I would definitely say - after Ha Long Bay Ninh Binh is my second favourite place in Vietnam. It has so much to offer and not so much contaminated by the tourist traps...In Ninh Binh you do three things: boats, mountains and caves. I have visited no more no less, but 9 various caves in my 3 days in Ninh Binh, three mountains and have taken 3 boat rides on different rivers...

The other wonders I've seen in this province were:

Bich Dong Pagoda - lovely spiritual place, especially, when you go there after 4pm, when all the tour groups left for a day. The name means "emerald pagoda". And the most of this pagoda is actually in a cave! It is, in reality, is a complex of pagodas, the way to each next one is through the previous one...dated from 15 century, this Buddhist marvel radiates a timeless beauty and tranquillity. And if you make it all the way to the top, you're rewarded with the view!

Another cave I visited separately, called Galaxy Grotto and it is slightly off the beaten path in Ninh Binh, but all so worth the effort to get there! A scenic boat ride and a walk through a 700m cave filled with colourful, illuminated stalactites.

I was so lucky to be the only one in that cave! The experience was out of this world! A cave of wonder - Thien Ha - Galaxy Grotto...

Few more caves visited en route to one more local attraction - The Bird Garden, Thung Nham.

The garden itself is not something I would've gone to see, as it is a well kept, manicured to perfection, "designer garden". and, while gorgeous, you can find equally attractive gardens everywhere else in the world.

What does make this place special - a reservation area where lots of wild birds, like cranes, storks, egrets can be observed in masses...

Well, that would be a very (and I mean - VERY) brief record of my Ninh Binh time.

This is a place so worth visiting, and if you choose to stay slightly out of the centre, you're as close to the amazing nature as you could possibly be...