Ninh Binh is a town which lies
to the southeast of Hanoi and is a lesser-known gem of Northern Vietnam. It is commonly referred to as ‘Halong Bay on
Land’ for its similar landscape, but is far less touristy and untouched. Ninh Binh is surrounded by hundreds of
limestone mountains topped by dense greenery that tower from the ground, scattered
with serpentine rivers flowing through and around them, while lush green rice
fields shoot up from their muddy banks.
If the scenery itself is not enough for you, the area is dotted with
some of the best pagodas and temples in the area and one of Vietnam’s ancient
capital cities.
Perfume Pagoda
The
Perfume Pagoda is located 60 kilometers southwest of Hanoi where the karst
limestone mountains jut out of the rice fields below. The Perfume Pagoda is a very revered and sacred
site featuring a maze of Buddhist pagodas built into the limestone cliffs of the
mountain. It is northern Vietnam’s most famous
pilgrimage site and one of Hanoi’s most visited tourist day trips.
History is More Than the Textbooks
My
least favorite class in school was history.
Every day, I would do the bare minimum I needed to get an “A” which often meant glazing over a chapter of my textbook
and paying close attention to the bolded terms and their definitions so that I
would pass the inevitable “pop quiz” the following morning. The school year wasn’t long enough to really
dive into a topic and since I wasn’t really passionate about history, I didn’t
spend any of my spare time trying to actually process the information that I
had committed to memory.
Sapa
Sapa is a small town located in
the heart of northwestern Vietnam.
Located above a deep valley flanked by cascading rice terraces and
surrounded by high mountains, Sapa is a sight to be seen. Though heavy mists often roll through the
mountains, the vibrant colors of its rice fields, temples, and people shine through
in a vibrant display.
Ba Be: A Mixed Story
Continuing
on tour of Northern Vietnam, we decided to head across to Ba Be. The trip was long and had us on two different
buses, a motorcycle with all of our bags, and a boat, but we finally made
it. Not knowing we exactly what we wanted to
do in Ba Be, we settled down, got a beer and some great food, and looked at the
brochure that our guest house had provided us with. Ba Be National Park is supposed to be the
‘outdoors capital’ of Northern Vietnam, but we weren’t really feeling the whole
hiking/biking thing after having hiked for two full days and a full day of
traveling.
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