#van long

Van Long nature reserve is a legendary land and an amazingly beautiful landscape for tourism, while at the same time, the largest mangrove nature reserve in northern delta, Ninh Binh province. Van Lang reserve is on area of 2,643 hectares in seven communes of Gia Vien district. In the Van Long...

     So, as stated in my last post, I am not a fan of Ninh Binh. Not because of any rational reason, like people there treating me badly, or even bad hotel staff (though I do believe I was quite overcharged for tours/moto rides). I just had a vague feeling of discomfort for my entire stay there. I stayed at the Thanh Binh Hotel, and though the owner was extremely nice, and helpful, something just felt a little off. Running a fever and having a horrid cough didn't help, nor did the fact that xe om (moto taxi) was the only way to get to the places I was going for my day trips. I have no issue with motorcycles, but hopping on the back of one driven by a strange man who I've never met before always seems a little...if not quite dangerous, at least chancy. That is the way things go in Vietnam though, so onto the old Honda motorbike I got, and off we went. 

     First of all, let me say this: I chose to go to Van Long Nature Reserve as opposed to Tam Coc. The same stunning scenery, the same hour and a half-ish long boat ride, minus the tourists and the hawkers and all of that mess. In fact, I was the only tourist out on the water, and there were only maybe three other locals excluding my boat rower (who was extremely friendly and did her best to make conversation, despite the fact that she spoke less English than I do Vietnamese). I don't feel that I missed anything by skipping Tam Coc, and in fact, I would suggest it! After Van Long, it was off to Kenh Ga, which I must say was probably not worth the 100,000d that I paid for it. It involved another boat trip, this time on a motorboat - much less relaxing - and again, I was alone on a boat with a strange Vietnamese man who didn't speak a word of English, and the scenery, while beautiful, was very similar to that of Van Long, but more distant. I don't regret it, but it's probably worth skipping in my opinion. Last was Hoa Lu, an ancient capital of Vietnam, which looked insanely similar to the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. Almost identical, in fact, down to the little pools in the courtyards. It's not a bad place to make a pit stop if you're in the area, but I personally wouldn't make a special trip just for it - especially not if you're coming all the way from Hanoi.  

     Having set out quite early, I was back in my hotel and tucked into bed (with a fresh sunburn on my arms) by around 1:30 p.m. It was here that I spent the rest of my day, catching up on some reading, writing e-mails, and watching Vietnamese-subtitled disney channel. And after the stressful couple of days I'd had, I was glad to be there.