Northern Vietnam has some of the most beautiful, untouched and natural scenery in South East Asia. Pictures of the golden terraced paddy fields seen on the hiking trails in Sapa and pictures of thousands of karst mountains set in the emerald sea of Ha Long Bay made me book my air tickets to Hanoi, which is Vietnam’s capital city and gateway to these attractions. In addition, I wanted to visit Ninh Binh, located just 2 hours away from Hanoi by car. I got to know of the beauty of Ninh Binh through watching an episode of the Amazing Race (Season 29 Episode 10) on TV.
Ironically, we did not go to neither Sapa nor Ha Long Bay. As I planned my itinerary before our trip, I realised that Mai Chau and Pu Luong could be better places for hiking instead of Sapa.
Sapa, according to what I read in the internet, has become too touristy and crowded. Tales of aggressive local villagers “pressuring” tourists to buy stuff, crowded hiking trails and 7 hours of overnight train journey just to get to Sapa from Hanoi were some of the reasons I chose not to go to Sapa.
For almost similar reasons, I decided to skip the “touristy” and “over commercialised” Ha Long Bay and spend more time in Ninh Binh, also known as the “Ha Long Bay on Land”.
Best time to visit
The best time to hike and visit the rice fields of North Vietnam is during the rice harvesting season. There are usually 2 to 3 crops per year. The actual harvesting periods would vary according to weather and location. For Mai Chau and Pu Luong, the month of October was a good time for our visit but the rice fields in Ninh Binh were already harvested in September.
Green and yellow terraced paddy fields in Pu Luong - October 2018.
As things turned out, I enjoyed my experience hiking through Pu Luong Nature Reserve. We saw plenty of green, yellow and golden terraced paddy fields within the gorgeous rural landscape of Vietnam. We witnessed all stages of rice harvesting activities.
Instead of aggressive and pushy locals trying to make money from us, we interacted with friendly local villagers during our time at Mai Chau and Pu Luong. One elderly couple even invited us into their house to rest and served us cold water and oranges from her garden.
I had booked a 5D/4N private tour that starts from Hanoi and ends in Ninh Binh from VIC Travel. I chose this company as they focus on low impact "off the beaten path" private trips in northern Vietnam. The company provided a local English speaking guide, a car with driver and arranged our accommodations and meals. On one of the nights, we stayed in the bamboo stilt houses of the ethnic minority people in Pu Luong and ate authentic local meals.
Our itinerary includes travel by car and a fair bit of hiking and trekking in the beautiful Mai Chau Valley and Pu Luong Nature Reserve. We also did a bit of cycling around Mai Chau.
We actually found the landscape in Pu Luong to be more beautiful than Mai Chau. In addition, Pu Luong is more laid back and less touristy. Mai Chau’s tourism industry had boomed recently and has attracted more visitors (local and international). We encountered a few electric powered carts carrying visitors on the narrow country lanes. In comparison, we did not meet any other hikers on the hiking trails in Pu Luong!
Our itinerary
The following is a day by day summary of our 9 days in Northern Vietnam.
Prior to going to Mai Chau and Pu Luong, we spent one and half day exploring the sights and culture in the Old Quarters of Hanoi as well as giving our taste buds a treat with local culinary delights.
Day 1 (4 October 2018) – Arrival and half day in Hanoi
We arrived at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport at about noon time. We travelled by pre-arranged taxi to our hotel located in Hanoi’s Old Quarters. After settling into our hotel in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, we spent the rest of the day exploring Hanoi on foot.
Seemingly never ending stream of cars and motorcycles on the streets of Hanoi.
We experienced the mayhem of the city traffic and took the leap of faith that is needed to cross the streets with seemingly never ending stream of cars and motorcycles. We also enjoy the sights and gastronomical delights of Hanoi.
We tried one of the best pho in the famous Old Quarters. One of the hidden gems in Hanoi is “Train Street” where we saw many interesting sights but the train!
We had dinner at the Red Bean Classic Restaurant, one of the best fine dining restaurants in the city.
Hanoi’s famous Beer Corner or Bia Hoi Corner
Following dinner, we sat on plastic stools by the street and drank probably the cheapest beer in the world at Hanoi’s famous Beer Corner or Bia Hoi Corner (located at the crossroads of Pho Ta Hien and Pho Luong Ngoc Quyen).
Where we stayed: Hanoi Imperial Hotel located in the middle of the Old Quarters. Hanoi's Old Quarter is the city's ultimate shopping hotspot. The Quarter's maze of streets offers a wealth of cheap shopping, delicious must-try dishes, and essential travel services.
Trip report: Gastronomical delights in Hanoi Old Quarter
Day 2 (5 October 2018) – A whole day to enjoy Hanoi
After breakfast at hotel, we continued our exploration of Hanoi on foot.
Some of the things we did and places we visited are:
Hanoi’s “train street”.
Where we stayed: Hanoi Imperial Hotel located in the middle of the Old Quarters. There were a few excellent spas located just outside this hotel. An hour or two at a good, clean spa is the perfect way to relax after a long day of walking and sightseeing.
Trip report: A day of cafe hopping and sight-seeing in Hanoi Old Quarter
Trip report: Up close with a train in Hanoi’s “train street”
Day 3 (6 October 2018) – Travel from Hanoi to Mai Chau.
This is the start of our 5D/4N private tour arranged with VIC Travel.
My wife and I were picked up by our guide Mr Long and driver Mr Ha from our hotel in Hanoi in a clean and spacious Toyota Innova. It was a comfortable 4 hours’ drive through the countryside, small towns and mountainous regions to Mai Chau with a coffee break en-route.
We had lunch comprising authentic cuisine of local people at the Lac village. This was followed by a 5 km hike through a forest and paddy fields in the Mai Chai valley to Mai Chau Ecolodge, our accommodation for the night. Mai Chau valley is one of the most beautiful areas in the north west of Vietnam.
Mai Chau Ecolodge.
After dinner at the Mai Chau Ecolodge, we watched a lively cultural dance performance.
Where we stayed: Mai Chau Ecolodge.
Surrounded by mountains and paddy fields, Mai Chau Ecolodge features modern rooms and suites with views and free Wi-Fi. It has a restaurant, bar, an outdoor pool and in-house spa for guests to relax in. Free bicycles are available for guests to borrow and explore the countryside.
Trip report: Hiking in Mai Chau Valley with a local guide.
Day 4 (7 October 2018) – Mai Chai to Pu Luong
After breakfast at the Mai Chau Ecolodge, we borrowed the free bicycles to cycle through terraced rice paddies and small villages, discovering the natural beauty of Mai Chau valley and encountering the culture of the ethnic minority Thai people on our visits to the Lac and Na Phon villages.
After lunch in the Na Phon village, our driver drove us to Pu Luong Nature Reserve.
En-route, we made a brief stop at a roadside bamboo factory to observe how bamboo trees are turned into chopsticks and rulers.
The drive to the Hieu village in Pu Luong took about 2 hours. This area is the home of the Muong and Thai ethnic groups.
We stayed in this hut at Ban Hieu village, Pu Luong.
After settling into our stilt hut in the village, we went to explore the surrounding area, including a 5 km trek up a waterfall and jungle path.
We had dinner with our hosts and enjoyed the food and hospitality provided. We even stayed up late to watch a live telecast of the English Premier League game between Liverpool and Manchester City in the homestay via cable TV.
Where we stayed: Mr Ly’s homestay in Ban Hieu village.
Trip report: Cycling in the morning at Mai Chau valley
Trip report: Road Trip from Mai Chau to Pu Luong Nature Reserve
Trip report: Our Activities at Ban Hieu Village in Pu Luong Nature Reserve
Day 5 (8 October 2018) – Hiking in Pu Luong
After breakfast, we start our hike through Pu Luong Nature Reserve, passing corn fields, rice terraces, palm forests, farms and many villages. We saw people going about their day.
We had lunch in the stilt house of a villager in the White Thai village. We enjoyed some free time to acquaint ourselves with the life of our hosts.
In the afternoon, we trekked through terraced rice paddies and small villages, discovering the natural beauty of Pu Luong and encountering the culture of the ethnic minority Thai people in Don village. We were lucky to visit during harvesting season and saw plenty of golden terraced rice-fields and harvesting activities. Pu Luong was especially beautiful, non-touristy and we met many friendly local people in the villages.
Rice harvesting in Pu Luong during October 2018.
This was the day where we did the longest and most energy sapping trek of at least 12 km in hot weather. But this was the day where we really appreciate the beauty of North Vietnam, in terms of scenery, country and people.
Where we stayed: Pu Luong Retreat.
Pu Luong Retreat offers the best views of rice terraces, valley and mountains from the property.
It features an outdoor infinity pool, a restaurant and free Wi-Fi access in the public areas. Select suites feature a bathtub.
Trip report: Hiking in Pu Luong Nature Reserve - From Hieu village to Kho Muong village
Day 6 (9 October 2018) – Hiking in Pu Luong and travel to Ninh Binh
We did a 7 km trek in the morning through the rice terraces and forests around Pu Luong.
We then drove on the Ho Chi Minh highway through the surrounding countryside to Ninh Binh.
En-route, we stopped for lunch at one of the local restaurants before arriving at our hotel in Ninh Binh’s city center in the afternoon.
Where we stayed: Ngoc Anh 2 Hotel. This is a clean and “value-for-money” hotel located in Ninh Binh city.
Trip report: Morning in Pu Luong Retreat
Day 7 (10 October 2018) – Explore Ninh Binh
The last day of our tour with VIC Travel was spent exploring a few attractions of Ninh Binh that I had selected.
Trang An boat ride through the “Ha Long Bay on Land” in Ninh Binh.
We took the highly enjoyable and scenic Trang An river boat tour through limestone caves early in the morning before the tour groups and day trippers arrived in Ninh Binh.
After the 2 hours boat ride, we went to see Hoa Lu Ancient Capital and learnt about the 10th and 11th century kings who once ruled ancient Vietnam.
Our guide arranged for us to sample some local special dishes such as crispy rice and goat meat in a local restaurant during lunch.
After lunch, we went to Hang Mua. Hang Mua is a cave that was used as a secret hospital by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War.
Panoramic views from Hang Mua Peak.
A more interesting activity at Hang Mua was the challenging 500 steps climb to the top of the mountain (Hang Mua Peak) where we were rewarded with cool breeze and panoramic views.
The 5D/4N private tour with VIC Travel concluded after our driver Ha sent us to our next accommodation in Tam Coc area of Ninh Binh.
Where we stayed: Tam Coc Horizon Bungalow. This is one of the best homestay accommodations in Tam Coc that is suitable for couples and family groups.
Trip report: Exploring Ninh Binh - Trang An boat ride, Hoa Lu Ancient Citadel and Hang Mua peak
Trip report: Our stay at Tam Coc Horizon Bungalow
Day 8 (11 October 2018) – Explore Tam Coc area of Ninh Binh
We had a free and easy day to explore the attractions around Tam Coc. We chose to walk (instead of cycling) to Bich Dong Pagoda and back. On the way, we saw the famous Tam Coc Boat Tours where rowers row the sampans with their feet instead of using their arms.
Local women rowing sampans using their feet in Tam Coc, Ninh Binh.
After lunch in a restaurant in Tam Coc, we relaxed in our homestay till the day is cool enough for an evening walk to Thai Vi Temple.
Where we stayed: Tam Coc Horizon Bungalow.
Trip report: Exploring attractions in Tam Coc
Day 9 (12 October 2018) – Free and Easy in Tam Coc, Ninh Binh
We spent our last morning in Ninh Binh relaxing at our homestay till it was time to transfer by taxi to Noi Bai Airport for our 6.30 PM flight home.
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