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Published: February 29th 2012
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The Exit
My favorite cave photo. We took the night train from Hue to Ninh Binh a day late, due to a mixup with our tickets. Not a problem, as we’d scheduled a “no-activities” day in the middle of our NB plan. We’ve talked to many tourists who said, “Ninh Binh? What’s there?” and had to tell them that they might want to miss the beach at Nha Trang, but they should NOT miss Ninh Binh.
We stayed at the Ngoc Anh hotel and understand why the recommendations we read were so strong. It is family-run and one of the friendliest places we’ve been in this friendly country. The father is happy to help and very ready to do whatever’s needed, the mother hugged us every time she saw us, and the daughter (an English teacher) came to give me a neck and shoulder massage when she saw I was weary last night. The hotel provided great WiFi, good bikes (brakes work!) and an excellent guide, Bui Doc Long (long.guide@hotmail.com). Mr. Long was knowledgeable and articulate, describing the history of the area, discussing current events and patiently guiding us across the area roads to temples, parks, caves and lakes. Ninh Binh would have been the
Smoking Kills!
And it kills some people faster than others. most quiet and relaxing place we’ve been yet, except for the two-day wedding celebration being held just down the street by one of the town’s rich men. The wedding would have been lavish in the US; here, it was a matter of local amazement. We all ran out to see what was happening every time we saw the man with the video camera.
Ninh Binh has a long history of being at the center of military and political affairs. We visited Hoa Lu, an eleventh century temple built when Ninh Binh was the capital of northern “imperial” Vietnam, just after the Chinese overlords were expelled. At that time, Vietnam consisted only of the northern areas; southern Vietnam was included in the large Cham (Cambodian) empire. Bui Doc Long described Vietnam in a way we hadn’t heard before, which explains so much about why they’ve been successful in expelling occupiers. He said that Vietnamese people think of the country as “land and water”, not as a territory. No one can be successful on his own; all must work together to succeed. 'US-style “rugged individualism” is not valued; community service is.
Ninh Binh itself has no old buildings.
Gibbons
At the Primate Rescue Center, Cuc Phuong National Park, they were just waiting for us to turn on the furnace. During the recent war, nearby Cuc Phuong National Park marked the beginning of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the town was hammered. That old temple we saw? It is made of large wood beams, slotted together – the local people just took it apart and hid it in a cave, reassembling it after the war. It’s beautiful and still a popular place to worship one’s ancestors. We noted that no matter whether a person is animist, Christian or Buddhist, one still pays reverence to one’s ancestors.
Our first day, we visited Cuc Phong National Park, with its Endangered Primate Center and its Turtle Rescue Center. Both types of animals are threatened by hunters – 10 million turtles are sold to China each year (for food). The primate center has a breeding program and works to rescue animals from traders, rehabilitate them and return them to the wild. We tried to take pictures, but the poor guys were huddled together trying to get warm and just looked like furry lumps. Tom got a few photos. We walked up some steps to a cave that housed prehistoric people, but all three of us forgot our flashlights, so we didn’t
Local Tansport
It's common to see this mode of transportation mixed with trucks and motorbikes. get far. The park is still primary forest and has a thousand year old tree, but it was too muddy to get up that hill. We went on a walk through a village, visiting a “mother” temple – animist – and meeting some men who were making beautiful pegged doors. They’d apparently been drinking the local brew to stay warm and were happy to see us. Tom was offered a chance to smoke some local tobacco in a bamboo bong – see the photo.
Yesterday, it was cool and cloudy, but not rainy, and we took bikes on a 36 km (22 mile) bike ride. Again, Bui Doc Long was our guide. We enjoyed the local FLAT back roads, as there was less traffic, less wind, and a better view of life. He took us to the Mua Cave and to a place where you can walk up 500 steps (NOT!) to a temple. There’s a small, still-closed resort there, Khu du Lich, that looks wonderful. If you go there this summer, check it out. Lunch was the local specialt: small pieces of tasty goat meat roasted with sesame seeds and wrapped in rice paper along with shredded
Flags
At this temple, you'll see both the old and the new (post-1932) flags of Vietnam. carrots, shredded green banana and star fruit, then dipped in a peanut sauce. He also took us to the Trang An grottoes complex, which has small bamboo boats that are rowed across lakes and through a set of caves. Last time we were here (2008), we went to Tam Coc – Trang An is MUCH better. Just a note, though – take a windbreaker. By the time we got back, we were frozen and I was very glad that we had a 30 minute bike ride back to the hotel so I could warm up.
Last night, the wedding party went until about 10 p.m. and it started up this morning at 7:30 with the actual wedding. We just missed being able to take photos of the bride as she left. Boy, there were some hungover people today! Today, we take the afternoon train a couple of hours to Hanoi, where we’ll stay one night before heading to the northwest to visit more small villages.
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Tammy Beck
non-member comment
Incredible !!
Just peeked at your travel blog entry - INCREDIBLE !!! The children and I are praying for safe passage ... and that you keep the entries and photos coming. LOVE THEM !!