Ninh Binh - Nature and temples...

July 9-12, 2016

Ninh Bình is a province in northern Vietnam's Red River Delta. In the province's northwest, the vast Cúc Phương National Park is known for its green valleys, karst mountains and conservation centers. It has hiking trails and caves, and is home to many rare species including langur monkeys and pangolins. In the northeast, its namesake capital city is a base for exploring nearby temples.

The train station in Ninh Binh. 

We arrived in Ninh Binh by train it is only a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Hanoi. We settled into our very rustic and serene accommodation at Nguyen Shack, which is a bamboo bungalow accommodation set in a very secluded, natural, and beautiful environment. We absolutely loved it!

The staff at Nguyen Shack did our laundry...for free!!!  How amazing is that!

                 
Trying to fish...but let's be real, it's way too hot and all the fish are hiding at the bottom!

On our first night here we tried some fishing and participated in a cooking class where we learned how to make veggie spring rolls, bun cha, chicken rolls with lemon grass, minced peek soup with spinach and green bean desert bowl (not sure of the name of that one, but it was good).
The dishes were so delicious and it was surprising how simple it was to prepare this yummy meal.  It takes some time, but everyone can do it. Can't wait to try the recipes at home again. We also learned how to make some fancy decorations out of veggies.

Carrot rose.

Cucumber flowers

Making lemongrass chicken

Bun cha, pork and spinach soup, and soy and rice pudding.

Bon apetit!

July 10, 2016

We had a busy day ahead...touring  the Ninh Binh countryside and visiting some of the well known and not so well known attractions.

We started out the day at Bai Dinh temple.

Bái Đính Temple (Vietnamese: Chùa Bái Đính) or Bái Đính Temple Spiritual and Cultural Complex is a complex of Buddhist temples on Bai Dinh Mountain in Gia Viễn District, Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam. The compound consists of the original old temple and a newly created larger temple. It is considered the largest complex of Buddhist temples in Vietnam and has become a popular site for Buddhist pilgrimages from across Vietnam.

The bus that drove us up the hill to the ancient temple.

We had to walk the rest of the way, and it was HOT...this is probably the hottest day I have ever experienced in my life.  We had a lot of stairs to climb! 

A fan was an essential for this scorching day.

Entrance to the ancient temple.

People praying in the temple.

Entrance to the ancient temple.

Bai Dinh Temple - The modern Buddhist complex.

Laughing Buddha.  The kids thought he was funny...they are spelling something...

The view from the top of the pagoda.

  

Our next stop was An Tien Temple "the secret temple" as Lan at Nguyen Shack referred to it. He told us to make sure to not miss this site, and he was right. This a desserted site which is accessed through a half built tunnel and until you finish the climb up a couple hundred steps, your cannot appreciate the true beauty of this hidden gem...I'm sure the tunnel means access for tourists and in the future this abandoned piece of heaven will lose its magic.  We were fortunate to experience the serenity and beauty of this area...we were the only ones there. The silence was magnificent. I actually tried to find some information about this site, but the fact that I can't find anything, just ads to the magic and mystery...

We felt like we had walked into a set of a Kung Fu movie...

Stunning view...worth climbing several hundred steps in 40 something heat.

Stepan stayed up top to take a photo of us walking back.

We stopped for lunch to enjoy some traditional Ninh Binh specialties...there was a lot of goat meat on the menu, so we tried bbq goat meat...which we combined with local herbs and rice, wrapped in rice paper and dipped in fish sauce. It was delicious.

                

Next stop was the Ancient Capital. 
Hoa Lu is the site of a 10th-century capital of an ancient Vietnamese Kingdom called Dai Co Viet. This small Kingdom covered an area of only 300 hectares, and reigned from the 10th century, during the Dinh and Le dynasties, to the 11th century, during the Ly Dynasty. The Kingdom was enclosed by a citadel. The citadel and the Yen Ngua limestone hills provided good defense for this kingdom against the Chinese.  Not much of the capital is left standing, but it was worth a walk through as it is in a very picturesque setting.

A pretty common scene in this crazy heat...CRANK THAT FAN!

The last stop off a jam packed day was the Trang An boat trip. Tràng An is a scenic area near Ninh Bình, Vietnam renowned for its boat cave tours. 

On 23 June 2014, the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Situated near the southern margin of the Red River Delta, the Trang An Landscape Complex is a spectacular landscape of limestone karst peaks permeated with valleys, many of them partly submerged and surrounded by steep, almost vertical cliffs. Exploration of caves at different altitudes has revealed archaeological traces of human activity over a continuous period of more than 30,000 years.

The boat trip was a great way to end the day. Paddling among the limestone cliffs and through caves (at some times so narrow and low, that only one boat could fit through and we had to sit on the bottom of the boat and duck our heads. We went through about 5 or 6 caves, the longest one being 450m long. We made a couple stops along with easy to visit some temples and pagodas in caves, and the trip lasted almost 3 hours with incredible scenery the entire way. The man rowing it boat was getting smiles and laughs from other rowers...he had to work extra hard, because we were a heavy load...all six of us in one boat, that usually carries four...maybe five people. We made sure to give him a generous tip, because this was tough work, not to mention that it was EXTREMELY hot. I don't think I have ever sweat so much in my life as I did in these 3 days in Ninh Binh. But luckily the beauty of the area was enough to distract is from the sauna-like conditions.

On the drive back to Nguyen Shack

The path leading to Nguyen Shack.  It is not accessible by car (only bicycle or motorbike), and you have to walk several hundred meters to get there from the road.  This adds to the seclusion and serenity.

Goats everywhere

Delicious hotpot dinner.

July 11, 2016
We spent the first part of the day relaxing and lazing around Nguyen Shack. We find that traveling is awesome, but it can also be exhausting, so it's necessary to have some down time to rest and recharge and digest all that we are seeing and experiencing.

At 2pm we set out with Lan on a bike tour of the countryside and village. We learned about the  rice harvest and stopped in a local garment factory. Here we saw some of the harsh realities of this picturesque area. Because of the lack of jobs in this area people do not have very many options and have to work very hard and in difficult conditions.

Ready to ride!

Rice

The garment factory. Many brands of clothing are produced in Vietnam and this was a small glimpse into where our clothing comes from, and the harsh realities of the people who are making it.

The women (and girls - we saw one that was only 15) have to work 11 hour days 7 days a week until they complete the contract and then they get 2-3 days of in between jobs. They earn about $250US/month.

Many buildings (like this factory) are without air conditioning, and the conditions, despite the fans are so stifling that water is used to flood the roof and as it runs off it creates a slightly cooling effect.  We saw this at several locations on our bike tour through town.

The tofu house.

Next stop was the tofu house where we saw how tofu was made. The lady there works very hard and makes tofu 2x/day once starting at 4am and the servings time starting at 4 pm. Soy beans are pressed  multiple times, the milk is boiled and then the curd is put in molds to set. It is a very labour intensive process and it was all done in a very small area in a traditional kitchen where everything is cooked over a fire.  It was interesting to learn that the rice husks are used for burning in these traditional kitchens.  Sometimes she would have her husband or other family member helping her, because from what we saw this process required some quick turnover at certain points in the tofu production.

Grinding up the soy beans to extract the "milk".

Soy curd, ready for the mold.

Pouring the curd into the tofu mold.

Collecting the soy milk and straining it through a cheese cloth.

Traditional kitchen. It was so smoky.

Tofu.  Still cooling, but ready to eat.

Fresh tofu with a bit of salt. So good!

We also saw women making bricks at the brick factory. The bricks were sun dried and made from limestone and ash. We learned that they make about a 1000 bricks/day. It was an eye opening experience to see first hand the way that people in this village live and work. Life here is not easy.

We also visited a potter. Making decorations for houses out of concrete.

We cycled through the town and on some quiet roads in the countryside.

Eva holding rice.

Lastly we visited an ancient pagoda in another cave.  Lan explained to us some of the basics of Buddhism and told us some stories of Buddha's birth and life. We also learned about some of the aspects of praying in the pagoda.

Lan was such a great tour guide. He is so knowledgeable and open to sharing with us the life of the village.  It is these experiences that offer us a real glimpse of what Vietnamese life is like beyond the cities and commercial areas.

On our last morning, Stepan and I woke up just after sunrise to climb the stairs to an amazing view point a few hundred meters from where we were staying.  We took several hundred steps to stunning views.

We climbed these steps all the way to the top.

 

The views were breathtaking.  Even the goats were enjoying them!

The entire staff of Nguyen Shack are a special bunch. They not only provide a unique experience for tourists, but they also give back to the community. 

Message from Nguyen Shack – Ninh Binh: We offer free English classes for local children. The class opens everyday from 17:00 to 18:30. We have 15-20 different kids between 6 and 12 years old everyday come to improve their english skill with us. Our guest love to participate and shared precious moment with village’s children. We believe that a measured amount of carefully targeted help from us can make all the difference.

We will cherish our days spent here. We learned so much and witnessed so much beauty, both in nature and in human spirit.