Nihn Bihn

 

Tayte is going to tell bits about Nihn Bihn through his eyes. 

Boating was so fun! We boated for about two hours. There were mountains that looked like big green hairy blobs surrounding us, that’s because the trees and bushes were completely covering the mountains. We got to go under caves to see all the slag tights and the slag mights and the cave would go through a whole mountain, 1,000 meters was the biggest one. There were paddles that we got to use and they were made out of just bamboo and a part of the side of a plastic bucket, they really use anything they can find. Also King Kong was filmed there and we got to see some parts where it was filmed.

One of the other things we did in Nihn Bihn was biking. We biked around the city, the rice fields, the big green blob mountains, and saw a pagoda. The pagoda we saw had some cool statues that we took a picture with and we also got to have some really nice guy let us put some incense on the altar. Also we came up with a game on our bikes that me (Tayte) and all of my brothers would do. We would grab a leaf of a tree or something and then we would ride our bikes really fast and use the wind and a leaf to surf on the air.

There was one place we would go to eat our food every day because it was so good and the people there were awesome. My favorite food I got was fried noodles with egg.

Notes from Mom: 

What an incredibly special place! I didn’t expect to fall in love with Ninh Binh as much as we did. We truly played our cards right there—it turned out even better than we could have planned.

We left Sapa a day early, even though we had paid for three nights (thankfully our homestay was only $20 a night, so it wasn’t too painful). Honestly, I was chasing the sun—and it turns out, it was the right move. We left Sapa around 10:30 p.m. after a close call that almost had us missing the bus. Once we finally boarded, we were so relieved. We found our tiny but cozy sleeping compartments, and everyone immediately fell asleep. We still hadn’t adjusted our internal clocks, so most of us had been dozing off around 7:30 p.m.—which made 10:30 feel like climbing a mountain.

The bus ride was smooth and easy. Everyone slept through the entire seven hours… except me. I was in full mama-bear mode, checking on the boys throughout the night. We arrived early in the morning and found a car to take us to our hotel. When we got there, the owner, Jake, greeted us. We were completely shocked by how well he spoke English—what luck! He had lived in the States for eight years, so he understood everything we said and had all the tips and answers we could possibly need. Then he told us something wild: if we had arrived just one day later, we would have missed all the attractions because everything would be closed for Lunar New Year. Talk about perfect timing!

After dropping off our bags, we immediately headed to Mua Cave. The grounds were beautiful. Then came the real adventure—climbing 600 steep stairs to the top of the mountain. The views were absolutely insane. The only downside? It was packed with tourists. As we scaled slippery, sharp rocks near the summit, it felt a little dangerous navigating such a tiny space with so many people. But like we always do, we made it work. We clung to the dragon statue lining the ridge, carefully making our way around and soaking in every breathtaking view.

This photo gives a perfect representation of how much of a cliff we were standing on. And let me remind you... those sharp little jagged rocks beneath me are slippery from all the people walking on them!

But the views from the top were priceless! 

Next, we went to Trang An River—the main reason I wanted to come to Ninh Binh! We paid for our seats and climbed into a small boat, where a local Vietnamese woman paddled us around for two peaceful hours. The scenery of the karst mountains was unreal—like something out of a movie set.

The best part? Drifting through the caves beneath the cliffs, filled with beautiful stalagmites, low ceilings, and that thrilling, adventurous feeling of being in an Indiana Jones movie. It was magical.

The cute, old Vietnamese lady that took our photo for us got her finger in it. Makes me love the photo 100x more.  

We ended up loving our stay even more than we expected. Jake and his brother treated us so kindly and really seemed to take a liking to our boys. By the time we left, they had formed such a sweet bond. They hugged the boys like proud uncles and said, “You have such cute boys.” It melted my heart.

I’ve noticed that people here especially take to Peder. Maybe it’s his blue eyes, blonde hair, or his age—but if he even starts to whine a little, people rush to make it right. Whether it’s an extra piece of toast or resizing a bracelet, they’ll stop everything to make sure he gets exactly what he wants. It’s honestly so sweet to watch.

One day, we rented bikes and rode around a large part of the city. It was one of our favorite days so far. Ninh Binh is incredibly diverse, with something beautiful around every corner. We happened to bike on Lunar New Year, which meant the streets were unusually quiet—making it safe and peaceful to ride. Otherwise, it might have been chaotic! As we pedaled along, it felt like we were celebrities. Everyone was in such high spirits because of the holiday. People would honk to say hello or shout “Happy New Year!” as loudly as they could. It was the absolute cutest thing, and we loved every second of it.

Just as a side note. Since Peder was on the back of my bike we had some darling conversations. For a long while we talked about the trees and the stories we'd put them in. The trees were these veiny-type trees so unique! Peder decided he'd put them in a spooky story where I would put them in a fairy type story. 

As my dear friend who wandered abroad homeschooling her girls imparted her wisdom on me told me t

to "wonder out loud." So many amazing conversations have come from wondering out loud.  

 We found a waffle place while biking and the boys were very happy for a break from Vietnamese food. 

  

We also visited the bird sanctuary, and because it was Lunar New Year, we practically had the entire place to ourselves. Normally it’s crowded, but we wandered around without seeing anyone. It was immaculate and stunning. We took two boat rides—one through another cave (with bats!) and another to the bird nesting area, where thousands of beautiful birds filled the sky.

So grateful to run with this hottie! 

We practically became locals by the end of our stay. Even though there were hundreds of restaurants to choose from, we found one we all loved and decided to keep it simple—we went back every single day. The woman who owned the place would light up and start laughing the moment she saw us walking up. She’d seat us at the same table each time and already knew exactly what we liked to order. She didn’t speak English, but that didn’t matter one bit. We absolutely loved our time with her—and her amazing food.

One thing that fascinated me was how many restaurants are actually part of people’s homes. Right next to the large dining area for guests, there would be sleeping quarters for the family. It was so interesting to see. It made me think about how much community exists here. You live where you work. You’re always home. Your neighbors are doing the same thing. Life feels intertwined in a way that’s so different—and so beautiful.

Ninh Binh completely stole our hearts.