Tam Coc, Vietnam
Our journey from Ha Long Bay to Tam Coc took us through an engaging peek of beautiful countryside, seaside grandeur and bustling cities. As we neared Tam Coc and Ninh Binh (a larger town just outside of Tam Coc) we were greeted by stunning views as karst formations, like those in the waters of Ha Long Bay, jutted out of the open fields, rice paddies and flowing waterways. Our shuttle navigated the harrowingly narrow concrete road that hugged karst formations and crossed fallow rice paddies on the way to our “Luxury” Homestay, tucked into a quaint valley encircled by towering karst “islands” (it was clear that this area had, in ancient times, been part of a sea, as evidenced by the same fossil shells and water worn bases as the islands of Ha Long Bay).
The Tam Coc Luxury Homestay was, indeed, a luxurious and tranquil location but really a simple complex of small, basically appointed, brick bungalows surrounding a beautifully maintained garden, filled with a rainbow of flowers, palms and tropical fruit trees (banana, papaya, star fruit and mango). The kind and generous owners (brothers Manh and Doc and their families) of the homestay made us feel welcome as they lovingly prepared meals and let Oliver have the run of the place, riding one of the guest bicycles around, swimming in the slightly too cold pool and obsessively asking about and playing with their friendly corgi, Nola. It was a welcome respite and oasis of calm after our days in Hanoi and frenetic day of traveling in and around Ha Long Bay.
Our homestay was located down a beautiful road that was about a ten minute walk (or five minute bike ride) from the small and busy tourist hub of Tam Coc village. Clearly Tam Coc and Ninh Binh are on the backpacker circuit, as evidenced by countless Western friendly restaurants, bars and street vendors that cater to budget minded young travelers following the “must see” itinerary that we also seemed to be paralleling. In the center of Tam Coc is a captivating small lake containing a central island, where countless small, locally made, metal and bamboo rowboats sit idly while a number of them are skillfully rowed (with the feet of the pilots!) from the lake up the connecting river with tourists in tow. Over the course of our two days in the area we enjoyed riding bikes along the busy roads, sipping drinks next to the lake and sampling roasted duck and the other delicious, and affordable, food available at the many eateries.
Having heard about a nearby primate rehabilitation reserve and turtle sanctuary, we hired a local guide (Loung) to take us to the Cúc Phương National Park (the oldest (est. 1962) and largest national park in Vietnam), about an hour away by car. Starting off with a rainy day, the primate and turtle reserve was a very interesting collaboration between a conservancy agency in Köln, Germany and the Vietnamese government. Unfortunately, because of concerns about Covid and other illness cross-contamination, it wasn’t as accessible as we would have hoped but it was still fascinating to learn about, and see, the many endangered monkeys and apes that are indigenous to the region.
The real highlight of our trip to Cúc Phương was a several hour (maybe 12-15 km?) hike through jungles and visiting a few large caves, including a prehistoric man cave, where three sets of human remains were discovered in 1966. The discovery included stone axes, pointed bone spears, oyster shell knives and tools for grinding, all of which are estimated to date back roughly 7500 years. It was amazing to access these areas, climbing deep into the caves (far beyond Katharina’s typical comfort zone–especially when we were deep inside and turned off all lights!) with just the three of us and Loung, especially after the overcrowded experience of our visit to the caves of Ha Long Bay. Aside from an underwhelming lunch, our excursion to the jungle and caves was a highlight of our trip so far and it was something that we will all remember for both its intrigue as well as the little things, like creepy cave insects and learning how to survive on banana tree cores, which was one of many bits of local knowledge that Loung shared during our delightful day with him.
A trip to the Tam Coc and Ninh Binh area wouldn’t have been complete without the three of us taking in the full experience of being rowed through the peacefull waterways and visiting the ornate temples within the Trang An reserve nearby (which we were told was much better than the river tour from the lake in central Tam Coc). Our gracious host, Manh, at the homestay chauffeured us the fifteen of so kilometers to the highly organized Trang An ticket complex, where it was clear from the extensive serpentine queue system that this was an attraction that, in other times, is incredibly busy. We swiftly bought our tickets and walked straight through to a waiting boat, which we shared with a friendly (and oddly perfumed with, maybe, antiseptic?) visiting Vietnamese man. Our kindly boat “captain” proceeded to skillfully row us through the stunning, water lily lined green waters, several long cave tunnels and amongst the karst islands that make the preserve and surrounding area such a sought after destination. We had the opportunity to stop and stroll meticulously maintained islets, each with tranquil, finely crafted and gorgeously decorated temples with countless golden statues and honorifics to the various deities, high lords and important monks of the area. After several hours of exploring and taking in the splendor we returned to the dock and found Manh waiting for us for the short journey back to town.
That same afternoon, our final bit of time before the much anticipated night train from Ninh Bin to Hue, we took a family bike ride out to hike to the Hang Mua Pagoda and caves (Mua means cave), which was something Katharina had read about and was a must on the agenda. As the sun began its journey of settling for the evening we each pedaled our clunky bicycles along the busy roadway from Tam Coc to the Pagoda, a short six kilometers away. Riding with OIiver on the slightly chaotic roads was an exercise in patience with a bit of white knuckled anxiety as dogs wandered in our way and motorbikes, cars and big trucks zigged, zagged and roared by. Having safely managed the ride we were g reeted outside the complex by “official” looking locals attempting to wave us into their shops and restaurants so they could watch our bicycles for a small fee. Fortunately Gabriel was familiar with this tactic and steered us through the gauntlet to the closest parking area, where we received “valet” tickets with a number matching that scratched onto each of our seats in chalk.
After buying tickets we were allowed entry into the buzzing, charming and very kitschy visitor area leading to the cave and staircases to the mountain top Pagodas above. This was clearly a place meant to entice visitors to stay as long as possible, to spend as much as possible, as evidenced by the plethora of restaurants, drink stalls, odd kiddie playgrounds, strange concrete animal scenes, Instagramable ponds, waterfalls and colored lanterns, and even a guest house in case you haven’t had enough of the scene. Navigating the steady flow of other visitors we made our way past a slightly creepy mushroom village and up the hundreds of steps (with more beverage vendors regularly spaced along the way in case you hadn’t planned for a twenty minute walk) to the top of the main Pagoda. Aside from the sad and omnipresent garbage that seems to litter every tourist site in Vietnam (in spite of loads of waste receptacles), the walk was increasingly breathtaking as the greater elevation afforded a more and more open vantage to view the karst formations, meandering waterways and rice fields, which were complete with impressive and intentional designs to accentuate them when in their green grandeur of growth (alliteration!). Although reasonably crowded at the top of each Pagoda, the panorama was well worth the efforts, especially when the accentuating lights suddenly turned on, casting a magical glow along the network of stairs and outlining the jagged rock outcroppings and symmetrical Pagodas.
Lingering much longer than we had anticipated at Hang Mua, we faced the interesting (and ever-so-slightly frightening) prospect of a ride back into town in the dark. After picking up our bicycles and paying the sixty cent fee for valet service we were pleased to realize that Gabriel’s bike happened to have a simple generator powered set of lights on it. Thinking it wise to have him ride in back we improvised visibility lights for Katharina and Oliver by turning on our mobile phone’s lights and laying them light-side-down in their baskets. The ride back to town was only slightly more harrowing and we made our way to a delicious dinner in town before riding back to the homestay for a late night ride into Ninh Binh with Minh to catch our 10pm train to Hue.
Katharina, being a good German, wanted to make sure that we were at the train station with time to spare and assure that we chose the correct track towards Hue instead of towards an unplanned return to Hanoi and onward to China. Upon arriving it was clear that of the two choices the one with all of the Westerners waiting with their luggage in tow was the likely direction of travel. Still not quite trusting Gabriel’s strong opinion that we were heading the right way, Katharina sought reassurance from a worker and at least a few other waiting travelers. Several minutes later, as promised, the old diesel engine lights appeared in the distance and noisily pulled into the station for a swift and slightly confused boarding, as we discovered that our assigned sleeping car had been moved only after beginning to settle in for the night. Diligently following the non-English speaking conductor we found our correct berth and relished in the sight of cozy, clean bunks with colorful pillows and blankets for our long (11 hour) night of travel. Sharing the cabin was a friendly but reserved young French woman that clearly had drawn the short straw when bedding assignments were worked out with her friends in the next compartment.
Aside from the incessant racket of the train, which was soothing to Gabriel and less so to Katharina, and the hot night due to the failed discovery of proper air conditioning vent operation until morning, the blurred and slightly sleepless night of travel was comfortable, clean and an experience well worth the decision to skip another flight on our southern route through Vietnam. Fortunately, the most important aspect of the journey was that Oliver had a night’s sleep, otherwise our day of explorations of Hue, where we only had a chance to stay one night, may have been shot. With a ten minute warning from the conductor we gathered our belongings, made our way to the small crowd waiting by the doors and departed the carriage, ready for one far-too-short visit to the beautiful imperial city of Hue.
