If you didn't get the sense of it from my last post, I'll lay it out clear here: Hanoi was overwhelming. My brother tried to warn us that one day would be enough in old quarter Hanoi, but I'm a big sister so I'm not very good at listening to younger brothers and booked our Air BnB for two nights. But, after the craziness of the first day in Hanoi we knew we had to get out of the city sooner.

So, we started researching "things to do out of the city on Hanoi" and over and over the Perfume Pagodas popped up. We were still feeling a little overwhelmed, so we went ahead booked a tour via an agency. And despite worries that it could be a scam (this does happen), it ended up being a great decision. (For you planners out there visiting Vietnam, we can totally recommend Go Asia Travel. They were awesome!)

The trip to the Perfume Pagodas started with a 2-hour van trip out of the city. It turns out the only way to access the Perfume Pagodas is by boat which, happily, our tour guide had figured all out for us.

Forever and ever I will link awesome boat rides with Vietnam. It was amazing to see real-life lived on the river. Also, all the high-fives to the kick-ass women who row those boats for tourists. They are legit super heroes.

After an hour boat ride, we ended up at the base of a couple of the Perfume Pagodas. There are several pagodas tucked into the mountains and we were told it would take DAYS to look at them all. Our first (of many) pagodas of the trip was the Thien Tru Pagoda. Roughly translated, Thien Tru means "Kitchen of the Heavens" which we were told was very significant to Vietnamese Buddhists.

Our second pagoda was tucked farther back into the mountains and was accessed only by a very long path OR a very quick gondola ride. We opted for the gondola on the way there (sorry no pictures!). We had NO IDEA what to expect at this next pagoda and simply followed the other tourists thinking it was going to be another ornate temple. It wasn't.

Yep, that's a cave. The Huong Tich Cave to be exact. And inside that cave was a temple! It was such a fun surprise.

Dana and I decided to take the "long way" back using the staired path. The path was lined with shops getting ready for the upcoming Tet holiday. Apparently, during the Tet Celebrations, the Perfume Pagoda is INSANE with tourists. We were very happy to visit in the off season when we were one of the dozens of tourists visiting.

The trip back was just as relaxing as the trip there. One hiccup we didn't foresee was that you are expected to tip your boat driver at the end of the ride (tour guide totally left that out and actually told us beforehand not to give anyone money on the boats). Super understandable - they work hard. But we did get the evil eye before we handed out the tip. We discovered later this is also true for fine dining restaurants AND spas. Otherwise, people don't expect tips. Now we know (and you know too).

Next up, our trip to the Nihn Bihn province which includes another boat ride, tons of stairs and casual motorbiking!