RICE FIELDS, BIKE RIDES, HUGE CLIMBS, INCREDIBLE VIEWS AND KARAOKE WITH LOCALS
ARRIVAL IN TAM COC
We arrived in Tam Coc around 5:30am, courtesy of the sleeper bus we’d taken from Phong Nha.
It was still dark and I felt a little delirious.
The bus has arrived in Ninh Binh, which was a few miles from Tam Coc, so we needed a taxi to get us to our accommodation. Fortunately, even at this hour, we were able to flag one fairly swiftly.
The place we were staying – Tam Coc Mountain View Homestay – wasn’t easily accessible by road, so our taxi dropped us nearby and we made our way for the last couple of hundred yards, across dirt tracks.
I’d been in touch with the accommodation to let them know of our early arrival and they’d allowed us to check in early, so that we could get some sleep, without any extra charge. What a relief!
The accommodation faced out over a rice field, with a backdrop of huge rock faces. We sat outside initially to watch the sun come up over the rice fields and saw the workers harvesting the rice. Presumably they did this at this time as it was so hot later in the day.
Once the workers had left with their harvest we checked to see if the owner had kept true to her word and left a room open for us. She had! We dropped our bags in the room and had a well needed snooze.
On that first day in Tam Coc, we didn’t do too much, other than take a walk around the town and have a few drinks at a place we found with a large beer garden.
In the centre of the town, the major tourist trap is a lake, where you can take a boat ride through the valley of Tam Coc. Rowed very skilfully by the drivers feet. Definitely something you should see.
Here’s a couple of pics of the lake area:
BIKING AROUND TAM COC
On our only full day in Tam Coc we decided to see as many of the local sights as possible, so we rented some bikes from our homestay and got out on the road.
It was ridiculously hot, so this was going to be a struggle, but I’m so glad we did. What we saw that day was incredible.
We set off through town and West, headed to Bich Dong Pagoda. On the way we passed more rice fields and noticed the workers drying out their harvest, on the road, in the sun.
BICH DONG PAGODA
We arrived at Bich Dong Pagoda, parked up the bikes and wandered towards the Pagoda entrance.
The structure was apparently built in the 1400s and features three levels of temples, situated within cave structures.
There were many signs up around the area mentioning the need to wear proper attire. As we weren’t dressed appropriately we only ascended the first set of steps and then walked back down.
It’s a shame as apparently there are great views from up here, but don’t worry, they’re coming up later….
Here’s a couple of snaps taken at the pagoda:
THAI VI TEMPLE
The next stop on our bike route was to the Thai Vi Temple. This temple was situated out in the middle of nowhere, several miles from where we had visited the pagoda.
Along the way we stopped at the riverside and saw the route the boats from the centre of Tam Coc were taking. We paused to watch the riders use their feet to do the rowing.
There was also a cemetery here. I’d noticed that all cemeteries in Vietnam were very ornate.
We carried on along the track towards the temple and took a look around. The temple itself seemed a little dilapidated, but the setting in which it was built was incredible.
Wide open space and huge rock faces surrounding it.
LYING DRAGON MOUNTAIN
The last stop on our bike ride, and by far the most impressive, was Lying Dragon Mountain.
We were actually headed to the Mua caves, but when we arrived and saw this huge climb of the Lying Dragon Mountain, we changed our minds and decided to give the hike a go.
We’d seen plenty of caves in Phong Nha, anyhow!
We parked our bikes up, paid 100,000 Dong each (approx. £3), for access to the site and walked towards the imposing climb.
The hike was tough! Around 500, steep, winding steps up to the summit.
There were actually two summits to choose from, but we went for the tallest and started to regret the choice at one point, simmering away in the 38 degree heat.
As we climbed, we looked back at the second summit as we approached a similar height. Quite the sight to look back at.
I stopped for a breather every few minutes. I said that it was under the pretence of wanting to take some photos. That was part of it, but the other part was that I was sweating my bollocks off and needed the break!
Here’s a couple more pics taken from the climb:
After around 30 mins the top of the mountain was in sight:
We climbed the final set of steps and were absolutely blown away by the views up here. You could see for miles. All of the little boats making their way up the river, through the valley were tiny. This was so worth the hike and I’m so glad we decided on this, rather than the boat ride.
Check these out:
I really don’t think photos can do justice to the incredible view here. Holly did actually say it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen and I might have to agree with her. Breathtaking.
And here’s the cheeky dragon, sitting proudly at the top of it all:
KARAOKE
We spent a while up at the top, mesmerised by the view and needing to cool off after the climb.
When we hiked back down and picked the bikes up, we decided to stop for a quick drink at the nearest restaurant.
While we were there, a bunch of local guys – the only others in the restaurant – were singing karaoke. Pretty standard for Vietnam. Everywhere you go, you’ll find someone obsessed with karaoke.
They were first singing Vietnamese songs, but then moved onto some Western songs, which we recognised. They asked if I would sing with them and not wanting to disappoint, I got up and sang some Elton John with a few of the Vietnamese guys.
Great fun and a hilarious end to an awesome day.
We rode back to the hotel, got some food and a good night’s rest.
ONTO CAT BA ISLAND
After spending two nights in Tam Coc, we were moving on again and this time to Cat Ba Island.
More adventures await. Read on for more….
