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Published: January 26th 2012
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Most people who arrive in Hanoi do the typical traveler fare and hop on a rather lengthy night sleeper bus down to Hue. I didn’t quite fancy 11-12 hours crammed into a seat designed for midgets so I opted to consult the hostel staff for a few stops along the way to Hue to break up the journey… Ninh Binh was the first port of call.
The journey from Hanoi to Ninh Binh marked my first experience of public travel in Viet Nam. A little apprehensive, I set off with Mayra (the Argentinian girl I met in the Central Backpackers in Hanoi who was also travelling South), to the main bus station. On arrival we were greeted rather hurriedly by an over eager chap and whisked off to the payment kiosk and onto our minibus. Quite why the rush I will never know as the bus station was like a car park and we sat on the tarmac for at least 45 minutes before setting off (even though buses to Ninh Binh are supposed to run every 20 minutes – welcome to Viet Nam’s public transport). Once out of the bus station we spent the next 30 minutes driving around
Trang An
Way quieter and better than Tam Coc. You can ride a Sampan in peace and quiet! in circles picking up local Vietnamese also heading South from make-shift bus stops on the side of the highway. Once the bus was full (thankfully no goats, chickens or children on my lap), we then set off at first down the main highway before pulling off onto broken dusty roads into the country. On the bus with Mayra I met a German couple called Stefan and Beata who were only on a day trip from Hanoi (already it was 12pm and their day was fast slipping away). There was also a French couple, but they kept to themselves (a running theme throughout my trip).
About half way to our destination we stopped off at a rest stop as is customary with longer bus journeys. Usually the bus driver takes you to a friend’s restaurant where you can spend your hard earned dollars and more usually, Western tourists just stay sat on the bus or wander round idly waiting to get moving again. This case was no different, all of the Western tourists stayed on the bus so I decided to get off and mingle with the locals. The bus driver, his colleague and a number of locals were smoking
a very strong tobacco from a long pipe and seemed to be enjoying themselves (maybe a bit too much…). As the saying goes, when in Rome and all that, I got involved. I have no idea what it was as no-one spoke English, but it certainly went straight to my head and I clearly looked a little dizzy as all the guys started laughing at me. I’ve no idea how the driver was feeling but he’d had three big puffs and got back on the bus to drive, no problem.
The bus ride was fairly uneventful and in Ninh Binh we were greeted by Mr. Tony at the bus station, owner of the New Queen Mini Hotel (presumably from a tip off from the driver). Thankfully I’d started to do a bit of research into the places I was visiting rather than just relying on happenchance and had heard about this hotel and had hoped to find it and stay there. Cheap and cheerful with equally cheap and cheerful tours, Mr. Tony was an absolute delight as was his hotel. Our German friends were pleased to tag along once we’d run through the itinerary and after a good lunch
we all set out.
We had hired a private car to take us around for the day and the first stop was Trang An, a sister location to the nearby Tam Coc, but boasting equally impressive limestone karsts jutting out of the landscape and river complex, but with no tourists! Akin to an inland Ha Long Bay, a local guide took us out on a Sampan, sometimes rowing with feet instead of hands, through the river system, ducking in and out of river caves beneath the giant outcrops of limestone. The scenery was simply breathtaking and so peaceful. Afterwards we continued our trip to a place called Mua Cave Pagoda, which rests on top of a mountain and is accessed by a rather long stairway (500 steps) up the mountainside (just check out the photo to see how far!). It is said that this is the place where Dinh Bo Linh trained his navy soldiers (whoop).
Just as we arrived however the rain started… and boy did we get wet! There was nothing else for it, we’d already paid the 30p entrance fee and the mountain top beckoned. The wind and rain was extreme and perhaps my first
Trang An
Like Ha Long Bay, but inland. real glimpse of what a downpour really is (and I’ve been in a rainforest)! But the view from the top was astounding – perhaps a shame it wasn’t a perfect crisp sunny day, but the experience was there, along with soggy boxer shorts.
Back in Ninh Binh there really is not much to do – a small provincial town that seems to be mainly residential with no discernible industry other than the little tourism for the surrounding. The people are very welcoming and just near the New Queen Mini Hotel was a small sleepy crossroads where most of the smaller guesthouses off the main road seemed to congregate. Just near the crossroads I found a lovely little café, recommended by some other residents of the hotel. Café Truong is a family run business and serves good cheap food.
The next day, Mayra and I hired a scooter to go and visit the rest of the surrounding area. The morning was good weather, but the afternoon was much the same, pissing it down (good safe driving weather on a scooter with no lights). In the late morning we stopped off at a small temple named Phuc Thanh, where the
main temple was set in a small cave and rock formations had been painted to resemble different types of animals. There was also a rather cheeky monkey there that was intent on stealing Mayra’s bracelets.
We managed to get on over to Bai Dinh pagoda early in the afternoon, which is set to be the largest pagoda complex in all of South East Asia. It’s apparently being built to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long or Hanoi and is located in Gia Sinh Commune in the Gia Vien District. When we got there a good portion of it was still under construction (so not quite marking the 1,000th anniversary, given that was in 2010; roll-on 2110 then), but there is a 100-ton statue of the Great Buddha which is the heaviest of its kind in Southeast Asia in one Pagoda and in another are featured three 50-ton Buddha statues.
After we returned sodden and mildly dispirited from the poor weather, we settled into the same café for a few jars before grabbing the night bus to to Dong Hoi for the next chapter of recommended stops on the way to Hue… Phong Nha farmstay.
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