community.crosswire.orghttp://community.crosswire.org/c/message_boards/find_category?p_l_id=86001&mbCategoryId=02024-03-29T11:54:58Z2024-03-29T11:54:58ZNinh Binh - Dong HoiAdmin Portalhttp://community.crosswire.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=86001&messageId=1922672019-11-04T11:49:32Z2019-11-04T11:49:18ZNinh Binh is located in North Vietnam, just around two and a half hours South of Hanoi by train. It’s a little less visited, but well worth a stop. I’ve first heard about Ninh Binh from a girl working at a <a href="https://www.hotels-in-vietnam.com/hue.html">hotel in Hue</a> and after hearing her enthusiastic explanation of why I should visit, I’ve checked it online and decided to spend one night there. This was much too short to fully experience this peaceful place, but I still managed to see quite a bit and capture some nice photos.<br />All of the North and Southbound day and night sleeper trains stop at Ninh Binh. If going from Dong Hoi (like I did) I think the best option is to take the late night sleeper train. It leaves Dong Hoi at 00:49 and arrives to Ninh Binh around 9:00, so you get a good night’s sleep.<br />I’ve always bought train tickets directly at the station and that was no problem in the low season, but they should be booked in advance in high season. A good site for this (that can also be used just to check the timetable and fares) is <a href="http://www.dulichso.com">http://www.dulichso.com</a><br />Stay at Tam Coc, not Ninh Binh<br />There’s not much to Ninh Binh (town) really, so it’s best to stay at the nearby village of Tam Coc. Most of the attractions are there (the countryside of Tam Coc is one of them) and the small village town itself is much more likeable.<br />One more thing I would recommend is that you don’t take a 100.000 VND taxi from the Ninh Binh train station to Tam Coc (and back), but rent a motorbike right outside the station and drive to Tam Coc yourself. You’ll probably rent a motorbike to explore the area around Tam Coc anyway (the other good option being a bicycle). And this way you’ll also save the taxi costs to get back to the station later, when you return the motorbike upon departure.<br />The two-hour boat ride beneath the karst mountains and through the three limestone caves is the main draw in Tam Coc. It’s quite expensive, but very impressive. The rowers (usually older ladies) are not paid well and are limited on how many times per week they can do the trip, so they try to make up for it by pushing you to buy their handicrafts. Some of them are quite persistent… they’ll stop at the end of the route and seem like they’ll never row back if you don’t buy something. They’ll expect a tip if you don’t and I kindly gave the lady 50.000 VND.<br />The scenery is beautiful and I can’t even imagine how it would look in June, when all the fields turn green or September, when they are golden yellow. Try to go on the ride early in the morning or in the afternoon (I went around 16:00) when the tour buses from Hanoi are not there and the light is better for photography.<br />Are probably all the back and country roads, villages and daily local life. I was not there when the rice paddies were green and have also slightly missed the golden yellow (before the harvest), so I couldn’t really make any beautiful photos of the karst mountain landscape. But I got there just in time for the harvest, so the whole town was very busy. Harvesting rice, separating it from husk, drying it out on the streets and roads (with cars driving on patches of it), so it was still a nice time to visit, but my stay was too short… I should have stayed for two nights to have at least one full day, but was short on time. I needed to move to Hanoi so I would still have enough time for my 11-day motorbike trip of Northern Vietnam and China before I fly to Japan.Admin Portal2019-11-04T11:49:18ZSpa travel deals in VietnamAdmin Portalhttp://community.crosswire.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=86001&messageId=1922422019-11-04T11:48:15Z2019-11-04T11:47:48ZSpa travel deals are becoming more and more prevalent as everyday living costs escalate and we slump deeper into recession. This leads to bookings being down at day spas and resorts and bigger discounts being offered to you, the consumer.<br />When the Sheraton Spa and Resort in Nha Trang noticed a slacking off in reservations they were quick to take action by implementing various promotions such as, bring a friend free or $700 off a stay in December. Alternatively, you can book for next year or buy a gift certificate for a friend and still receive this reduction.<br />Most online travel agents and spas nationwide are offering deals and one of the best ways to stay in touch with what is on offer is to sign up for their newsletters. This way you will get to hear about special offers and big savings on spa travel deals that don’t appear elsewhere. So at least sign up for the newsletters on the following websites <a href="https://getvietnamvisa.com">Get Vietnam Visa</a>, Spirit Vacation, Cruise Direct, and Orient Express on ensure you will be offered a wide variety of spa travel deals, wherever and however you are planning to travel.<br />Some websites offering spa travel deals allow you to sign up for spa or place specific newsletters. So, give some thought to the places you would like to visit, or perhaps a favorite spa destination you have visited in the past. For me this means my favorite haunts in Hanoi and Nha Trang, Red Mountain Resort and Spa, and Westgate Park City Resort and Spa, but don’t worry if you don’t yet have a dream spa to speak about, or if you are planning to travel further afield, just visit Travelocity or <a href="https://www.hotels-in-vietnam.com/">Hotels-in-vietnam</a> to keep up to date with the latest spa travel deals.<br />Other ways to find deals include:<br />• Scouting around for last minute deals. This is easy if you keep your list of websites bookmarked so that you can check regularly for spur of the moment bargains.<br />• Packages are an excellent way to save money and often include fees, taxes and gratuities.<br />• Ask if there are discounts for groups as the Green Valley Hotel Spa mentioned above is not the only spa destination to have offered two for one deal, and this is becoming commonplace.<br />• You can also look out for mid-week spa travel deals.<br />To find out more information about great spa travel deals please visit our Spa Topia website with reviews and commentary about various day spas, spa destinations, hotel spas, and spa travelAdmin Portal2019-11-04T11:47:48Z