Around Ninh Binh

We arrived yesterday mid-morning in Hue after an overnight train from Ninh Binh, where we enjoyed a few relatively relaxing days in glorious surroundings.  After Hanoi and a busy boat tour it was great to chill.

Our accommodation near Ninh Binh was at the Nguyen Shack, a few km outside the village of Tam Coc.  The Shack is a series of thatch-roofed bamboo bungalows perched over water at the edge of a small river and surrounded by karst cliffs, 200 m down a path from the nearby dirt road.  The staff are all young and super friendly, and we enjoyed talking with them each time we came into the main room for meals.  The adjacent water is filled with white ducks (ok, we're not really sure what kind of water fowl they are), and there is a herd of goats that wander through the area and play on the cliffs.

Our bungalow was the last one, on the left

 

The Ninh Binh area is sort of an inland version of Ha Long Bay: karst outcroppings like the bay's islands, but surrounded by rivers and rice fields instead of sea water.  It is atmospheric and beautiful.

First day we took a motorbike taxi (each of us on the back of a different bike) to nearby Trang An, where there are popular boat tours along the many rivers.  We were joined in the rowboat by two young French men and our guide rowed us for three hours on a loop that included passing through nine caves and stops to visit three temples.  In many places the rivers pass through caves that run under the karst "islands" from one side to the other; some were low enough that we had to duck our heads as we passed through. 

Look for the boat entering a cave at the base of those cliffs

Because this area is very near the original capital of Vietnam (dating back over 1000 years) the temples are historic.  At one we had to climb over 500 steps up and down the karst to visit the temple.

Shrine offerings often include bottles of water, soft drinks, beer, cookies and other snacks.

After finishing the boat tour we opted to walk the 5 km back to our accommodation.  We stopped in a a village along the way for excellent spring rolls and a very tasty sweet potato pancake.

The next day we wanted to venture a little further away so we rented a motorbike from the house next door to the Nguyen Shack.  This was a little easier then renting a vehicle in the US.  They had a few motorbikes out front, a young man handed us the keys to one plus two helmets, poured gas in the tank from a plastic jug, and that was that.  No license shown, no name written down, nada.  We paid (about $8) when we returned the bike later that day.

Our first stop was Hoa Lu, location of the first capital of Vietnam in the 10th century.  There are some temples still standing, and museums with a few artifacts.  It's in a very pretty setting along a wide river and among the karst islands.

From there we rode about 10 km further to the Bai Dinh pagoda.  This is a large and truly amazing complex of temples and shrines (actually, it's the largest pagoda complex in all of SE Asia).  The area (size of a small town) is built on the side of a hill, and walking through it includes many hundreds of steps.  There are hundreds of large Buddha statues around the perimeter of the inner walls, and literally thousands of smaller ones in niches in the walls. 

One building houses a 36 ton bronze bell hanging above a 70 ton bronze drum. 

On top of a hill is a 10 meter tall Buddha statue, the largest statue in all of Vietnam.  Other large buildings house several very large gold-covered statues, including a couple carved from whole trees resting on their root foundations. 

Base of the statue in last picture

We didn't make it back to the Shack until almost dark.

The next morning was drizzly and misty, so we decided to pass on the motorbike and use taxis to get around.  We first went to the nearby village of Tam Coc for another boat tour.  This one followed a river through mostly rice growing area, and we watched people out in the mostly-flooded fields planting their new crop.  Again, we passed through several caves. 

Although the rowers at Trang An were all women and rowed with their arms, here the rowers were both men and women, and mostly rowed with their feet.

After the boat tour we walked around the village for a while and enjoyed a very yummy fried sweet potato and banana fritter.  We watched a group of men  playing a very spirited game in a small park.

We then took another cab to the nearby Thung Nham ecotourism area.  This is a large park built around a lake with several islands, many large gardens (both vegetables and flowers), and walking paths throughout.  Walking through the Mermaid Cave, mostly on a bamboo walkway over the water, required us to bend way over. 

After returning to the Shack we had some time for relaxing and dinner before we cabbed over the Ninh Binh station for the night train to Hue. 

Our pals from the staff at Nguyen Shack

We opted for luxury and reserved a two-room berth.  Although this train car was much newer than our previous ones and quieter, the service was lacking: the WC was filthy and there were no water bottles or snacks in the room.  Still, we had a good night's sleep and arrived in Hue about 10 am.  A short taxi ride took us to Orchid Hotel, which is right in the center of the tourist area a couple of blocks south of the Perfume River.