A NICE HANOI FREE WALKING TOUR WITH A LOVELY FAMILY

A nice Hanoi Free Walking tour with a lovely family

Today I had a Hanoi Free Walking Tour with a big family from Malaysia arranged by Vietnam Eco Travel. There is 4 female siblings, husbands of each person and 2 kids. It is the most crowded tour I have ever had. I told them about our itinerary today: White Horse temple, Vietnamese traditional house, Quan Chuong gate, Dong Xuan market, Hoan Kiem lake, joseph cathedral Hanoi, Ly Quoc Su temple, Giang coffee.
First I went to their hotel to pick them up. They came to Hanoi for the first time and they just went to their hotel already in afternoon. Therefore I guided them to have lunch in my favorite small restaurant. They haven’t tried any Vietnamese food before so they’re very excited with my idea. In the restaurant, they tried rice noodles soup with beef, rice noodles soup with chicken, soya noodles with fried eels, steamed sticky rice with chicken, spring rolls, soya milk. I was happy that they all loved Vietnamese cuisine.
After lunch, I guided them to White Horse temple which honor the White Horse which assisted the fledgling city. They took many photos here and all of them are Buddhism so they really like this temple. Then we went to a famous Vietnamese traditional house which was buil in 19th century.  It is an excellent example of north vietnamese, urban, residential architecture and interior design. This house is presently served as a venue where the traditional performances are played and historical things are displayed. They took a lot of photos inside this house and they’re interested in this architecture’s house. We told about our culture and recognized that we had lots of the same as culture of each other.
Then we moved to Quan Chuong gate which is the only gate remaining of Thang Long citadel, Quan Chuong gate not only brings beauty in architect but also imbued with historical record of ancient Hanoi. I told her the history of this gate and they was excited with it. On the way to Dong Xuan market, we went to a small area which is sell a lot of street foods but it was crowded at that time and we had 8 people so we could not have enough space to try some street foods there but they said that they were still a little full and they could try them later. Next we went to Dong Xuan market which is the oldest and largest market in Hanoi. This large multi- storied market sells anything and everything. From fresh foods to home appliances, you will have it all here. But, what is more fascinating about this market is its historical significance which you still can experience if you visit this place. We went inside the market and they bought something for theirselves such as scarf, sorts, fabric mask. We tried to bargain all of them. It was so funny.
After that we moved to Hang Buom street to try banh my (Vietnamese sandwich). It is one of the best banh my restaurant in the old quarter. They ordered all kind of banh my here. I was glad to hear that they loved them. We talked, took a lot of photos while eating. It was so interesting. Fishing eating, we went to Hoan Kiem lake – The heart of Hanoi. It includes Ngoc Son temple, The Huc bridge, Turtle Tower, Pen Tower and the green lake. I told them about the legend of the lake, the history of those places. It was small rainy and they had kids so we decided to go to Giang coffee which is near their hotel. They said that tomorrow they would go to Ha Long Bay and then they would still in a hotel which is near joseph cathedral Hanoi and  Ly Quoc Su temple so they could visit them later. So we went to Giang coffee to try egg coffee which is very special coffee in Hanoi and Giang coffee is the best place to try it. We got there but unluckily a member of them had a stomach so we had to come back their hotel. They told me that they would try it at night after he felt better.
Although we could not visit all the place as our itinerary but we had a lot of fun and tried good Vietnamese cuisine. I admire them because they can gather all members of their family to visit Vietnam for their vacation, it seems hard when each person has their own family. And they look very happy together. I gave them warm hug to say goodbye.
I hope that they will have great and unforgettable moments in Ha Long Bay and in Hanoi.

Tam Coc One Day Tour and How to get from Hanoi to Tam Coc

Tam Coc One Day Tour and How to get from Hanoi to Tam Coc

  The Tam Coc complex includes Tam Coc and Bich Dong, which are situated in Van Lam village, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. Recognized as a special national heritage, Tam Coc is often called ‘Ha Long Bay on the land’ for its system of limestone grottoes and historical relics from the Tran dynasty in the 13th and 14thcentury.
Tam Coc, literally "three caves", consists of three natural caves — Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba. To reach Tam Coc, you must board a small boat at the wharf and get rowed up the sinuous Ngo Dong River past Xuyen Thuy cave and pockets of rice fields. Tam Coc Tours is charmingly beautiful in any season. In spring, bright green rice fields spread along the river banks, turning into silky yellow beds in the fourth lunar month. In the summer while traveling on the Ngo Dong River, visitors will enjoy an enticing lotus fragrance while listening to the locals recounting legends about each cliff or mountain in the shape of a tortoise or dragon head.
After the 2-hour excursion returns you to Tam Coc wharf and go an additional 2 km to Bich Dong, considered the second most beautiful cave in Vietnam. The Bich Dong area consists of a cave and a pagoda built on a limestone hill in 1428 under King Le Thai To. After praying to Buddha in Bich Dong Pagoda, visitors climb 21 stone steps to Toi cave (Dark cave) whose stalactites are shaped like fairies, errand-boys, hovering dragons, swimming tortoises, elephants, and tigers. 40 more steps take you to go to the Upper Pagoda, from where you can enjoy the best views of Bich Dong.

===> SEE MORE THING TO DO IN NINH BINH <===

===> SEE MORE SPECIAL FOODS IN NINH BINH <===

1, The direction and transportation
Located in Ninh Binh province, 95 km south of Hanoi. Tourists have 4 ways to visit Trang An: Motorbike, car, bus or train.

• Bus: Take a bus to Ninh Binh from the bus station in Hanoi (Giap Bat bus station or My Dinh bus station), every 30 minutes will have a bus to go there, from 5am to 11pm everyday. The names of  Ninh Binh bus are Sao Viet, Cuong Hung, Hoang Long, Vu Thuong, Gia Minh, Hien Tinh, etc. The price ticket is from 70000 VND to 100000 VND per person.
• Car, mortobike: Start in Hanoi, go to Giai Phong street, turn to Phap Van – Cau Gie highway, keep moving to Ninh Binh province. Then drive on 30-6 street until you see a intersection, turn right on DT 491C street. It will take you about 150 minutes from Hanoi to Tam Coc complex.
• Train: Take a train in Giai Phong train station and it will drop you in Ninh Binh train station, then you will have to take a taxi or motortaxi to go to Tam Coc.

2. The price ticket
The price to have a Boat trip in Tam Coc is 150,000 VND. It will take you about 3 hours to go around Tam Coc, visit 3 caves. Each boat has about 4-5 person.

3. Food
Ninh Binh is not only famous for its beautiful with many tourist attractions but also for special and delicious food. The famous food here smell and taste with the flavor of limestone mountains where locals feed animals. If you have a chance to visit Ninh Binh, don’t miss to try some special foods which are cooked by locals with good cooking skills such as goat meat, rice crust, mountain snail, Nhech fish salad, Kim Son wine,etc. Around Tam Coc complex has a lot of restaurants.

4. Location
In Tam Coc, there is many hotels, hostel or homestays to stay. If you want to stay overnight there, you can book a room in Ninh Binh city or near Hoa Lu, Tam Coc before visting here to make sure.

5. Note
You should ask the price first before buying something in Tam Coc Tour
Book a room first before visiting here in some websites such as Agoda, booking.com, etc.

THE CHARMING BEAUTY OF HOA LU ACIENT CAPITAL

THE CHARMING BEAUTY OF NINH BINH ACIENT CAPITAL

         Where in Vietnam can you find a convergence of classical, historical values and captivating natural landscape? It is Ninh Binh, a tourism potential province with a lot of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Travel to Ninh Binh, you won’t forget the beautiful scenery here. Travel with Vietnam Eco Travel to explore the beauty of this landscape.

Ninh Binh is located in Red River Delta. In 10^th century, it’s a capital of Vietnam, there is 1500 kind of heritages. Vietnam is developing Ninh Binh to become a tourism province, a national tourism centre.  Would you like to visit Ninh Binh? Please be willing to join the following trip.

===> THING TO DO IN NINH BINH <===

1, Cultural – historical Travel

Hoa Lu ancient capital: Hoa Lu is a national heritage site with 47 famouse places, highlight places are: King Dinh Tien Hoang’s temple, King Dinh’s Tomb, King Le Dai Hanh’s temple and his tomb, King Ly Thai To’s memorial, Princess Phat Kim’s temple, Quy Minh’s temple, Hoa Lu cave, Ma Yen mountain, some old pagodas in Hoa Lu, etc.

Bai Dinh pagoda complex holds several Vietnamese and Asia records and it was recognized as historical-cultural of the nation. It includes the old Bai Dinh pagoda (Nguyen Minh Khong temple, some Buddha caves, etc) and the new Bai Dinh pagoda with 5 large constructions.

Phat Diem Stone Cathedral is one of the most famous and beautiful churches in Vietnam with special architecture: an elegant combination between Western church architecture style and Vietnamese religious buildings. It includes Lake, Phuong Dinh, cathedral with 4 churches on the sides, 3 man-made grottos, stone churches.

Another cultural heritage sites: Tam Diep Defence, Gian Khau Station, some temples: Trieu Quang Phuc, Ly Quoc Su, Thai Vi, Truong Han Sieu, Nguyen Cong Tru, etc

Historical revolutionary relics: Quynh Luu revolutionary relic, Non Nuoc mountain, Ha Nam Ninh campaign relic

Buddhism relics: Bich Dong pagoda, Nhat Tru pagoda, Dong Dac pagoda, Dich Long pagoda, Ban Long pagoda, Kim Ngan pagoda, Duyen Ninh pagoda, Non Nuoc pagoda, Dau pagoda, etc.

Cuc Phuong National Park is Vietnam’s largest national park and one of the most important sites for biodiversity in the country. It is homes to hundreds of species of flora and fauna. Tourists visit here with a lot of aims such as study about biodiversity,  study science, archaeology, adventure, camping or study about Muong ethnic group.

Van Long Natural Reserve, known as the “ Preserved Nature Area” of  Ninh Binh, offers wonderful views of landscapes and rural life. Rivers, mountains, grottoes, rice paddies, old houses, friendly locals, tiny – bamboo boat riding… all contribute to make Van Long to be a must see attraction for travelers.

Trang An Landscape is a scenic area near Ninh Bình, Vietnam renowned for its boat cave tours. It is a spectacular landscape of limestone karst peaks permeated with valleys, many of them partly submerged and surrounded by steep, almost vertical cliffs. Take a boat to go around Trang An, see the green river, mountains, nature sightseeing. In 2004, Trang An became a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.

Thung Nham bird park is deeply in the mountains and far from residential area. Take a boat to watch a thousand kind of birds, you can also explore the caves on the water and in the mountains such as But cave (Buddha Cave ), Vai Gioi cave, Tien Ca cave ( The little Mermaid Cave), Thuy Cung cave ( God of ocean’s castle cave), etc as well as visit orchard of tropical fruits, including star fruit, mangoes, guavas and lychees

Red River Delta Bio-reserve is a place for ecotourism. Some highlight destinations here are Bai Ngang, Con Noi, Con Mo, Ne island, Kim Son mangrove forest, Kim Dong seafood market, Kim Chung Church, Kim Son port.

Vietnam National Park Reserve for wild animals is the place to reserve and save genes of animals which become extinct, about 3000 animals are belong to 250 generics and it provides travel services, entertainments.

Beautiful and natural mountains : Ngoc My Nhan mountain, Non Nuoc mountain, Ky Lan mountain, May Bac peak, Meo Cao mountain, etc.

Incredible caves: Dich Long cave, Van Trinh cave, Thien Ha cave, Bich Dong cave, Tam Giao cave, Vai Gioi cave, Thuy Cung cave, Tra Tu cave, Thien Ton cave, Tien cave, Nham Hao cave, Ngoc Cao cave, But grotto, Sinh Duoc grotto, Mua grotto. All of those are the places to travel for a short time.

Natural lakes: Dong Chuong lake, Yen Quang lake for leisure travel, Yen Thang lake; Dong Thai lake have sport travel.

2, Travel entertainment Services

Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh is located in a large land with 15,2 hectares, near Van Long natural Reserve, Gia Vien district. It includes 172 rooms, have 5 star quality, 115 standard rooms, 36 deluxe rooms and 10 duplex suite rooms; restaurants, bar, spa and fitness centre, 2 swimming pools, tennis area, entertainment area for children, event celebration centre.

Cuc Phuong Resort and Spa is a hot mineral water resort in Cuc Phuong, about 100 hectares, includes Cuc Phuong resort and Cuc Phuong villa with many places for entertainment, relax. Cuc Phuong Resort and Spa is near Cuc Phuong National Park, well known for hot mineral water, natural mud, etc. Cuc Phuong villas is a ecotourism. Cuc Phuong resort is a resort for taking care of your health, it has 36 bulgalows to relax.

Life Wellness Resort Ninh Binh has 74 rooms. It’s about 5 hectares in wide, includes bungalows, spa, swimming pool, restaurant, garden, lotus lake (20 hectares in wide) near Thai Vi temple in Tam Coc – Bich Dong

Ninh Binh city has many supermarkets: Indochina supermarket, Hapro Mart supermarket, OceanMart supermarket, Kien Anh supermarket, Big C supermarket, Dong Thanh supermarket, etc

Entertainment centres and Resorts Ninh Binh : Club Number One City, Newstar Entertainment centre, Kinh Do Massage, Huong Tra Massage, Kenh Ga mineral water resort, Trang An Entertainment centre, Ninh Binh Mall, Van Long Resort, Golf club 54 holes in Yen Thang lake, etc.

Ninh Binh Parks: Non Nuoc Park, Ky Lan mountain, Van river Park, Trang An cultural Park, Ninh Binh Wild animals Park, Dong Chuong lake Park

Cultural, leisure centres : Ninh Binh stadium, Ninh Binh Sporting Hall, Ninh Binh Cheo songs theater, Dinh Tien Hoang King Square, etc.

===> BOOK NINH BINH TOURS <===