Ninh Binh - Tam Coc

Often referred to as the inland Ha Long Bay, Tam Coc - a short drive from Ninh Binh - provides an opportunity for visitors to marvel at the imposing limestone karsts in about half the time that it takes to get from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay by car (Ninh Binh is under two hours by car from Hanoi).

After searching Trip Advisor, we booked at the Vancouver Hotel, a family-run establishment in Ninh Binh, rated #1.  The hotel's customer service executive, as his card reads, explained that the family just picked the name because it is easy for most people to say.  I asked again, thinking maybe he or one of his family members might have studied in or otherwise visited Vancouver, but no.  I thought better to leave it than to inquire further.

The establishment's entrance is down an alley, so easy to miss from the main road.  But once you step into the compact hotel, you see that it appears to have been recently, thoughtfully renovated (and perhaps repurposed, as the frame appears to be of a typical narrow Vietnamese home with several floors).  It is clean, bright, and orderly inside.  The wifi, included in the room rate and available throughout the hotel, worked fine.  The rooms were comfortable if a bit bland - a picture or two on the walls would add warmth.  The ceiling's crown moldings were beautiful, tasteful.

Vancouver Hotel
No 01/75 Luong Van Tuy
Ninh Binh
+84 030 3893270
thevancouverhotel@gmail.com
www.thevancouverhotel.com

For lunch, the hotel recommended Dat Set restaurant, which, we were told, is familiar with Western tourists and offers the delicious local specialty Com Chay, which turns out to be savory sheets of puffed rice, served hot, accompanying a bowl of lamb stew.  You break the rice sheets into smaller pieces and dip in the stew.  The restaurant was a very casual establishment, with ample flies and litter strewn about.  We were the only westerners.  The server seemed to barely understand English.  But she and the restaurant in general were friendly.

Dat Set restaurant
Pho 11 - P. Dong Thanh
0303 891 468
030 357 9222

After lunch, we set out on a tour of Tam Coc, which we had heard described as a sort of Disneyland attraction.  And while the experience did have elements of a ride - a queue for small boats that guide you through a planned route in a loop, under three large karsts and back to the dock in about an hour or so.  The journey is memorable.  The somewhat narrow, shallow water way is bordered on either side by rice fields and, beyond them, more limestone formations.  It's pretty, verdant scenery.  I understood that those paddling the many boats - sometimes by their feet - are local villagers who, when not paddling around tourists are tending rice and embroidering.

Ninh Binh Local Tours
+84 912 984 935
ninhbinhlocaltours@gmail.com
ninhbinhlocaltours@yahoo.com

For dinner, also at the hotel's recommendation, we went to Chookie's, which we were told was owned by an Aussie and her Vietnamese spouse.  We liked the cheerful vibe of the restaurant, which very much appears to cater to western expats, who seemed to make up the restaurant's entire clientele that evening.  Various quotations extolling the virtues of travel, adventure adorn the neat, well maintained walls.  The restaurant was nice and tidy.  While the menu offered both western and Vietnamese specialties, I found the Vietnamese dishes (bun cha and fried spring rolls) a bit too westernized for my taste. The hamburger was delicious, as were the french fries.  The chickpea burger - not so much.

Chookie's
17 Luong Van Tuy
Ninh Binh
+84 94 834 6026

Some other special places to stay near Ninh Binh include:

Tam Coc Garden

and

Emeralda Resort