We are about halfway to the top, and it's not horrible. It's definitely a workout. I think the worst part is that it feels like we're hiking in a sauna right now. We are both completely drenched in sweat. I lied. It's getting harder by the second. These steps are so tall that I'm having to use my hands on some of them just to make sure I don't fall on the way up. We made it to the dragon, and it was 110% worth it. Just look at this view. This is ridiculous. It does require a little bit of climbing to get up to this dragon, but it's not too bad. Just one more uphill climb. It's all downhill from here. Yes! We definitely recommend getting here as early as possible. We got here a little before 7, and there were only a handful of groups, but it's definitely getting busier as we're coming down. You also may be wondering where are these caves since it's called Mua Caves, and we'll just say you come here for the viewpoint. I just love riding bikes here in Vietnam. You get to go down a bunch of just random roads that you probably wouldn't have gone down otherwise and just see a bunch of locals just living life. It just feels like such an authentic way to experience this country. We have basically been sweating profusely for hours, so we came into Tam Coc to a coffee shop called Brick Coffee to get something nice and cold to cool us off, and this has become one of our favorite coffee shops that we have been to in all of Vietnam so far. It is so beautiful inside, and we have tried a handful of drinks while here, plus their amazing banana and carrot cakes, and everything is so delicious, and the owner is really, really nice too. This is coconut coffee. It's basically a coconut slush with coffee on top, and it's one of the best drinks we have had in all of Vietnam. This is bomb, man. So we've shared the word hangry on the vlog before, which is when you're so hungry you start to get really angry. We've also shared slangry, which is when you're really sleepy and you get angry, and today we have a new one, swangry, and it's when you're so sweaty you're angry, and that's what Adam has been battling with. It's been a very tough, a very tough time for him. He's been really struggling, but I think this coconut coffee is the perfect cure. Today has been by far the warmest day we've had in Vietnam, and this thing is coming in clutch. This is so dang good. I'm already cooled down. I've only had a couple bites already. I just feel a wave of refreshment coming over me. Chill through your bones. So sweet. So cold. I just want to hold it. Just put it up to my face. One very popular spot here in Tam Coc is the Bich Dong Pagoda, and similar to the spot we were at this morning, there's a bit of an issue here with people trying to force you to pay for parking. We hear they can be really aggressive here, even grabbing your bikes, and some people said it ruined the experience for them. So to avoid that happening to us, the owner of Brick Coffee has very nicely allowed us to leave our bikes here, and we're going to take a taxi there instead. The Bich Dong Pagoda consists of three pagodas and was originally built in the 1400s, but in 1705, two Buddhist monks repaired and expanded it to what it is today. The pagodas are built with traditional stone and wood architectural styles, and a couple of them are partially or fully in a cave. Oh no. Cause. Wasting time on traveling for fun. Oh no. Effect. Brings mobility problems when blessing ends. Uh oh. We're in trouble. I guess we gotta go home. We're entering the pagoda that's partially built into the cave. This thing is so neat. This is unlike any temple I have ever been to. Visiting temples kind of seems like a repetitive activity, but one thing I love about them is they are all different from each other, and this one was especially unique. Alright, the bikes are still here. Huge thank you to the owner of Brick Coffee, you're the best. One of the popular food items to eat here in Ninh Binh is goat. You'll very likely see goats climbing around all the rocks and cliffs while you're here visiting. We even had one wander on through our bungalow area the other day. And to try goat, for I think the first time ever for both of us, we came to this local restaurant that's tucked a little bit away from the main street in Tam Coc. And first up, we have goat skewers. That is super good. But if you didn't tell me what it was, I would probably guess it was pork or beef. It has the same texture as either of those two proteins. Mmm. It has maybe like a little bit more of a fattiness to it than just beef, but it's delicious. Just the sesame seeds give it a nuttiness. It also came with this sauce, not sure what's in it, but we're going to do a little dip. Mmm, that sauce is good. The sauce is a little sweet, salty, and tangy, and it enhances the grilled meat flavor perfectly. We also ordered cam che, which is basically steamed rice and then laid out in a thin layer like this to dry, and then they deep fry it until it gets nice and crispy. And then you take this and dip it in this soup that has goat meat in it. It's hot. It kind of tastes like a comfort food. This tastes like chicken noodle soup almost. There's lots of egg in there. Like I said, goat meat, there's carrots, corn, and then you dip this in there. It's almost like just dipping a cracker in here. This doesn't have a ton of flavor. It's just, it honestly tastes like a rice crispy treat, but without the sugar and stuff. Just straight up rice that's been fried. Oh, this is hot. Mmm. The goat is so tender. I love these because they're so airy and crunchy. When you put them in the soup, they kind of soften up a bit, but they keep that crunch. It's kind of a fun little texture combo going on here. We've got about a 12 kilometer bike ride back to the bungalow, but we've decided to take an even longer route. One, it'll be more scenic, and two, the back tire on my bike is completely flat. It's been driving fine all day long, but we didn't want to be on a big busy road in case something bad happens. We made it back. And most importantly, my bike did too. I am so pooped. Oh yeah. That's the stuff right there. We absolutely love Ninh Binh, and while we can't compare it to Ha Long Bay since we haven't been there, we can confidently say it is well worth a visit. We're probably a broken record by now, but it is just so beautiful here. Tomorrow, we're going to be hopping on a train back to Hanoi, and from there, we're actually going to be leaving Vietnam, but only for a couple days, and we'll explain why in our next video. I was trying to turn the pool off, and I thought the hose was the knob, and I pushed it up and it flung out. There's water everywhere. Water is going everywhere. Water everywhere. My hair is like soaked. Water everywhere. I'm a little wet. Oh, it was like blasting me in the face. Oh my gosh. We made a great first impression here. Yeah. Oh no. Are you okay?