Vietnam - Ninh Binh
Vietnam Information
Population: 83.6 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Hanoi
Major language: Vietnamese
Currency: Dong
Major Religion: Buddhism
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The city of Ninh Binh, two hours south of Hanoi, is far from remarkable, and falls very short of deserving a page of its own on this website. However, once at the city's outskirts it's a very different situation - the city is surrounded by a most dramatic landscape of lakes, rivers, caves, rice paddy fields and huge limestone karsts
Breathtakingly beautiful, the region clearly shares it’s geology with nearby Halong Bay and is often referred to as 'Halong on Land'. A thousand years ago the nearby settlement Hoa Lu was capital of Vietnam and the ancient citadel and two temples can still be visited today. Tam Coc is the best known of the region’s caves, and is in fact a series of three inter-linking waterways. There is also the rural region surrounding Vuon Thi, where you can be sure of an exhilarating afternoon learning about farming techniques, the art of Vietnamese cooking and enjoying some of Vietnam's most compelling scenery from the saddle.
It is possible to visit the Ninh Binh region on a day trip from Hanoi however, ideally you will opt to stay a night to allow a slightly more comfortable pace of travel.
We say: 'My visit to the village of Vuon Thi, on the outskirts of Ninh Binh, was one of the highlights of my most recent inspection trip to Vietnam. The friendly locals made the experience great fun from start to finish and ensured I wouldn't forget my stay in a hurry. Just an hour in the fields was enough for me to realise just how hard their lives were, however the aches soon eased as I tucked into some spring rolls made by my own fair hands and fish caught in the river that very day. Later, the looming backdrop of limestone karts whilst cycling was quite outstanding causing me to veer off the road on several occasions! A perfect day!'
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