Tam Coc

Thip and I rented bicycles to ride the 4km to Tam Coc. We checked out of our hotel to stay in Van Lan village near Tam Coc to get an early start the next morning on the river. I left my large pack in Hanoi. It was nice just to travel with my daypack. We got lost a bit on the way but we eventually found our way to Van Lan. We found a decent enough hotel and checked in. We then rode to Mua cave, 5km away. The cave was small and nothing special but it was at the base of a limestone mountain with 500 steps to the top. We climbed to the top and were rewarded with panoramic views of the mountains surrounded by lush rice paddies. We stayed up here for hours. I wanted to stay up until the sun went down for the soft light of dusk on the mountains to get some great pictures. We rode back to Van Lan and had a quiet night. The village is small and there weren' many people around. A stark contrast to how busy and packed it is during the day.

Van Lan is the village at the starting point for lazy canoe trips down the Ngo Dong river through Tam Coc. The river can get quite busy during the day with local and foreign tourists. There can be some hassle and pressure to buy souvenirs, food, drinks, etc. along the river and at the turnaround point. We wanted to avoid this, that's why we slept in the village. We wanted an early start to avoid the crowds. Our canoe was the first boat out that morning at 7am. We were followed by a few canoes with local tourists. It was a brilliant morning with the sun just right for photos. Along the way the canoes passes right through 3 caves cut into the limestone mountains. It was really cool to be paddled into the darkness and then out the other side. We didn't experience hardly any hassle and it was an enjoyable ride. We found another boat trip not too far away and there was no one there. It was a third of the cost for Tam Coc but this time we were in a river cave the whole time. There were some tight and low spots and interesting formations. We both liked this a lot. It was like our own personal tour of the cave.

Thip only had a few days in Vietnam and the next day she would be flying back to Thailand, so we rode back to Ninh Binh and caught a bus to Hanoi. It was fun to get to spend some time with someone I knew, even if it was just a short time. Thip left the next morning and I was on a bus shortly after headed for Cuc Phoung national park.