Phong Nha - Caves, Rivers and Hiking - In Photos

While the rest of the world is in various stages of lock-down due to Covid19, here in Vietnam we have been fortunate to have very few cases and to be able to carry on (mostly) as normal.  While international travel has not been possible, it has been a great opportunity to explore parts of Vietnam.  

At the end of November I went on a boys camping trip in Phong Nha.  This area is well known for the mountainous landscape and numerous caves.  Some of the caves have only been discovered in the last 10 to 20 years.  Son Doong Cave, which is the largest cave in the world, was only discovered in 2009. It therefore made sense that this camping trip would include caves and hiking.  We booked the Hang Tien 3 day / 2 night trip through Oxalis.  We stayed an extra night before the trip started and an extra night after the trip ended.  This gave us an opportunity to also explore a bit of Phong Nha town and surrounds.  

The rest of this blog post is mostly photos from that trip :)

The 5 of us that had travelled up from HCMC:  Thien, Ali, Bas, me, and Jon

And the rest of the tour group.  We were 11 in total.  
The Oxalis support team, which consisted of guides, porters and chefs, was about 12 in total.

The camp site on the 1st night

This is where you get clean at the end of the day.

Warming up at the end of day 1

And enjoying a feast

We spent a LOT of time in the rivers.  No point trying to stay dry

Stopping for coffee and a picnic lunch

And then back to the rivers

Camp at the end of day 2

And here we are at the end of three days of hiking

On our extra day in Phong Nha we took a boat to see the Phong Nha cave

This cave is quite different to the ones we had seen over the last 3 days.  This cave has boardwalks and lighting and is setup for mass tourism.  We were fortunate though to have this beautiful place to ourselves.

And then it was time to head home.

Thanks to Ali and Jon for contributing photos for this blog post. 

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.