Lost in Ninh Binh's Otherworldly Scenery ｜ Paradise in Vietnam

So when most people come to Vietnam, they come for the cities, the food, the traffic, that energy. And honestly, that's what brought me here too. But just two hours outside of Hanoi is a place that tells a completely different story. A place where limestone mountains rise out of rice fields, ancient temples sit hidden among the cliffs. And more than a thousand years ago, this region became home to the capital of Vietnam's first independent dynasty. This is Ninh Binh. And we only have one day here. One day to climb nearly 500 steps above the valley, walk through fields of lotus flowers, explore ancient pagodas, and discover why sometimes the best way to understand a country is to leave its biggest cities behind. So we left Hanoi, headed south, and went looking for a different side of Vietnam. This is somewhere. So after a few days exploring Hanoi, we decided it was time to leave the city behind and see a different side of Vietnam. So we joined Aloha Vietnam for a day trip south. And we didn't know exactly what the day would bring, but we heard Ninh Binh was one of those places you had to experience for yourself. So we got on the bus, left Hanoi behind, and went to see if it lived up to the hype. And our journey started around 7am and we chose to beat the crowd tour. And then two hours later, so we just made it to a place called Ninh Binh. That's what this place is behind. And the Vietnamese people call this Ha Long Bay on land. And here you can hike all the way up to the mountains. There's like pagodas up there with like 360 degree views of this whole area. But then also there's like these lotus fields, right? Beautiful. And like people come here. So let me fix my hat. People come here from all over Vietnam and pretty much all over the world. Like this is a huge tourist spot to take like pictures. I mean, people are taking like wedding pictures. And as you can see, it is very, very photogenic, right? All this is lotus fields. Super crazy. And remember, don't pick the flower. So hot out here though. Oh my gosh. You see the sweat? Listen, the thing about Vietnam is it's so hot and humid that you're going to sweat, but everyone is sweating. So you kind of feel like you're just all part of a big sweating family. Even the people in Vietnam say this is hot. So they live here. They say this is hot. It's hot. Oh, you got to get the ducks. So the beautiful thing about this place were the lotus flowers. And it's just more than a beautiful flower in Vietnam. Growing from muddy water and rising clean above the surface. It has long symbolized purity, resilience, and the ability to overcome hardship. And here in Ninh Binh, surrounded by the mountains and fields of lotus flowers, you begin to understand why this flower holds such a special place in Vietnamese culture. All right, now we're about to go up to the top to see the pagodas and the view. Are you ready for this hike? I'm as ready as can be. I'm dripping wet with sweat just because it's hot. It's so hot. I can't even imagine like how hot and sweaty I'm about to be. I'm doing this hike. Hopefully there's like a breeze up there. We'll see in a minute, I guess. I read somewhere it's like 400 or 500 steps to the top, which doesn't sound bad. And it takes I think 10 minutes to get up there. Let's begin this hike. And just as a disclaimer, this hike was not 10 minutes. It took us about 25 to get to the top. Let's go to Ninh Binh, she says. Let's hike up to the pagodas, she says. Look at me. I'm drenched. It doesn't matter how much in shape you are. It's the heat. Like your legs will be wobbly. It's so many different stairs. Like look at this. Go up there, down there. This is tough. So after that break, we only had a few more stairs to reach the top. But would it all be worth it? You be the judge. So rising above the rice fields of Ninh Binh is Hang Ngo. Nearly 500 steps lead to the top of Ngoa Long, where a stone dragon stretches across the ridge. But this landscape is more than just a beautiful view. These limestone mountains and rivers form natural defenses that help protect nearby Hoa Lu, Vietnam's capital, more than a thousand years ago. The waterways below supported farming, transportation, and communities that have lived here for generations. And somewhere during those 500 steps, I forgot I had a drone, which technically meant I didn't have to climb any of this. But after making it to the top, yeah, it was worth it. We're almost there. Was it worth the walk? Oh, I don't know. If you say that, I'm surprised. It's the heat. If you go up there, keep going. Don't have a break because your body will start to calm down. And then when you reintroduce, you might get a little dizzy. Well, you did great standing, but don't sit. Yeah, don't sit. Don't sit. But it's worth it because it is beautiful. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Enjoy. Enjoy. Overall review of the hike. The whole time I'm caught eating ice cream. This is her second ice cream. No, listen, you need it. Like your energy level. I thought I was going to pass out just from the heat alone. Overall, it's worth it. I think it's like 400 or 500 steps. But what they don't tell you is that the steps aren't like, you know, like a staircase that they're steep, narrow steps. And it's about maybe like some some steps. Each step ranges between either a foot or a foot and a half. So you're stepping like twice like a normal step. I can't even talk. That's how tired I am. But look at this. That's why it's worth it right there. These views crazy. This joint is a little shaky. I'm wobbling. I probably shouldn't be standing on this with all my gear. Right. My name is Nia. Now you can call me Jimmy. Jimmy. Yes. So, Jimmy, tell us about this tour. We are now in Mua Valley. This was named after the Mua cave. Long time ago, this is a place for our king to come relax like a king's vacation. OK. They make a lot of dancing here. So Mua cave, Mua is dancing. And that's make the name of the valley. And they make some decoration like a lotus field. So these were like planted here. Yeah. It was planned accommodation here like a hotel. Yeah. OK. Bungalow or resort. Yeah. But this is very nice. And this is a destination that we must go along with Tam Coc River when we go to visit Ninh Binh. OK. Ninh Binh means peaceful land. And speaking of the Tam Coc River, after seeing Ninh Binh from above, it was time to experience it from the water. The boats here don't have motors and the people rowing them do things a little differently because somewhere along the way, they figured out that rowing with your arms was just a waste of energy. Here, many of the rowers paddle with their feet. And somehow this became one of the things the Tam Coc is famous for. And honestly, I just wanted to see it for myself. So we climbed aboard and set off to see Ninh Binh from an entirely different perspective. He's using his legs to row the boat. How crazy is that? Like straight just leg day, you know? I mean, but if I got to look at this while doing a leg workout, I think it'd be worth it. Absolutely. What do you think? Worth it? She can barely talk right now. She might not be good on camera right now. And as we got out of this cave, it was time to put the drone in the air so I could show you this place from above. And floating down the Tam Coc River, you begin to understand why water has always been the center of life here. So for generations, these waterways have supported farming, connected villages, and helped shape the communities that grew between the mountains. The name Tam Coc means three caves, referring to the natural tunnels that the rivers carved through the limestones over thousands of years. And during rice season, the fields along the river turned golden, creating one of the most recognizable landscapes in Vietnam. But what makes this place special isn't just what you see, it's the pace. Out here, there's no traffic, no horns, just the sound of oars hitting the river. And the reminder that sometimes the best way to experience a place is slowly. Amazing. That's one way. We've still got to go back, but we just made like a real quick pit stop. There's a temple right here, our shrine that we're going to check out. And then we're going to go head back down the river to get some lunch. So, so as you guys can see, this adventure is definitely something amazing. It's like a you know, cruising up like a river with all these huge rock formations on each side of you, the farmers like in the, in the bushes below or in like the wetlands below, you know, just doing their thing. You saw the artwork. I mean, this is very serene. It's very peaceful. It's not hot. You don't feel hot here. So we're about to go get some lunch, but we got to go back through all that beauty that you saw. So, got to make it fun. Got to have a little adventure. All right. Let me school you on Ninh Binh real quick. I mean, it's beautiful, right? So this region right here was actually the capital of Vietnam in the early 10th century before they made Hanoi the capital. This was home to dynasties over a thousand years ago. These mountains right here were actually formed over 250 million years ago. That's insane. This place is actually a UNESCO world heritage site for not only the history, but also the beauty. It's actually home to hundreds of caves, only really accessible by small boat. And if anything looks familiar here, this is because this is where they filmed the King Kong movie Skull Island. Does it? And this is home to Vietnam's largest wetland. And yes, the local boat rowers are famous for paddling with their feet. All right. This is where we're having lunch right here. So after floating down Tam Coc, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then it was time to keep moving. But this time we traded in the boats for another motor transportation, a scooter, which if you know me is always my favorite way to explore. So we hopped on and headed deeper into the countryside towards one of Ninh Minh's oldest and most unique temples. Look at that scenery. That is nuts over there. So after scooting around the rice fields, we arrived at Big Dong Pagoda built into the side of a limestone mountain. This century old Buddhist temple is made up of three levels that rise into the landscape. And what makes Big Dong special is how it was built. Instead of changing the mountain to make room for the temple, the pagoda was built around it using the caves, cliffs and natural landscape as part of the spiritual experience. And even from below, you could see how nature and spirituality have existed side by side here for centuries. In the local pagoda actually we need to cover your knee and your shoulder. That's for the women. It's nothing concerned with the gender equalization. It's just because in my culture the man is not sexy. Same as mine. What's the difference between Buddhism and the other religions? First of all, any religion is good. It's always teach us to be a better people. Buddha in Buddhism, they said we're actually living in a nightmare. We're living in our own illusion. All the living things are equal. We are even equal with Buddha. He does have a magic power. But for the rain, he's equal. When we get out of this circle of life, we're gonna be equal with him. The second is in Buddhism we are living in an illusion. So they don't fight for land, for gold, for property. We fight with ourselves. The only one that will. Buddha said the biggest enemy of ourselves is ourselves. And the last is I think Buddhism is very practical religion. The Buddha is not a god. He's not a guider, an awakening. He's not rewarder or punisher. We reward or punish ourselves by our own consequences. If we do good, we get good in return. If we do bad, we get bad in return. Hey, where's the horn? Oh yeah, you're gonna hear that a lot. Everything is working but the horn. The problem is I'm gonna like the horn so much I'm gonna take it back to the U.S. and they're gonna hate me for it. The horn doesn't mean the same thing back there as it does here. So this is rice. Yeah. And the eels in here? Yes, the eel or the catfish is deep in the mud. The rice field need to have water all the time. But after harvesting, they will drain the rice field. And it's the time for catching the eel. You see a small river on the side? Yeah. It's actually the water system. Okay. They can pump the water in or out. The rice field, they need a different level of the water. Depends on the rice process. Like from the plant to harvest? It depends on the time from four months to six months. In here, we have winter so we plant it twice per year. In the south, they have a hot and hotter season. Yeah, hot and hotter. So which one is this? Hotter, right? This is hot. Yeah, this is summer. This is outside. Does it get hotter than this? Yeah. For the hottest day, it's going to be 40 Celsius degrees. What's that, like 110 Fahrenheit or something like that? Yeah, 106. But with the humidity, you always feel hotter than normal. Absolutely. Is this hot for you? Yeah. This is hot for you? Okay. Because I see a lot of Vietnamese people with jackets on. Yeah. Protect yourself from the sun to stay lighter. Tanning skin is not good. I know that for you, tanning skin is good. But for us, why is it good? How are you feeling? You hot? No, I'm hot. My legs are wide open. I'm very good. Ready? Oh, that's beautiful. Look at that. And our final stop of the day brought us to a temple dedicated to one of Vietnam's most legendary military leaders, King Le Dai Han. And he ruled more than a thousand years ago, helping defend the country from invasion and strengthen Vietnam during the early years of its independence. But what made this stop different wasn't just the history. And as we arrived, Jimmy began with the mystery that still surrounds the king today. As one of the greatest kings. He's a legend. 55 years old. Never lost any battle. Powerful, confident, and strong. So when he died, we did not know the place that he was buried. It was a secret. But we believe that he was buried around here because this is the best landscape in the province to bury the people due to the feng shui. You see, we have a water in front. The river. By the back of the mountain. A perfect round like a dragon ball. And all the mountains here look like an Asian dragon swimming around the dragon balls. We believe that the king was buried there on the top of those mountains. And this temple has been built after his death to honor him. Everywhere here, you're gonna see the five color flags. It marks that you are near or inside a temple. That is our traditional flag and there is some meaning of that. We believe that the earth is square. So that is a square flag. There are five elements making this word. And the five colors present for them. Red in the middle is for fire. Yellow for the earth. Green for the trees or wood. White for the iron or metal. And the blue for the water. Vietnamese is kind of a very musical language. There are six tones in our language. So one word can have six different meanings. That's why when you hear us speaking, it's like singing. For example, dứa is a watermelon. Dứa is fireball. Dứa, washing. Dứa, coconut. Is it like phở in phở? Yeah. Phở. Phở. Phở is a script. My friends, his name is Phất. It's destiny. A very meaningful name. But sometimes you call him Phất. It's a chalk. But it's not the worst. Sometimes you call him Phân. It's a sheet. So that's why most of us have English names to avoid any misunderstanding. How old is this place? It was built at 10th century. Anyway, you know, any wooden structure will not last for long. Church that made by stone can last for a thousand years. Yeah. Any wooden structure like this will need a very hard maintenance every 50 years. Because it rots, right? Yeah. This is your favorite temple? Yeah, this is my favorite hero. He never lost the battle. The most correct way to see if you are in a temple or pagoda in Vietnam is looking on the main temple. If there are two dragons like that, it's the temple. If there is no dragon or the dragon on the side, it's the pagoda. So while everyone was inside, I saw a perfect opportunity to fly the drone. Jimmy had just explained that this site was chosen because of its exceptional feng shui. With the river stretching out in front, mountains protecting it from behind, and nearly perfect circular lagoon at its center, the landscape was believed to create harmony, balance, and protection, making it ideal resting place for a king. And from the air, it was easy to see why. And as we headed back home, we only have one thing on our mind, food. We just got off the tour bus from Ninh Binh. What do you think? That was amazing? It was amazing. It's a long day. And we're gonna go, what's the name of the spot? Banh Mi 25. It's like a highly rated, highly popular spot here in Hanoi. It's madness out here. But you gotta keep your head on the swivel. And this spot is a chain with over thousands of reviews. Coming in at a 4.9, we had to try it. The goods are in our hand. And believe it or not, a Banh Mi is considered one of the most famous sandwiches in the world. Trying one in Vietnam. Let's dig in. Here it is right here. This bread is 10 out of 10. I know I say that a lot. It's 10 out of 10. I see why they're viral. I get it. This sandwich is $40,002. Banh Mi, massage, sleep, shower, of course. So next time on This is Somewhere, join us as we set sail on an affordable luxury cruise through Bai Tu Long Bay, the quieter and less crowded side of Ha Long Bay. We'll spend the night aboard a beautiful ship, kayak to a pearl farm, explore towering limestone caves, wake up to Tai Chi on the sun deck, enjoy incredible Vietnamese cuisine, and experience one of the most breathtaking landscapes in all of Southeast Asia, all while making new friends. You won't want to miss this one.