Visit Ninh Binh, activities you cannot miss

Kenh Ga in Ninh Binh

Famous as a highlight in the north of Vietnam, Ninh Binh is my favourite destination beside Halong bay and Sapa. Nicknamed as Halong bay on land I think Ninh Binh itself is even more attractive than Halong bay as in Halong you just sit on boat and view the scenery without touching it, here in Ninh Binh you feel closer to nature and mix with daily life of local people. There are many things to do and see in Ninh Binh however I would like to list my top 5 things you must do when you visit Ninh Binh

1 - Rowing boat in Tam Coc (entrance fee 4 usd, boat 10 usd for 2 people)

You cannot miss Tam Coc when you are in Ninh Binh, actually in recent years most travelers visit Trang An rather than Tam Coc however I myself prefer Tam Coc for some reasons: Tam Coc is more natural, I came here for the first time in early 1990s with my classmates when I was in secondery school, over a long time Tam Co still preserve it's wild and natural beauty, Tam Coc is particularly beautiful in rice season when the whole rice field is a deep yellow carpet, looking down from the top of mountain it looks like a picture of river and mountain of the old paintings, and when you are paddling along the Ngo Dong river, get through the tunnels and caves you have a feeling like a part of the setting, as close as mixing with the nature. Trang An is in fact an artificial tourism complex developed by humans, it is beautiful indeed however I always feel like in a film studio as everything looks "fake". And today when most visitors move to Trang An making this place very touristy Tam Coc has gradually restored it's quiet beauty.

2 - Visit Bai Dinh pagoda

This is a completely new pagoda, it was built only a few years ago as the biggest pagoda in south east Asia. Although it has received criticism from historians and cultural experts the pagoda is undeniably more and more popular for tourists and Vietnamese buddists, especially at the begining of lunar year when thousands of Buddists across the country pay a pilgrimage to the pagoda. In fact the ancient Bai Dinh pagoda is a small old pagoda that was built nearby hundreds of years ago, the new Bai Dinh pagoda is part of the Trang An eco tourism complex built by Ninh Binh province as a tourist destination. Bai Dinh pagoda holds some records such as biggest bronze Buddha statue in Vietnam, 10m high and over 100 tonnes in weight.

3 - Phat Diem stone cathedral

This is my favourite place, I have always been attracted by magnificent religious building and Phat Diem church is a place like this. In normal days not too many people come here except visitors. Phat Diem church is different from other churches in Hanoi that are located in the burstling area and are surrounded by many high rise buildings, restaurants and shops. The cathedral of Phat Diem is a combination of western and eastern style, catholism and buddism, it looks like the ancient castles in built in Euro in the middle ages and the old pagodas in Vietnam several hundred years ago. Built on an open land over 20 hectars in area the church has an unique and original architecture, a masterpiece of previous generations.

4 - Cuc Phuong national park (entrance fee 2 usd/person

I usually go to Cuc Phuong national park in dry season, from December to April when the forest rains have been over, don't come here in wet season from June to August or you will be attacked by mosquitoes and leeches, they grab your limbs and suck blood and you are not aware of them ;) Eating and sleeping in Cuc Phuong is pretty easy as there are some mini hotels and a state run guesthouse in the national park however I myself prefer to stay the night in the outside area because in the national park it is boring and you have nothing to do but watching TV or go to bed early.

5 - Kenh Ga or Chicken Canal (entrance fee 5 usd/person)

Kenh Ga is less known compare to other sites such as Bai Dinh or Trang An, most local visitors come to Kenh Ga just to have a bath at the hot spring which is very good for your health, please note that the pool is very hot and if you travel with children better not to let them in the pool or they may get burnt. Although Kenh Ga is pretty boring when the tourists have left however if you are a lover of photography you can bring along your camera and embark on a trip around the tranquil Van Long lake for wonderful shots of sunset.

Trang An recognized as World Heritage

In the last week of January, in Ninh Binh city and other districts Gia Vien and Hoa Lu will host a series of activities in honour of Trang An eco tourism complex, notably the national level ceremony to recognize Trang An as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Trang An tourism complex

The ceremony will take place in the evening of 23rd January at the Bai Dinh pagoda conference centre in Gia Vien district, the focus of the ceremony is a concert entitled "Trang An, a heavenly love song of water and mountain" illustrating a vivid story about Trang An, a unique heritage not only in Vietnam but also in South East Asia.

The organization of the ceremony to receive certificate of World Natural and Cultural heritage of Trang An complex is to honour the global outstanding values of the heritage, while promoting widely the potential of Ninh Binh tourism, thus attacts more and more international and domestic visitors to Trang An area and other sites in Ninh Binh province, this is considered the first event in response to the National Tourism Year 2015 with the theme "connect the World Heritages".

Many special sports, culture and tourism activities will be held to celebrate the recognition of Trang An receiving Unesco certificate such as an exhibition introducing the world heritage sites in Vietnam, art photo exhibition with the theme "world Cultural and Natural Heritage Trang An", Fair - Exhibition of typical products and handicrafts villages in Ninh Binh, International scientific conference on the management, conservation and promotion of the values of the World Heritage, announce and display a set of stamps about Trang An heritage, display books, publications...

Previosly in Qatar, at the 38th meeting of Unesco, Trang An tourism complex as listed as a Word Heritage based on three criteria: cultural, aesthetic beauty and geology - geomorphology. This is the first mixed heritage in Vietnam and Southeast Asia recognized by UNESCO, became the pride of not only Ninh Binh people but also Vietnam.

Experience to visit Ninh Binh

Boating in Trang An

I and some friends made a Ninh Binh tour from Hanoi by motorbike recently, some people said that Tam Coc and Trang An are pretty similar and you don't need to visit both places. We started from Hanoi at 6.00 am and after 3 hours riding at average speed we arrived in Ninh Binh, our first stop was Hoa Lu ancient capital, we visited temples of King Dinh and King Le and some nearby places and moved to Trang An in the afternoon, entrance fee 100.000 vnd (5 usd) per person for I really wanted to take some photos of sunset in Trang An, travel time to explore the caves in the area was about 3-4 hours, we spent the night in Ninh Binh, came to Bai Dinh pagoda the next morning before going to Tam Coc and Phat Diem, and here are my review of the trip to Ninh Binh.

Local media recently used the phrase "Trang An was discovered" however from my point of view the was nothing to discover, for hundreds of years local people still live there, they go fishing, grow rice in the mountain valley and they used sampan boats to travel through caves and tunnels as natural passage ways in the area. In recent years people were not allowed to grow rice any more as their land was recovered by the government, they built dykes and dams, made the lake deeper and created tunnels under the foot of the mountains for the boat to go through.

Come back to our trip, we stayed overnight in Ninh Binh city, actually Ninh Binh is only a small town, you can save your money if you stay at a hotel in town rather than in the tourist places like Tam Coc, Trang An or Hoa Lu, from here you can rent a motorbike to visit tourist sites, the path from Ninh Binh to Trang An and Bai Dinh is very beautiful and romantic, you can stop on the way and take pictures. Please note that Ninh Binh is most beautiful at the end of May as the rice is ripe and the whole rice fields look like a yellow carpet, however it last only 2 weeks from the end of May to June, after this time is harvest season and all the rice will be cut.

The hotel we stayed in Ninh Binh was Queen hotel (address 21 Hoang Hoa Tham street, tel 3871874), very cheap, 120.000 vnd or 6 usd for an air conditioned room and here you can rent a motorbike for 3,4 usd a day, I personally didn't like Tam Coc as it was too touristy, after lunch we walked to bus station and went to Phat Diem cathedral (2 usd/person) and made an appointment with the bus driver to pick us up in the afternoon when we came back, we didn't want to go by motorbike as the highway was under construction and very dirty.

For dinner we enjoyed goat, specialty of Ninh Binh, just ask the restaurant Duc "goat" and everybody knows, the restaurant is located in a small lane however it is very big with a lot of people.

We got up early the next morning and went to Trang An by motorbike, Trang An was worth visiting, I think it is more beautiful than Tam Coc and more importantly the boats rowers didn't expect tip from tourists like in Tam Coc. I don't want to talk about the beauty of this place, and let you come and discover yourself.

A hotel in Tam Coc I like a lot was Nam Hoa hotel, the building is pretty big comparing to other hotels in the area, just a few meters from Tam Coc boat station, the lady owner of the hotel was very friendly and helpful, the parking lot was big you don't need to lock the bike at night, you can make a reservation by contacting Mrs Hoa 0917 683 138

Eating: It is best to always eat at the hotel, at first I did not know what to eat but the restaurant in Tam Coc restaurant seemed always combined with accommodation, our first meal at Viet Toan restaurant was overcharged.

Coming to Ninh Binh you cannot miss goat, especially grilled goat, Tiet Canh De (goat blood soup) in Ninh Binh is said to be the best however I don't like animal blood. Burned rice is another specialty of Ninh Binh, price at the market is 1 usd a box, in the restaurant is 2 usd a dish however don't try as the cooking oiled is used many times over, I smelled the burnt fat and spices are not strong

Tam Coc boating: total travel time is 2 hours return trip, 7 usd for 2 people, the management board in Tam Coc does a good job, there are about 1500 boats from households and they take turn to row boat for tourists, well, please have some money with you as the ladies who row the boat will ask you for tip.

Bich Dong pagoda, actually this is a pagoda built in a mountain cave, nothing special for me as the pagoda is small and the cave is dark, I just don't know why the cave is called Bich Dong (means Blue cave) and it is as dark as night, just go there and have a look although there is not much interesting.

Kenh Ga or Chicken Canal is like an island, there is only 1 entry by boat and you need to bring along some snacks otherwise you cannot find a shop there, spending the night here is not my liking as it is too boring and quiet, my personal idea.

Bai Dinh pagoda: beautiful, huge and magnificent as commented by other people however a big waste of money. I myself don't like Bai Dinh pagoda because it is built in Chinese architecture, just like a pagoda in Chinese martial art movie, too many vendors along the way

Trang An: beautiful, wild and natural however the water is dirty, perhaps because of too many tourists, this place would be really picturesque if there is no tourists ;) Ah yes, when you do the boat trip don't forget to bring along a hat if you don't want to get sunburned after the trip, and I was really happy with the toilets in Bai Dinh area, clean and well attended, much better than other public sites in Vietnam.

We regretfully didn't have time to visit Cuc Phuong national park, 2 days more is needed if you want to come to this area, maybe next time...