Ninh
Binh is one of the most attractive place in north
Vietnam and is referred to as Halong bay on land.
Located 120 km south of Hanoi, travelers usually visit
Ninh Binh in a day trip that
covers some famous area like Hoa Lu ancient citadel, Tam
Coc caves, Trang An complex and Bai Dinh pagoda...In
this post I would like to share some experience so that
you guys can avoid possible annoyances in your trip to
Ninh Binh.
- Boat trip in Tam Coc: The most common complaint we had
from customers is about the boat rowers. They try to
make money from tourists by pushing visitors to buy
souvenirs, take photos and ask for a tip and always
express disappointment if you don't have some money for
them. One of my client Claudia Magdalena from Spain told
us that the rower of her boat opened a box under the
seat which is full of embroideries, pillow sheets,
T-shirts, saying that the made by herself with a lot of
hard work and wanted to sell at high price, other young
ladies followed them all the way on other boats, they
took photos and then tried to sell the pictures. At the
end of the boat trip she was surrounded by a groups of
people selling water and soft drinks, they urged her to
buy drinks for the rower...What should you do in this
situation? just say no firmly and politely and don't
show any interest. About the tip, please have some money
handy for the rowers, about 50.000 vnd (2 usd) per
person is fine.
- Visit Cuc Phuoc national park: The Monkey Rescue Centre is
located in Cuc Phuong forest with it's aim to rescue,
provide care to the precious types of monkey in Vietnam
and release them back to nature, the Monkey rescue
Centre has nearly 160 individuals of monkey such as
white head langur...Visitors have to pay entrance to get
in plus an extra guiding service. What made visitors
annoyed the must is the bad environment, empty cans and
plastic bottles can be found everywhere. The trek in the
forest takes about 2 hours, remember to wear good shoes
as it rains very often in the area, and go to toilet
before the trek if you don't want to take a long way
back to the centre as there is no toilet around, perhaps
the visitors see the forest as a big natural toilet and
there is no need to build one.
- Hoa Lu temples of Kings: The temples are dedicated to
King Dinh and King Le, said to be built in 10th century
however what visitors see is a small temple built in
17th century as the original temple was destroyed in the
war, there is nothing special about these temples as
they are almost similar to the many temples in Hanoi,
unless you are escorted by an English speaking guide you
cannot read any sign nor description about the place.
Hoa Lu should be only a coffee stop rather than a
tourist destination as described by tour companies, ah
yes, like any other place in Ninh Binh, Hoa Lu is full
of photographer hawkers who trouble your visit.
- Bai Dinh pagoda: One of the biggest pagodas in south
east Asia, Bai Dinh was a newly built pagoda, it is like
a tourist attraction rather than a Buddhism place as
people feel the lack of a spirit of religion. The pagoda
is free to enter however you need to pay 1 USD to park
the bike plus 2.5 USD
transfer by bus from the entrance to the main part of
the pagoda. There are many big statues however they are
not beautiful. If you want to see a big pagoda building
then Bai Dinh is the place and that's it.
