Best time to visit Ninh Binh

Ninh Binh is famous with the combination between river and moutain, between historical stories and many festivals in the spring. So the best time to travel Ninh Binh is between March and October. 

It’s so amazing when you float along the poetic stream of Tam Coc Bich Dong – Hoa Lu and Trang An Tourism Area, you are surrounded by yellow rice fields. You can see yellow rice fields in April and May (the harvest time of summer rice) or September and Octorber (the harvest time of wet rice).
June is best time for flower lovers, especially lotus. Lotus and waterlily are available everywhere but in Ninh Binh, they are more wonderful than Hanoi thanks to their picturesque natural background.
In Spring, there are some famous festivals include Dinh Long Pagoda festival, Bai Dinh Pagoda and Thai Vi temple festival. The most awaited festival of the year is the Hoa Lu ancient capital festival. These festivities depict the culture of the place and entertaining the people. People gather around from various parts of the country to celebrate this festival. Ninh Binh is a great place to visit especially when one of these festivals is approaching.
Before and after the traditional Vietnam’s Lunar New Year Festival. Specifically, you should not travel in Ninh Binh in around December to February (of the following year) when it has a lot drizzle, weather is really bad for any excursion here.

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How to get to Ninh Binh ?

Ninh Binh can be considered as a bridge linking Northern provinces with Southern ones and it is located on the trafic life-line including National Highway 1A and trans-Vietnam railway. It is very easy to travel to Ninh Binh by train, bus, motorbike or cycling.

1. By bus

Travelling Ninh Binh by bus is highly recommended due to the ease of catching buses at any time at Giap Bat bus station and the most economic price at only 80,000VND per ticket. Ninh Binh station would be the final destination of buses routine Hanoi- Ninh Binh, which is located right in the heart of the city.

2. By train

Departing from Hanoi, train Hanoi- Ninh Binh stops in Nam Dinh city and then goes straight to Ninh Binh Train Station in the centre of Ninh Binh city. Travelling by train will take around two and a half hours with the price varying between US$2.5- $5 depending on types of ticket.

3. By motorbike

Travelling by motorbike might be a good choice for passengers enjoying sightseeing the beauty of Vietnam villages with lush green rice paddies; grandiose mountains or poetic rivers on the sides of the road. The routine is easy enough to go without any map since you only have to follow National Highway 1A to the North and pay attention to milestones along the road.Motorbikes for rent are available in Hanoi Old Quarter with the price of around US$ 10/ per day. However, you must deposit an amount of money up to US$500 as well as your identification paper at the motorbike agents in order to rent one.

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Top places for shopping in Nha Trang

Shopping in Nha Trang, in reality, is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in the local culture, helping you discover something different of Nha Trang. Nha Trang is filled with local supermarket and humble-looking shops where vendors sell a wide range of products, including local produce, clothing, handicrafts, and jewelry. There are top places for tourists go shopping. 

1. Anh Tai Wood Carvings

This is a beautiful shop that provides customers with beautiful wood cravings. Being a family business, Anh Tai (Anh Tài) Wood Cravings also allows you to observe the artisans at work.
Location: No. 100 Tran Phu (Trần Phú) Street, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa (Khánh Hoà), Vietnam (Việt Nam)
Tel: +84 58 381 5976

2. Artful Collection

Artful collection belongs to a French photographer named Thiery Beyne who has been living and working in Vietnam for 15 years. It just takes a few minutes to walk from Po Nagar Cham Towers to reach this tranquil art gallery where you could find the limited editions of his work and some black-and-white prints. Also, there is a stylish café and souvenir shop here, where you could enjoy coffee, smoothies, light bites, French wines, and beers.
Opening hours: 10 am – 9:30 pm every day
Location: No.20A Nguyen Thien Thuat (Nguyễn Thiện Thuật) Street, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa (Khánh Hoà), Vietnam (Việt Nam)
Tel: +84 126 376 1020

3. Ngoc Bich Gift Shop

Situated on Tran Phu Beach, Ngoc Bich (Ngọc Bích) Gift Shop specializes in handicrafts and jewelry made with raw ingredients and materials from the ocean. This store sells a wide range of necklaces, hair ornaments, earrings, bracelets, bangles, anklets, rings, brooches, and cufflinks. Also, there are cute animal caricatures which are shaped using lobsters, shell curtains, and tortoise shells. Besides, Ngoc Bich Gift Shop also offers people framed mother-of-pearl works describing Vietnamese countryside.
Opening hours: 9 am – 10 pm every day
Location: No.12 Tran Phu (Trần Phú) Street, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa (Khánh Hoà), Vietnam (Việt Nam)
Tel:  +84 58 359 0066

4. Obi Gift Shop

If you want to find somewhere selling traditional Vietnamese items like folk art, paintings, handicrafts or ceramics, Obi Gift Shop is the right place for your need. Here, you can find almost anything related to traditional Vietnam.
Opening hours: 9 am – 10 pm every day
Location: No. 100 Tran Phu (Trần Phú) Street, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa (Khánh Hoà), Vietnam (Việt Nam)
Tel: +84 58 381 2131

5. Saigon Pearls

Offering authentic jewelry resorting real pearls, which are locally manufactured in Nha Trang’s Van Phong (Vân Phong) Bay. Nha Trang is well-known for high quality pearls, so you easily find showrooms in this city that present beautiful products made from pearls. The most famous areas presenting this product are Nha Trang Centre and Hung Vuong (Hùng Vương). Often priced at 3 millions of VND onwards, the products and creations showcased in Saigon Pearls include bracelets, necklaces, earrings, rings and pendants. Also, you could find a wide collection of accessories which are made with colorful gemstones and gold as well.
Opening hours: 9 am – 10 pm every day
Location: No.150 Hung Vuong (Hùng Vương) Street, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa (Khánh Hoà), Vietnam (Việt Nam)
Tel: +84 58 352 3087

6. XQ Hand Embroidery

Located on Tran Phu Street, XQ Hand Embroidery specializes in hand-embroidered portraiture and silk apparel. Actually, XQ Hand Embroidery is more than a souvenir shop, it can be considered as a craft centre which is established to resemble a Vietnamese village home where you could see local people in traditional clothes working on new pieces around the site. Here, the atmosphere is rather similar to a museum in which you could wander and contemplate those displayed items at your pace. Apart from premade embroideries of flowers, landscapes, animals and well-known celebrities, guests could also have their own portrait embroidered in XQ Hand Embroidery.
Opening hours: 9 am – 10 pm
Location: No. 64 Tran Phu (Trần Phú) Street, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa (Khánh Hoà), Vietnam (Việt Nam)
Tel: +84 58 352 6579
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Top Vegetarian Restaurants in Hue

The people of Hue have a strong tradition of eating vegetarian food, so vegetarian restaurants are more common in Hue than in the rest of Vietnam. On the 1st and 15th of every lunar month, vegetarian restaurants are packed full of patrons for dinner and it may prove difficult to find a seat. Vegetarian restaurants are the cheapest places to eat, after street vendors.

Thanh Lien Quan Chay
At 52 Nguyen Cong Tru street. Delicious and cheap buddhist family restaurant, very friendly staff, easy to miss from the street, look for a sign with TATA. Rice with vegetables, tofu and other delicious morsels: $0.50. 4-person hot pot: $2.
Lien Hoa
At Le Quy Don street. In the grounds of the Lien Hoa pagoda, across from the football stadium. Monks and nuns frequent this restaurant during lunch. A small shop near the door sells Vietnamese language Buddhist texts, prayer beads and icons.
Com Chay (vegetarian rice)
It Is near the River on on the ‘newer side’ it has simple, but good and cheap vegetarian meals.
Tinh Tam (or “calm soul”)
It is located at 12 Chu Van An street. Answering the question “Who would Buddha rip off?”, this Buddhist restaurant in the backpacker district has a little scam going. There are two menus- an English one with strange dishes at high prices, and a Vietnamese one with normal Vietnamese dishes at normal prices. If you try to order off the Vietnamese menu, the owner will claim those dishes are not available. If you do succeed in ordering a Vietnamese dish, the owner will bring out an unidentifiable dish and claim it is what you ordered (going so far as to claim a plate of noodles and tomatoes was “pho”) at 4-5 times the price. If you complain, the owner suddenly doesn’t speak English. You can find plenty of unhappy customer reviews on the internet of this place. To avoid. Price: Vietnamese: 5000d / Other races: 40,000-50,000d.

Quang Tinh

At 91 Vo Thi Sau street , in the backpacker area, open from 6am to 10pm. Very simple place, menu of noodles, rice, and so on, starting at 10,000d. Also sells cigarettes and hard alcohol.

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Go around Hue

For such tourism concentrated city like Hue, there is not lack of methods of transportation to go around that you can easily catch a taxi, xe om, cyclo or you may hire yourselves a motorbike or bicycle at relatively low cost.

By Taxi

Like other Vietnamese cities, Hue is flooded with cyclos and motorbikes, as well as a few meter taxis. Taxi drivers are usually honest, but make sure they turn the meter on: trips start at 15,000 dong for the first 2km and tick upward at 11,500 dong/km. Some meters run incorrectly (showing up to 10 times the distance actually travelled), so ensure you have a rough idea of the distance to you destination. If the meter is running too quickly, at the destination pay an estimate of the fair price and insist on calling the police if the driver will not accept the estimated non-meter price. The driver will back down. A metered trip out see two tombs, with waiting time, should come to around 300,000 dong (US$18).
If you travel with a big group, you should arrange private car rental with hotels or any travel agents in Hue.

By Motorbike

Hire a motorbike for 100,000 dong locally. Fuel costs 25000 Dong per litre. Correct as at Feb 20th 2013.Join the locals as they swarm across the bridges and along the main roads at a leisurely pace. If you’re not familiar with motorbikes you may want to practice on smaller, less busy roads first. Gas stations can be found at some of the major intersections in the city – ask the person you are renting from to mark any they know on your map.Note that a map is a Foreign concept- nobody understands them, NOBODY. Make sure your motorbike comes with a helmet, as you can be fined otherwise. You can also buy helmets for 50,000-125,000 VND. Helmets priced at 50,000 will not offer much protection in a crash – these are sold so people can avoid fines more than to offer real protection.
New arrivals in Vietnam should familiarize themselves with the way traffic works in Hue. Take a motorbike taxi to get an idea how to fit into the traffic.

By Bicycle

Cycling is also a good option, with plenty of bikes available from 25,000-30,000dong/day (March 2012).
For motorbike with driver, small hotels have connections to freelancers. You may be lucky to have an English speaking (a bit mumbled but knowledgeable) guide/driver/US army veteran for all 6 tombs (the 7th is inaccessible) including those locked and forgotten for lack of tourist interests plus three temples and the emperor’s arena for one day and have extra time in the early afternoon for a beer and some Vietnamese do-it-yourself spring rolls and the famous Hue pancakes for just $10.

By Cyclo

A cyclo is the local versions of the trishaw, with the passenger in front of the cyclist. Be prepared to haggle for reasonable prices as cyclo drivers tend to quote indiscriminately. It’s a good idea to agree absolutely on your price before you go. Also make sure this is a return price, and not one-way. Of course, if you want to change your itinerary after you’re already on the way, you should discuss how this might affect the agreed price with your cyclo driver right away. Otherwise, you may get a rude surprise when you arrive at your final destination, and the driver tries to charge you an exorbitant amount. Be aware that while most of the cyclo drivers in Hue are fair, and can be quite helpful, there are a few who are very unscrupulous. If you agree on the price as “100”, make it very clear that you are agreeing on 100,000 Dong, and not 100 US dollars!

On Foot

Hue is quite compact, so you can reach most of the hotels, restaurants, and the Citadel easily on foot. Mr. Cu at Mandarin Cafe has prepared a free walking tour brochure & map. Make sure to stop by 24 Tran Cao Van St to pick up your free map (and enjoy some delicious banana pancakes). You’ll need to arrange transportation to reach the emperors’ tombs, though.

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The best time to visit Hue

If you are planning for a trip to Hue, it is wise to know about the weather and temperature in Hue. Hue is located in the tropical monsoon climate so it is divided into two distinguished seasons: dry and rainy season. And dry season is the best time to visit Hue.

Dry season is from March to August, affected by Southwest wind up with high temperature. An average temperature every month is between 27 ° C – 29 ° C. The hottest months are May and June with the temperature can be up to 38 ° C – 40 ° C.
Rainy season is from August to January in the following year, under the influence of the northeast monsoon, so it is rainy and cold weather during this time even it can rain all week. During the wet season it stays gloomy and uncomfortable. Rain is often that often makes the condition worse for vacation. Rain water makes it’s hard to travel in the city. Many tourist spots in Hue can be visited in the dry season.
Best time to visit Hue
From March to August, the weather is perfect for all activities. The average temperature is around 22 degrees Celsius, making it much more comfortable to go outside and explore the city. The amount of rain in Hue is also at its least in these months, so tourists won’t be afraid that rains will ruin their vacation. These are the best time for tourist to visit many historical sites such as Hue Imperial Citadel, Minh Mang tomb, Thien Mu Pagoda and enjoy traditional performances like Hue’s royal court music.
Besides these perfect months, January and May are also good for visiting to Hue; however, there’re more rains in these two months. Although the rains occur more frequently, the temperature and humidity are still at the comfortable level for tourists.

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Relaxing on Elephant Springs

Elephant spring is a tourist destination located on the way from Hue to Da nang, about 53km from Hue city and around 20 km north of Hai Van pass, not far from Lang Co. It it is a natural spring with a lot of waterfalls which rise from a forest.
Particularly on a hot day, the natural pool below a small waterfall makes for a very refreshing dip. You can sluice yourself down the smooth rocks at the base of the falls, and there are plenty more spots upstream to explore.
The springs can be reached from the parking place after a five-minute walk through the jungle. The area consists of a number of natural pools with clear and cool water, scattered by huge boulders. Once you arrive at Elephant Springs, with some imagination you can find a boulder which looks like an elephant head, hence the name. Climb over the boulders and explore (they can be quite slippery so take care), swim in the springs or just relax on some sitting mats offered by the locals.
The place can be pretty deserted on weekdays and during off season, which is great if you’re looking for some privacy, but not so great in terms of getting some food and drinks — the food stalls around the springs are only open on peak days. When they are, you can enjoy a cold beer and munch on a scraggy boiled chicken while you’re wallowing in the water. When the stalls aren’t open, it makes sense to pack a lunch.
It’s not too hard to get to, but it’s not well-marked, and it might make sense to hook up with a guide — most of the motorcycle taxi drivers know where it is. They can also help you sort out the food and drink situation.

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Trekking Bach Ma National Park

Bach Ma National Park is one of Vietnam’s most famous areas of outstanding natural beauty, a dream destination for those interested in wildlife, history and photography. So trekking Bach Ma National Park is a great experience that you should try when traveling to Hue. 

This national park reaches the peak of about 1,450 meters at Bach Ma Mountain. The French built more than a hundred villas here due to the cool climate. In 2008, the national park was extended, from the coast to the Annamite mountain range near the borderline with Laos. Having a wide array of habitats, this park is famous for its biodiversity. Even some people consider Bach Ma National Park as the centre of flora diversity of Vietnam. With over 1400 species of plants, including orchids and ferns discovered in Bach Ma, this national park proudly represents a fifth of the flora of Vietnam.
On arrival Bach Ma National Park centre, you have the overview of the park at the centre before transferred to the summit of the mountain on the distance of 20km more. Upon arrival the summit you will visit Hai Vong Dai by trekking there and catch the panorama of Lang Co Beach, Cau Hai Lagoon with spectacular sights. On cool day the summit is covered by cloud as paradise. In Bach Ma you have chance to see flower garden here with different kinds. Then, you continue trekking and walking through the forest on path to reach Five Lake where you have swim on pure water of these romantic pools. Very different from city, reach Bach Ma National Park and Five Lake the climate is cool that make visitor interest and enjoy. After that trekking ahead to visit Do Quyen waterfall where has the same name flower at the stream under the waterfall that make Bach Ma attractive. It is recommended to visit this park on February as that is the time the famous Rhododendron simsii blossom along the small streams and also at the bottom of Do Quyen waterfall. The weather is also dry with comfortable temperature.  Trek up and down about 700 steps on foot to admire the whole fall as silver water running from the height. It is a must see in Bach Ma National Park.
Generally, this park is really a welcome and different break from the touristy Hue or Hoi An that tourists will most likely kick themselves for now letting more time here.

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Trekking in Sapa

Sapa with its mountainous picturesque landscapes and numerous of wonderful attractions is the ideal place for trekking lovers. So trekking is one of the most popular activities when traveling to Sapa. 

If you’re travelling all the way up to Sapa, you’re likely thinking of going trekking. This is, after all, one of the most scenic regions of Northern Vietnam, and if there is one thing the frontier town of Sapa is known for, it’s rice terraces with sweeping mountain vistas. Sapa offers a wide range of trekking spots from easy to hard level. Tourists can choose the most suitable route depending on their skills and abilities from easy ones such as some walk around the town, visiting some tribal villages to the great achievement of climbing to the top of Fansipan at the height of 3,143 meters above sea level.
It is quite easy to undertake day hikes through the valleys around Sapa without the assistance of a guide. However, for overnight stays in villages and longer treks into the mountains, it is advisable to hook up with I guide. Where possible we suggest the use of minority guides, as this offers a means of making a living. There are endless for trekking. Pick up a decent map your course. The villages and the surrounding landscape are now part of Hoang Lien National Park.
The nearest village within walking distance  is Cat Cat Village (admission 5000d), 3km south Like everywhere in this area, it’s a steep and very beautiful hike down; if you’re too exhausted or unfit to hike back up, there are plenty of xe om ready and willing to cart you back to your hotel.
Another popular hike is to Ta Phin Village (admission 5000d), home to Red Dzao and about 10 km from Sapa. Most people take a xe om to a starting point about 8km from Sapa, and then make a 14km loop through the area, passing through Black H’mong and Red Dzao villages. Most hotels offer guided day and half-day treks; depending on the number of people and what, if any, vehicles are needed, expect to pay somewhere between US$10 and US$30.
There are also community-based tours to the nearby H’mong village of Sin Chai with an overnight in the village to learn about textiles or music and dance. Other popular communities to visit include the Giay village of Ta Van and the Black H’mong village of Matra.
On the way, you will feel the hospitality of local ethnic people and discover many interesting facts about their ordinary life as well as culture and architecture. And the beautiful scenes of valley, terraced rice fields and numerous fantastic attractions on the trekking routes won’t let you down.

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Tips for safe dining of seafood in Halong

Halong, known as the world heritage city with thousands of caves and grottos, is also famous for its abundance of nutritious and delicious varieties of seafood like crab, prawn, fish, or sea-snail. Gourmets who come to Halong can hardy resist the taste of fresh seafood without the worry of gaining weight. However, there is always risk of food poisoning hidden in seafood. Below are some safety tips to avoid trouble with dining in Halong.

1. Avoid eating raw seafood in general

Raw seafood or unprocessed seafood may contain the Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria which is harmful for the digestive system. Moreover, the bacteria can live under high temperature (more than 80oC). Although sushi and sashimi is very tempting, try not to eat too much, esepecially from the dubious dining places.

2. Never eat raw crab

Inside unprocessed Ha Long’s crab is a very dangerous parasitic bacteria named lung fluke that may mess up your respiratory system with symptoms like lead to severe cough, coughing up blood, or even cerebral paralysis. It is highly recommended that crabs have to be fully cooked for at least 20-30 minutes.

3. Seafood shopping tips

Buying your own seafood in a market to bring back to your hotel and ask the chefs to cook for you is a very enjoyable experience. However, remember to choose ones which are still alive and fresh, because dead sea-animals, especially one that has shells, contain much higher level of bacteria or poisons.

4. Avoid drinking excessive beer while eating seafood

Scientists say drinking beer while eating seafood increases the probability of having gout or arthritis disease. Therefore, it is recommended that you limit your alcohol consumption when being served seafood.

5. Avoid having fruits/tea after having seafood

The reason is that the acid inside sour fruits may negatively affect the process of absorbing protein from seafood into your body. Besides, tannin from fruits may react with calcium and protein from seafood to stimulate your digestive system that leads to stomach-ache and vomiting. Same thing happens if you drink tea after a seafood meal.