Bổ Đà is a pagoda that was built from the earth up, quite literally. Its long perimeter walls are made of rammed earth, mixed with broken pottery and tiles, a traditional technique that has kept them standing for centuries, and inside lies one of the most remarkable features of any Vietnamese temple: a garden of more than a thousand stupas, the tombs of monks who lived and died here, standing in rows among the trees. The pagoda, on a hill in Việt Yên in Bắc Giang province, is also famous for its collection of wooden printing blocks carved with Buddhist texts, a treasure of Vietnamese woodblock printing.
The site is associated with the Lâm Tế school of Buddhism and has been a centre of learning and pilgrimage since at least the seventeenth century, with the main halls rebuilt over the years. The atmosphere is calm and earthy, with the scent of incense, moss-covered walls and the sound of monks chanting in the morning.
Bắc Ninh, across the river, is the heartland of quan họ, a style of call-and-response folk singing between groups of young men and women, recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage. The village of Đông Hồ, nearby, is famous for its woodblock folk paintings, printed on paper made from tree bark with natural colours, especially popular at the lunar new year.
Riding in this area is busy, flat and full of incident. Roads around Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang carry heavy traffic, including trucks serving the many industrial parks that have grown here in recent years, and motorbikes swarm at every junction. Smaller roads through villages and rice fields are calmer, but still demand constant attention, with bicycles, livestock and children playing in the road.
Fuel, food and coffee are everywhere. Try Vietnamese coffee, strong and sweet with condensed milk, or egg coffee, a Hanoi invention, and local dishes like bánh cuốn, steamed rice rolls. Come in autumn, when the weather is dry and pleasant, or spring, when festivals bring life to the temples. Summers are hot and wet. Walk slowly through the stupa garden, past the weathered towers in their rows, and feel the presence of the generations of monks who made this place their home.