Travel Stories - Vietnam

"ninh binh" ("tam coc")

motor taxi

I read something in my book when we get close and the busconductor makes it clear that my stop is coming. We arrive at a large yellow colonial building where blue shutters hang from the windows and some palm trees stand. Large condense spots adorn the wall. It seems as if I have arrived at a film set from the 50’s. That "image" is immediately gone when a dozen people come to me to ask if I already have a hostel, where I'm going and questions like that. I walk through this hedge of salesman to the nearby bus station. I ask the girl if there are local buses going to my destination "Tam Coc" but she indicates that I have to take a (motor) taxi. I get more and more the idea that the buses and the people in the tourist village have made a deal that they do not bring Westerners so that the whole community benefits. I walk away from the station in the direction of my destination which is about 10 kilometers away and hope for some piece of luck. A Vietnamese man on an old rickety scooter with a big poisonous Vietnamese army helmet on his hat comes by and asks me where I want to go. We close a deal, I put the egg-helmet on my head and I jump behind.

With almost flat tires we arrive at the harbor of "Tam Coc" and I pay him the money. A young man appeals to me with the question if I might want to make the tour with him. At home I would be very shocked by such an intimate question but here it is a backpacker who wants to share the costs. We decide to meet late in the afternoon to avoid the large flow of day trippers from Hanoi.

Mysterious sight

I am a bit too early and I walk around the small harbor, which looks picturesque but also mainly touristy. In the middle (island) there stands a large expensive resort with high palm trees and houses in an old artistic colonial style. A little later we are assigned to a small boat and watch the small aged woman that is supposed to propel two fairly large Western guys six kilometers into a boat. Dozens of boats come from the other side and what I have just seen close to the quay I now see from close by - the rowers row with their feet instead of their hands. We boat towards the lake behind the new hotel (well I think that’s what it is) and under a bridge where some local people still live in little huts. Then the greenery takes over, no more houses and buildings and the beautiful mountains we see up close now. This is the "Ngo Dong" river and because it is so misty and fog is hanging here the mountains are more mysterious than usual.

The Caves

The advantage is that we do not have to put on sunscreen because the sun is not going to shine anymore today. The big crowds are leaving and we only see a few boats. We help the woman by grabbing a paddle herself and swaying in the water. A piece of rice field or reeds is here under water and the silence, the tranquility is perhaps the most beautiful. The gentle rain stops and it comes down in the buckets now. Josef, my Indian companion for the day insists that he uses my little umbrella and I the big one in the front of the boat. On top of the rocks we see the temple he visited earlier today. From there you have a magnificent view over this river and its surroundings. The river winds its way to the first cave "Hang Ga" which is 127 meters long and I occasionally feel that I am going to hit my head because it’s so low in here. It is also pitch black inside and it is therefore a miracle that we do not hit the opposite boat.

The aggressive salespeople

The second part looks like the first part and we pass through "Hang Giua" which is 70 meters in length. A man stands here in the water and pulls a net where a styrofoam is hanging behind it. Under the next overhanging in cave "Hang Cuoi" lie a lot of boats. Here are the saleswomen that my travel guide was talking about. But the tricks they try to pull to get money described in my book are not happening to us at all. They do not even look at us when we boat underneath the cave to a place where normally all stalls are standing. Because of the time and the weather, it is now completely empty. The woman asks if we can return already and we agree. Below the rock we stop and a boat comes to us with the question whether we want a banana, cola or beer. Then we go back and suddenly go a lot faster. When I look back I see the old female lying almost on her back and the paddles moving with her feet. It seemed like a tourist attraction but it seems to be a necessity.

romantic or not?!

When we almost put our boat on the banks our boatwoman asks for a tip that we already planned to give. We give a decent tip for us but she is not satisfied. We wave goodbye but she’s still not happy. In the evening we walk back together to the restaurant where we had a coffee this afternoon. Besides the fact that there is no electricity and everything is lit with candles, the village is extinct. It is nine o'clock when the girl looks at us in a very tired way and actually asks to pay and leave please. We pay our bill and go to our own hotels to get a decent sleep in this sleepy village.

tips & advice (2011)

You can easily and quickly get into "Tam Coc" from "Ninh Binh"; problem is only that there is no (at least that said everybody) local buses driving between the towns. Apparently there is an arrangement between the community and the bus company to drive a different route or something. For a tourist it is therefore only possible to travel by taxi or motor taxi to the 9 kilometers from "Ninh Binh" and "Tam Coc". With a little bit of haggle you can get a ride for 50,000 VND. Of course you can also come to Tam Coc from a tour from "Ninh Binh" or even "Hanoi".

Name: "Tuan Tu" restaurant and guesthouse

Address: Main street

Price: 60,000 VND (single)

Phone nr. : 016387 754852

Content:

The restaurant is located in the heart of "Tam Coc" in the main street near where the boats dock and depart to "Tam Coc". The restaurant does not look very cozy, but the woman is mentioned in a French travel guide from last year. The only reason I ended up here is that someone pointed out to me that the woman also rents rooms. This is not indicated anywhere on the façade. She has several rooms on three floors and I got a small rectangular room that still had to be painted. There is a curtain for the inner window, a closed wardrobe, a fan and a fluorescent tube. Also WIFI is present and you get a towel, soap and and a piece of toiletpaper. Against the back is a 2p bed with clean sheets and pillows. Shower and toilet are next to it - clean and with hot water. If you really want cheap you have to stay here.

Spending time:

As indicated above you are in the boat for about two hours. Whatever you can do is rent a motorbike or bicycle and visit the "Bich Dong" pagoda, for example, which gives a beautiful view of the waterway between the Karst Mountains and its rice fields (paddies). You can also go hiking but the above options are better.

TIPS:

Take at least a bottle of water (it can get pretty hot in the boats and there is no cover or roof) and an umbrella (or rain gear). The latter can be used against the sun and against the rain. Maybe something under your butt is also nice and a plastic bag to protect your (valuable) things against the rain and the sun. Warm clothing is not really necessary but if you take something for under your ass you can use this against the cold. A flashlight is not really necessary although you go into three dark caves. Money is needed for the entrance course, the tip (if you want) and if you want to buy something from the salesmen in the boats at the third cave.

Admission tickets:

You pay 120,000 VND entrance fee. And above that you pay the cost of a boat. Two (large) adult tourists are the maximum that is allowed and for this you pay 150,000 VND. The tour lasts about 2 hours with the rower rowing about 4 to 6 km (back and forth the same way). The rower does ask for a tip - we both gave 50,000 VND.