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I choose to do a tour out to Tam Coc – the collection of Karst outcrop that shares similarities with Ha Long bay but on land. A trip to Ha Long bay is the usual tour out of town but given the weather I am inclined to give it a miss. I later find that Ha Long is so touristy that I am glad for my choice.
The tour is with the Sinh Tourist and involves a 3 hour bus trip down to the town of Ninh Binh. The road out of Hanoi is quite ordinary – concrete slabs that have shifted over time with the rain mak crossing each seam a jolt. The guide says it is a real Vietnamese massage. Just before Ninh Binh we stop to visit a temple (bugger didn’t get the name) that was built by former rulers of Vietnam when they had their capital at Ninh Binh. Approaching the temple we start seeing the Karst outcrops, breaking hundreds of metres up of the paddy field around them. They are impressive despite the gloomy conditions.
We drive another 30 minutes to take lunch at a restaurant near Tam Coc pier. A funny thing happened to me
at the restaurant. I wanted another drink, and without thinking I turned and yelled "em ay" across the room to get the attention of the waitress. It was impulsive and exactly wanted the Viet do to get service. I immediately thought that I must be here...
After lunch the group wanders down to the peir and is broken into pairs to be rowed out in the paddy fields. I spend the boat ride paired with Kenji, a native of Osaka, Japan who is in Vietnam for a company supplying services to road infrastructure projects. The boat ride is in a rowboat in which the rower alternates between rowing using his hands and his feet to drive the oars. A very unusual style when he reverts to his feet – he is so skilful it appears that the oars are strapped to his feet.
We are taken along a river winding its way through lush paddy field. All around are the Karst outcrops. The river passes through 3 narrow caves – a very stunning ride. Kenji tells me it is much more spectacular than Ha Long.
After passing through the 3rd cave the boats stop and we are assaulted by a
wave of boats with vendors trying to sell drinks, food and various knick-knacks. We return along the same route. The norm is that the return trip is when the rowers try to seller you some tourist goods – clothing, embroidery etc. As we have a male rower without any goods, Kenji and I are spared the hard sell. Another female rower pulls aside us and makes a token attempt at generating a sale.
When we return to the pier and regather our group, all are in a very bubbly mood. The group is a diverse mix of nationalities – Japs, Americans, French and Chileans. We converse in a number of languages and bonheur carries us through the bumpy return to Hanoi.
In the evening I have dinner with a couple of French from the trip, brother and sister, Serge and Catherine. We swap stories about ourselves and family in a mish-mash of French and English.
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