Yen Giang Stake-yard and Bo Da Pagoda

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Yen Giang Stake-yard

   Twice in Vietnamese history, the tide at the mouth of the Bạch Đằng river decided the fate of the country. In 938, Ngô Quyền defeated a Southern Han fleet by planting iron-tipped stakes in the riverbed, hidden at high tide, then luring the enemy ships upstream and waiting for the water to fall. In 1288, during the third Mongol invasion of Đại Việt, the general Trần Hưng Đạo used the same trick against the fleet of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, trapping and destroying it. In the fields around Quảng Yên, archaeologists have found rows of those ancient wooden stakes, still standing in the mud, and the Yên Giang stake yard is one of the sites where you can see them preserved.

   Read the complete Yen Giang Stake-yard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Yen Giang Stake-yard is where the day begins. Next is Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster.

2. 2. Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster

   Yên Tử is the sacred mountain of Vietnamese Buddhism, rising to a little over a thousand metres above the coastal plain of Quảng Ninh province, and Hoa Yên Pagoda sits partway up its slopes, among old trees and stone steps, on the pilgrim route to the summit. The mountain's fame goes back to King Trần Nhân Tông, who defeated the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century and then, at the height of his power, gave up the throne, became a monk and retired to Yên Tử, where he founded the Trúc Lâm school of Zen. It became the only uniquely Vietnamese school of Buddhism, and the mountain has been a pilgrimage site ever since.

   Read the complete Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is King Chu Cavern.

3. 3. King Chu Cavern

   In the delta country east of Hanoi the land is mostly flat, a patchwork of rice paddies and ponds, so when limestone hills rise abruptly out of it they feel like a different world. Kinh Môn, in Hải Dương province, is one of those places, a small range of karst hills pitted with caves, and the Kinh Chủ cave, which I have placed under the name on the map, is one of them. Caves in northern Vietnam are often turned into shrines, with Buddha statues and incense in the dim light, and visitors come both for the religion and for the cool air inside.

   Read the complete King Chu Cavern write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach King Chu Cavern. Next is Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.

4. 4. Vinh Nghiem Pagoda

   In the countryside of Bắc Giang province, in northern Vietnam, about fifty kilometres north-east of Hanoi, the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda stands by the Thương river, surrounded by rice fields and villages. It is one of the oldest and most important Buddhist centres in Vietnam, associated with the Trúc Lâm school of Zen Buddhism, founded in the thirteenth century by King Trần Nhân Tông, who abdicated to become a monk.

   Read the complete Vinh Nghiem Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, about halfway. Next is Bo Da Pagoda.

5. 5. Bo Da Pagoda

   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.

   Read the complete Bo Da Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Bo Da Pagoda sits at 145 km, about halfway. Next is back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda.

6. 6. back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Vinh Nghiem Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Vinh Nghiem Pagoda comes up about 215 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through King Chu Cavern.

7. 7. back through King Chu Cavern

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete King Chu Cavern write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 278 km into the recorded legs you reach back through King Chu Cavern. Next is back through Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster.

8. 8. back through Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Hoa Yen Pagoda relic cluster, late in the day. Next is Yen Giang Stake-yard.

9. 9. Yen Giang Stake-yard

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Yen Giang Stake-yard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 357 km.