Perfect Travel Destination Of Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Just like the scene on the above photo, Ninh Binh offered quiet simplicity with old time charm and something interesting to photograph around every corner and down every alley during my extended three weeks stay.

Beside the funny incident of getting yelled at by the bus station toilet attendant upon arrival because I did not comply immediately with a small sign written in Vietnamese to pay 15 cents for the use of the facilities things were pretty peaceful afterwords.

Ninh Binh is a highly recommended stop about 90 kilometers south of Hanoi for its spectacular surroundings namely emerald green rice fields and picturesque karst mountains.

The weather was rainy and cold when I got there but being on a flexible schedule allowed me to wait a few days until the sun appeared.
But why spend a total of three weeks there? Well, time just flew by in Ninh Binh and finally I had take note of the number of days gone by and remind myself to pack up and get going.

My stay was not time wasted, the Xuan Hoa hotel was nice with great views and cheap at 5-7 dollars for the most simple rooms. At this price the room was large, had new modern furnishing and hot water which is more important than the cable tv which was not part of the deal.

The Xuan Hoa had its own restaurant but I ate there only about 3 times during my entire three weeks because I like to support family roadside eateries as frequently as possible.
Those meals range from 30 cents to 1.25 USD so the savings are nice as well as the smiling faces greeting me when I am continuing to return with my business.

Internet cafes charge 5,000 VND (about 30 cents) per hour which came in handy during the rainy days. Wi-Fi is almost non-existent, I found a hotel which offered wireless internet but their rooms cost 15 dollars.

For most tourists Ninh Binh is a brief stopping place for seeing the nearby pagodas, caves, rice fields, waterways and for taking boat tours therefore the town itself is mostly void of foreigners which is exactly what I am looking for at most of the places I visit.

When roaming the streets for photography or else the reactions of people are always more welcoming and positive at less touristy areas.
The begging culture of children has an interesting twist: instead of the usual “Hello” Ninh Binh has an extended greeting in the form of “Hello money”.

I have heard some other tourists being very cold about giving money to the poor saying basically it will never happen during their trip and they find it quite an annoyance.
I would say starving is more annoying so if those tourists will have a negative experience becasue of begging children it is unfortunate for all parties involved.

Passing along a few dollars a week to a handful of people will bring smiles to their faces and put food in their stomachs not to mention that tourist would not establish a reputation for being cold hearted and selfish while spending 1000’s of dollars on vacations, shopping sprees and camera equipment.
I believe people who never give and only complain not only have a less pleasurable and less educational experience but consciously or subconsciously will feel regret, shame and guilt for not parting with those few insignificant dollars.

Others on the other hand give away small fortunes in donations during their travels.
I tend to navigate somewhere in between, due to the shear number of requests more often I do not give but at least a few times a week I do so. Sometimes to children for some particularly great photos, sometimes to mothers with a baby to feed and sometimes just buy a cup of coffee or lunch to random people if I realize I have not given to anyone in a few days.

The only hard bargaining I do is with motorbike drivers because their prices can be inflated 200-500%. Otherwise I do tip in the form of letting shop owners keep the change.
Ninh Binh unlike more touristy stops like Hanoi, Saigon, Chau Doc does not have an aggressive motorbike driver culture which is always a great discovery when arriving to a new place.

The town has a great look, many small side streets untouched by modern life, curious and friendly people.
Sometimes a “wrong turn” into the wrong alley can have a whole family or several families asking for their pictures taken pairing up in every imaginable combination.
I am happy to cooperate like in this case but instead of posting one from the dozens of pictures taken during a 30 minutes photo session I will just present the final group shot:

Statues in a pagoda just minutes from my hotel. Not a tourist in sight, Besides an old man greeting me in Russian which I could reply due to my Communist childhood programming I was mostly ignored and could wonder around:

Lucky timing, the broom was picked up a few minutes after I took this photo to sweep the leaves and I was glad to catch the woman arriving adding a human element to the picture:

A bit busy composition but the cemetery of the pagoda was overgrown with plants so this is a realistic view of how I saw things:

I was originally planning to take a picture of the drum and the chair through the door opening but when a cat showed up suddenly I had something interesting in the foreground:

School was out and every kid was getting home or to the gaming internet cafes any way and as fast as they could:

An exotic eye catching scene across the street from my hotel.
All I had to do is wait for a boat to pass by, the reflection and the houses across the river provided the interesting background:

A quick snapshot of coffins taken before I was asked to put my camera away. Being asked to leave does not happen often but I must have touched a nerve by photographing this subject:

A boy high upon a blooming tree greeting me with the signature “Hello money” yell:

Entrance to another pagoda which on the other side of Ninh Binh from my hotel. The colors of the walls are nicely balanced out by the green leaves:

Communist flashback from Hungary, the style of this kind of housing project immediately brought back memories.
I also went to a backyard to take more photos and as I expected a man appeared not happy with my activities (seen on left sided at gate).
Even though this was just an apartment building photography and Communism will never mix:

Thit cho as the sign says. Thit cho is one of very few words I learned early to avoid eating … “Vietnamese hot dogs”.
Yes, thit cho means dog meat (restaurant):

Real estate with minor water damage for sale? Interesting sight as just a few stones were providing steps through the pond into the abandoned house:

I can never walk by these charcoal (I call them) making businesses without taking photos, I really love how visually foreign they are to me:

I do not mind who sees me if they laugh or how silly my photography subjects look to locals. Food drying, laying on the street, sidewalks, steps, fences are sights I can never resist:

I hear a loud “Hello!” and see group of women waving to me to come over and take their friends’ photos (never their own) as a prank.
Seemingly women work a lot harder than men in Vietnam and this happy group was taking a break from doing backbreaking labor at a construction site but as usual in Vietnam they still have the spirit for great smiles and joking around:

Different location but same story, the woman sitting down signals to me to photograph her friend (but not her).
Using a wide angle lens and staying close to the ground allows me to put the still wet bricks into the foreground for good perspective effect:

I found this large and fantastically green pond on a random backstreet, making the photo the product of a lucky turn:

I look at doors, windows and walls everywhere I travel and many of them I find very “photogenic” in Southeast Asia.
Thanks to the interesting dirt patterns, the stacked up bricks and the green plants this is another nice find:

This photo is my version of a tourist trap but in the case of street photography this is a welcomed part of traveling.
As I passed by a small grocery store a grandmother asked me to take several photos of the baby and other family members (but not her):

Same store, more people gather, some plant themselves in chairs asking for a photo.
As the camera is raised and clicking away different levels of confidence show. In this case the kid has quite a confident look and a good pose:

Back at the Xuan Hoa hotel overlooking the lake which provided a great atmosphere for my three weeks of stay in Ninh Binh.
The nightly loud concerts courtesy of the lake’s frogs were a funny added bonus:

Turning ninety degrees away from the lake and using a 12mm wide angle lens to squeeze in as many rooftops as possible with fantastic karst mountains decorating the horizon afar:

Zooming in over the roof tops typical rural Vietnamese slice of life captured in the form of a man riding by on his cart:

Shot from my balcony, a 200mm telephoto lens brings those majestic far away karst mountains closer for a colorful sunset photo: