Beautiful Tam Coc

For those that live in Vietnam or have visited here, neighbouring Ninh Binh is probably better known.  But for those planning a trip here, don't look any further than Tam Coc.  Ninh Binh is advertised as a day-trip destination from Hanoi.  It takes about 2 hours each way, and you can squeeze in a boat ride, lunch and a visit to a viewpoint.  We had considered this option on our first trip to Vietnam and had decided against it.  It felt like too much travelling for one day and like the experience would be rushed.  We didn't know then that we would be moving to Vietnam and would have lots of opportunities to see more of this great country.  Three years later and we finally made our way to this part of Vietnam.  Without a doubt, this area, and specifically Tam Coc, is one of the most beautiful parts of Vietnam.  If you are visiting Vietnam and trying to decide whether to visit this area, you definitely should.  But I would recommend trying to fit in a few days here.  

Tam Coc is part of the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The main attraction here is the limestone mountains, rice fields, rivers, and various temples.  We ended up spending 5 nights in Tam Coc.  More than enough if you are looking to see all the main attractions, but just the right amount for a relaxing break from the city.  

We stayed at Tam Coc Wonderland Bungalow, located at the foot of the mountain shown above.  This is a family run accommodation and they could not have been more welcoming or friendly.  One of our favourite activities was to take the free bicycles provided and to explore the surrounding area. 

A popular activity when visiting this area is to take a boat, either at Tam Coc or at Trang An, and to enjoy the scenery and explore the numerous caves and tunnels. First up, we tried the boat ride at Trang An.

Although the water is not deep, you will be expected to wear a life jacket. 

Tip:  Take an umbrella for protection against the sun

An interesting water plant that looks like thousands of fluffy cat tails

We stopped at a few temples along the way

And the route that we picked (you can choose from 3) passed through 9 tunnels

Trang An is about 12km from Tam Coc.  You can either hire a scooter for the day, or arrange a driver to take you there.  Note that there are not too many taxi options here.  On the way to Trang An we stopped at Hang Mua Peak for a sunrise hike to the top.  It was great to beat the crowds and have the viewpoint to ourselves.  

The river that the Tam Coc boat rides travel along.  

You can see the start of a tunnel on the right-hand side

View from above of a lotus field

The lotus field from up close

And some open lotus flowers

Since we had a lot of time to spare in Tam Coc, we decided to also try the boat ride here.  The big difference between the boat ride here and at Trang An is that paddling at Tam Coc is done using leg power!  

A few of the other sites that we enjoyed visiting were Bich Dong Pagoda (an easy bike ride from Tam Coc), Hoa Lu (the ancient capital of Vietnam in the 10th century), and Bai Dinh Pagoda (apparently Southeast Asia's largest Buddhist Complex). 

Entrance gate to Bich Dong Pagoda

The main temple is carved into the mountain side

The entrance gate to Hoa Lu

A water buffalo

Bai Dinh Pagoda, above and below, covering over 700 hectares

The Bai Dinh Pagoda was constructed between 2003 and 2010, and includes various structures like this bell tower (above), various temples, and a tower (below).

And a few more photos from our time spent exploring the area surrounding Tam Coc.

Coming from HCMC, we found that the easiest way to get to Tam Coc is via Hanoi (fly into Hanoi and arrange transport there and back).  It was also an excuse to spend a bit of time in Hanoi. 

View of a lit up St Joseph's Cathedral in the Old Quarter, Hanoi

For those that are still reading, a tip for when you plan your holiday to Vietnam (or anywhere really): www.thecrazytourist.com - I found this website while planning this holiday and it definitely helped convince me that this was the right place to visit :)

And finally an update on the Covid19 situation.  Unfortunately Vietnam is now experiencing a 2nd wave of the corona virus.  This time round seems to be more serious with over 100 cases reported in the last week and also several deaths.  All travel plans for the rest of the year are on hold and once again masks, daily temperature checks, hand sanitiser and social distancing are the order of the day.

Diving in Nha Trang (and other relaxing things)

Our summer holidays for 2020 were something we had been looking forward to for ages.  For the last 2 years we have been planning a trip that had been on our 'to do' list for a very long time:  A safari trip through Namibia and Botswana.  And the best part was that we were going to share the experience with very good friends Everett and Frances.  Justin has known Ev since they were 6 years old.  But 2020 had other plans and so we ended up having to make other plans as well.

The Covid19 pandemic has had a major impact all around the world, but some countries have been fortunate and have been hardly impacted.  Vietnam is one such country.  At the same time that America is dealing with over 1.5 million cases of the virus, Vietnam has had less than 400 cases. And there has been no community transmission for at least the last 3 months.  Domestic travel has opened up again, and essentially it is life as normal for most people living in Vietnam.  This was therefore the perfect opportunity to explore more of this beautiful country.  

Over the last few months I have also been working on my Open Water Diver course through PADI.  The online theory was complete.  The confined pool dives had been completed in Saigon. The only part remaining was the open water dives to complete the course.  I found a great dive company, Rainbow Divers, that run dives out of Nha Trang and signed up.  

As the first 6 months of the year had been quite hectic, we decided that we would take the opportunity to have a proper break; at least 2 weeks.  Week 1 would be spent in Nha Trang and week 2 in what must be considered one of Vietnam's most beautiful areas:  Tam Coc. This blog covers Nha Trang.  Next time, Tam Coc.  

There were 4 open water dives spread over 2 days.  The dives focus on practicing skills learnt, and diving to depths of up to 18m.

Vietnam is not renowned for diving, and I wasn't expecting much.  But, to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised.  The coral was in a good state, we saw a large range of different types of fish, and the visibility was great.  

Ben, my instructor, demonstrating how to create a ring of air.

Vietnam has seen a significant increase in the number of international tourists over the last few years; 10 million in 2016, 13 million in 2017, 15.5 million in 2018 and 18 million in 2019.  But with borders closed and unlikely to open any time soon, the tourism sector has had to find other ways to keep the tourism industry alive.  And so, to encourage domestic tourism, there are specials being offered on flights, accommodation and tours.  With so many great specials on offer, we decided to snatch up a few in Nha Trang.  We therefore booked stay at two of the fancier resorts in Nha Trang; places we would not normally even consider.  First up was the Amiana Resort on the mainland for 4 nights, and then we moved on to the MerPerle Resort on Hon Tam Island for 3 nights. 

Amiana resort was fairly busy when we were there.  Partially due to our stay being over a weekend.  MerPerle however was very quiet; probably less than 20% occupancy.  Whilst it was nice to have the beach and swimming pool largely to ourselves, there was a distinct lack of atmosphere and we were left wondering how these resorts manage to stay open.  

Enjoying a sunset walk on the beach at MerPerle Resort

Most of the time it felt like we were the only ones on the island

We also enjoyed some sightseeing whilst in Nha Trang.  We explored Ponagar Tower, Long Son Pagoda, and also visited the Museum of Oceanography.  

Some photos from our visit to Ponagar Tower...

A Lotus flower about to open, above, and after losing all its petals, below.
The Lotus seeds are then extracted and used to make tea, and in cooking and baking.

And from our visit to Long Son Pagoda...

Before arriving in Nha Trang we had already identified Ponagar Tower and Long Son Pagoda as two places we wanted to visit.  But we were not sure what to expect from our visit to the Museum of Oceanography.  Is it a museum?  Or is it an aquarium?  How big is it?  And would it be worth visiting?

The answer is that it is mostly an aquarium, but also has sections that are distinctly museum like - like the large room that is filled with thousands of specimens stored in bottles.   It is surprisingly big and sort of unravels as you explore.  More than once we thought we had reached the end only to find the next section to be explored around the corner.  And on the question of is it worth visiting: yes.  We paid 20,000 Vietnamese Dong each to enter (less than U$ 1), and for that price did not expect much.  But considering the wide variety of displays and that you can easily spend an hour exploring here, it is worth visiting. 

And our final tip for if you are considering visiting Nha Trang:  Find the Rainforest Cafes (there are two of them).  A great selection of food and drinks, a relaxing atmosphere, and the staff were extremely welcoming.  

Next time:  Beautiful Tam Coc