Ninh Binh Things to Do

Not a great fan of temple tours but possibly interesting for some who would like to know about the local culture. The temples are built and houses the famous emperors of Vietnam for local worshipping. It isn't particularly touristy and the scenary around the temples is pretty.

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Located in Ninh Binh province, the Tam Coc caves are known as the inland Ha Long bay. It is 3 hours drive out of Hanoi. At the river docks, you board an open-air sampan which you hire with a rower. The boat ride takes you through a winding waterway which passes through 3 caves (Tam Coc). You must actually duck a bit as the boat does through the caves to avoid scraping the roof. Look out also that you do not hit any of those stalactites or stalagmites!

On the last of these caves, a group of traders on sampans will try to sell you drinks and tit-bits. Some actually ask you to buy a drink or two for the rower only that the rower will not actually drink it, she'll most likely trade it back later on.

The rower will also likely try to sell you embroideries and paintings. Bargain abit, buy some if you fancy. But if they pester you too much, you can actually note down the boat number and lodge a complaint at the tourist police office at the dock. My experience was the rowers are quite nice and they don't create any trouble.

The village at the dock has many stalls selling T-shirts and other kind of hand-made linen. Prices are quite cheap. There are also restaurants and cafes. The specialty here is baked mutton wrapped in rice paper!

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Cuc Phuong NP is a rarity in Vietnam: an untouched rainforest. Due to the Vietnam War and its devastating environmental desasters, Vietnam has hardly any vast areas of rainforest left. Ho Chi Minh himself inaugurated the national park in 1962. Nowadays, it covers an area of more than 220km² with numerous wildlife species living there. In the park, there's also a Centre for Rescueing Endangered Primates which tourists can visit. Other activities in the park usually include hiking or a visit to one of the minority villages.

I went to Cuc Phuong in 2004 and unfortunately only stayed there for a day. As the trip to Cuc Phuong takes 3 hours from Hanoi, you should at least stay overnight, perhaps even longer. Cuc Phuong is a rather untouristy location, so you might have to ask at several hotels or tour agencies in Hanoi for a good, tailormade tour.

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A cute nickname, isn't it? Tam Coc, also known as "Dry Halong Bay", "Halong Bay without Water" or "Halong Bay in the Rice Paddies" is one of the natural wonders of Vietnam. Located approximately 10km away from Ninh Binh, it is tourism destination par excellence for both Vietnamese and international tourists.

Tam Coc means "Three Caves" - but in order to clarify why they are so popular, I should mention that a river flows through these caves. Tourists rent a boat and are rowed along the river through a spectacular landscape which is quite similar to Halong Bay only without the sea. To one's left and right side, rough limestone rocks reach an altitude of up to 100m. Sometimes, daring mountain goats climb up the steep rocks, jumping from one little un-overgrown square meter to the next. Amidst all this beauty, Ngo Dong river flows tranquilly, water lilies and other plants growing at its sides.

While these views alone would be worth the trip, the caves are even more spectacular. The first one you reach is called Hang Ca. It's the biggest with a length of 127m and a width of 20m. Nonetheless, mind your head! It may be long, but its ceiling is only some centimeters above you. Shortly after, you'll reach Hang Hai, the second grotto. With a length of 60m, it's a lot smaller, but also very impressive. Finally, Hang Ba, the third and last cave awaits you. After 46m under one of the limestone hills, you reach a little pool where a bad surprise is waiting.

Several women will try to sell you everything from bananas to cola, from cookies to kitschy souvenirs. Of course the prices are very high here, but you have no choice. Your rower won't go back until you've bought something. Moreover, the annoying vendors will also try to force you to buy a drink for your rower. The trick with this one is that he or she won't drink it anyway, but will sell it back to the vendors later on. You lose a lot of money and the vendors make their deal. On your way back, enjoying the landscape again is hindered by the rower trying to sell you more things. Usually they now unpack some ugly embroidery and show it to you until you buy one. As you will never need it again, you should persistently say "No!" and give a tip at the end of your trip instead (something they will ask for anyway).

Nevertheless, Tam Coc is well worth going there - best by an organized tour from Hanoi. The tours usually include Hoa Lu citadel as well and cost around 20$ per person.

Hoa Lu Citadel is the only thing left of Vietnam's former capital Hoa Lu. Founded in 968, Hoa Lu remained capital until the early 11th century when Emperor Ly Thai To moved it to today's Hanoi. Despite the lack of "original" buildings, the trip to Hoa Lu is definitely worth it. Arriving in the beautiful mountainous landscape, you walk 300m to the temples of the Dinh and Le Dynasty. They are situated in very beautifully designed parks, not unlike Van Mieu in Hanoi. Frangipani blossoms are literally everywhere, and the air is full of the smell of sweet incense fumes and damp air.
If you have a good guide, you'll be able to learn a lot about the history of Hoa Lu. Our guide was alright, but his English was a catastrophe so that we couldn't understand too much. The only thing that was understandable was his story about Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang. He was murdered by a mandarin who had dreamt of a star falling into his mouth - which he interpreted as a sign that he would be the only real emperor. The statue of Dinh Tien Hoang is found in the temple.
In order to avoid leaving Hoa Lu without a clue about what happened there, grab a good guidebook and ask your guide everything you want to know.

All of the travel agencies and hotels can arrange guided tours to Hoa Lu, usually combined with Tam Coc. The price for a 1-day-tour should be around 20$ per person.

If you like Tam Coc or Van Phong of Ninh Binh, or if you like Limestone Karst Cliff, go to Trang An. It is right beside Tam Coc but its entrance is some km away. It is really large and amazing though I had gone to Tam Coc once. There historical, natural, cutural and even mythological (if you have a good guide) richness totally satisfied me. However, I am not sure if it is open for tourism yet (may be in the near future ?)

Two myths that I like are the legend of the Si caves (Love caves - especially Three Drop cave), and the existence of the Earth Phoenix (which - according to the film I saw - looks like parrots when they stand but so noble when they fly) with the rumor that those greeted by them are/will be real VIP ^_^

I would strongly recommend to visit on your own. You can occupy one whole boat by yourself with as little as 25,000(entrance) and 30,000(boat ride) to explore the Tam Coc national park.

If you're joining the tour package from Ha Noi, you probably need to share the boat with other travellers.

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This was the capital of the country in the 10th century supposedly because of it's central location. I would argue that it is the beauty of it's location that swayed those who were deciding. Right in the middle of the Limestone Cliffs and rice fields, the town has unmistakable beauty and a slight area of mystery.

Dinh Tien Hoang sits opposite what seems to be a kind of village green where people meet and school children play. The temple grounds house shrines and statues from the era when this area reigned. The temples seem dark and gloomy inside but local people are still actively worshipping the religious deities there.

The grounds of the temples are aged but quite well maintained. Very photogenic.