Halong Bay-Hanoi-Tam Coc: Towards Stunning Scenery

The look and sound of a wet road and the repetitive whine of windscreen wipers are inextricably linked to my memories of childhood Saturdays, and as we make our way back to Hanoi from Halong Bay in the “limousine bus” this particular Saturday is doing its best to trigger those memories. We knew to expect inclement weather during this spell, it’s that time of year here in the north.

No visit to Hanoi is complete without a trip to Train Street, so, given that we are passing back through the city at a weekend when there are more trains scheduled than at other times, we play the game of grabbing a seat at a trackside cafe, ordering a couple of beers and waiting for the thrill. Our timing is good and we don’t have to wait long: two trains in the first half hour.

How strange this whole thing is, the hulking trains rumbling through within inches of both us and the cafes and shops. As the warning comes and the train approaches, shopkeepers wind in the awnings and remove displays, cafe owners reposition tables and chairs and parents call the children indoors – all to avoid anything being struck by the train as it passes through the tight space. For visitors like us, it’s then quite exhilarating as it roars right past, so close. Time was, before Hanoi latched on to the tourist opportunity of Train Street and opened up the cafes, these buildings were simple family dwellings tight up against the rails. We can only wonder whether disasters were regular.

Later as we chopstick our way through the tasty street food in the heart of Hanoi’s Saturday night buzz, the atmosphere is so good, so enjoyable. Some streets in the old town are closed to traffic tonight and live bands and dance corps do their thing on temporary stages, travellers mix with the bright young things of Hanoi and the whole night feels alive. Even the occasional heavy shower seems to add to the sense of fun. As we head off to bed it dawns on us that we’ve done more than lay our ghosts here, we’ve actually fallen just a little bit in love with Hanoi. It’s a welcoming, entertaining and vibrant city and this time around we are leaving with very fond memories.

But by Monday it’s time to move on, leave the undoubted joys of Hanoi and its record breaking number of mopeds behind, and head for the hills. Two hours on the “limousine bus” later we are settling in to our next home in the small town of Tam Coc, located in the lush green territory of Ninh Binh province, wondering if we’ve somehow brought a piece of England with us….it’s drizzling and it’s chilly.

Actually, the temperature plummeted last night back in Hanoi – the normally T-shirt clad locals suddenly multi-layered, umbrella’d and waterproofed – and at two hours we obviously haven’t moved far enough away to escape the weather trend. We knew to expect this, as we said earlier, but we also knew, or rather hoped, that Tam Coc would look stunningly beautiful in any kind of weather – and we aren’t disappointed, this place is amazing.

Of course, its wonderful scenery is partly down to the fact that it is fantastically lush with at least fifty shades of green, and you don’t get that level of lush without a plentiful supply of water. But it’s not just the greenery: the Ninh Binh Province is another fine example of limestone karst scenery, like having a Halong Bay a hundred miles inland. To say Tam Coc/Ninh Binh is spectacular is an understatement.

Again, the karst limestone giants rise in almost vertical pedestals, creating in the process every form of clever and crazy design you can imagine, and a few more which you wouldn’t. Maybe what completes the surreal look of a karst landscape though is what lies between each peak: nothing. Well, nothing irregular, anyway, the land between the giant towers being perfectly flat and showing no hint of undulation – between these peaks the land is less than four metres above sea level. Consequently the main constant here is water, and not only falling from the sky. Rivers, tributaries and rivulets flow between the rocky highs, lakes form at narrow entrances to caves, and all around are rice fields where the succulent bright green plants stand knee deep in the water which seems to cover every square inch of land between the villages and the karst giants.

Boating along the Ngo Dong River (aka Red River) is fun, not least because your “driver” propels the little craft along the river by operating the oars with his or her feet – it must take a hefty period of practice to perfect the technique, and the learning curve must surely involve an enormous amount of muscle pain. As our lady driver guides us along, storks feed among the rice fields and alight on the cliffs, fish leap from the water at the sight of a fly and goats risk life and limb to feed on the cliff edge.

A few kilometres down the road from Tam Coc lies Trang An, another boating opportunity with an even more spectacular collection of monster karsts but this time without the rice fields. Passing through any of the cave tunnels beneath these monoliths is a surreal experience, some over 300 metres long as they twist and turn through the belly of the limestone. The cave roofs and stalactites drop so low that we have to bend double in the little boat, head between our knees, to avoid stoney contact. These routes would be a challenge to anyone either inflexible or claustrophobic!

When we emerge from the echoey darkness into an area where the waterway is trapped between the hills, the peace and serenity is close to perfection, only bird calls and the plop of the oars to break the silence. On both boat trips our eyes are unavoidably drawn to the scenery, knowing all the time that we are witnessing a landscape which exists in very few places around the world – not quite unique but certainly dramatic and beautiful.

Temples from the Tran dynasty lie hidden in the greenery, most accessible only by boat and footpath, some beautifully housed in caves, others looming in the foliage to look out across the water, all of them guarded by “dragon crane” birds (called Chin Lac) and housing shining golden statues. This dynasty ruled an area roughly equivalent to today’s North Vietnam from 1225 to 1400, garnering a reputation for fierce fighting, high intellect and scientific advancement, playing pioneering roles in both medicine and the development of gunpowder. Today these small temples, filled with the scent of incense, display impressive statuary and colourful artwork: we hike to some, call in by boat to others.

Tam Coc village is definitely on the traveller map and definitely on the backpacker trail, its main street packed with great little family restaurants, its back roads dotted with homestays like ours. Like other similar places which act as a gateway to spectacular sights, it has a certain convivial evening feel to it which is so familiar to the traveller. Its appeal is instant. Even when it rains (Note – actually, during our few days here the rain held off and the mercury started to creep up).

We could happily stay here a few days more, but there’s a whole country to explore….and a sleeper train to catch…