Tam Coc, Ninh Binh.
I left Hanoi today, although will be back on May 11th, for my final night before returning back to Toronto the next day.
I got picked up by the bus a few minutes before 10, and later transferred to a shuttle van for the remainder of the journey. It should have been a journey of a little over two hours, as it’s only about about 66 miles, but with awful traffic, perhaps because today is Reunification Day and a holiday weekend, it actually took a little over five hours until I actually got dropped off at my hotel, the Vista Tam Coc, in the Tam Coc area of Ninh Binh.
The drive was uneventful, in bumper-to-bumper traffic much of the time, and I dozed on and off, intermittently. Clearly the rules of the road here are there are no rules of the road, and quite frequently cars and trucks heading south, the direction in which we were traveling, would simply pass into the opposite traffic lane, in effect turning this into a two-lane road, turning back into the correct lane only at the last minute when traffic was coming the other way, and even then the opposite direction traffic would sometimes have to swerve over toward the sidewalk in order to get out of the way. No one seemed to mind, even a cop who was traveling in the wrong lane himself, with multiple cars behind him. The thing is, all this lane changing didn’t really make up any time, as it was bumper-to-bumper traffic for miles and miles and miles and miles. I hope the driver gets to stay in Ninh Binh for the night, rather than driving back into Hanoi.
We arrived in the Tam Coc area of Ninh Bin around 3, and along the way I could see why this area is known as the inland Hạ Long Bay, with giant Karst cliffs and towers rising from the ground all around us. It is really a beautiful area, and got increasingly beautiful as we neared Tam Coc.
Tam Coc is a beautiful, small area, and clearly a major tourist attraction, again perhaps especially this weekend. Our driver, whizzing along these narrow streets, avoiding motorbikes, other cars, and pedestrians only at the last instant, took very small back roads and dirt roads, as he dropped off passengers at different hotel locations in the area, saving me to last. I walked the last couple of hundred yards, and was not only delighted with this rural back road, off the main downtown and very busy main road, but the hotel as well, the Vista Tam Coc, which is also a restaurant. Another winner!
I was greeted by a lovely and sweet young woman, Hiền, the daughter of the owners it turns out, and checked in. I needed to stay another night though, as I can’t catch the train to Huế until Monday, but she asked if I could pay in cash. I didn’t have that much, as it’s over a million dong in local currency (it was actually 1,360,000 dong, about $52), so she asked if she could drive me into town to an ATM, and so onto another small motorcycle we hopped. I enjoyed the ride, and needed to take out extra money anyway, and back we went to the hotel we went. This is a visitor spot, so there are there many hotel and restaurants around here, as well as spas, on these side roads and along back dirt roads, as well as the main downtown area.
I liked the area and the town immediately. Upon arriving back at the hotel, I met Hiền’s mother, Duyên, who didn’t seem old enough to be her mother, and who turns out to just a couple of years older than Kaye. Happily for me, they both spoke pretty good English, and were both really helpful. They also rent out these small motorcycles, e-bikes, and bicycles, and I may yet rent a motorcycle tomorrow. The international driving license thing doesn’t seem to matter here (which was also true for renting a motorcycle in Hanoi), although they did want to make sure I had a U.S. motorcycle license, and warned me that driving here is dangerous because of the crazy traffic.
I settled into my very nice room, in this very nice hotel, which is brand new, just a year or so old, and then headed out for a walk into town, about half mile away. I love it here, but do notice that there is a lot of trash here, thrown by the side of the roads and along the river bank, which is definitely in contrast to this eco-sensitive area and how clean Hanoi was, despite it’s crowded and street-life conditions.
I was about to head out for a walk into town, now around 6 pm, when Duyên, who is the owner of the hotel and restuarant, suggested I first go up top the roof on the fourth floor which is set up as an lounge and observation area, and watch the sunset, which I did. Man, is it lovely here!
I walked into town and rambled around for a couple of hours, checking out the river, markets, and back streets, with many stores, souvenir shops, spas, and local tour offices all along the street. Because I arrived so late in the day (I thought I’d be here around noon), it was getting dark, and was dark by the time I left the downtown area to return to the Vista Tam Coc. The town was jumping, with many people, young and old, local and visitors, alike, with quite the night scene, bars, restaurants, and hotels everywhere along the main drag, with non-stop traffic in both directions.
I continued walking the town, covering maybe three miles, back and forth, karst cliffs and towers in the background, and lights twinkling on as dusk fell, and the whole downtown area was jumping.
It was dark by the time I got around to visiting the harbor, lit up, with its sampan boats and decorations.
Today is Reunification Day, and by the town harbor there was a stage with a local celebratory show, very much like that which I saw in Hanoi last night, but not as slick, and with a far smaller audience.
As I arrived back at the Vista Tam Coc, Duyênwas sitting outside with Hiền, Cuing, her husband and co-owner, and his parents (both younger than me, although you wouldn’t know it; I told Duyênthey were just kids), and she invited me to join them, which I did, and we talked for maybe 45 minutes. Very friendly and hospitable. That’s when I learned they own this hotel, and had the restaurant before, in the downtown area, and built this a couple of years ago, opening just last year. Hiền, age 20, is a university student in Hanoi, studying international business, and her 17-year-old son is in high school, but lazy she told me. Duyênwas interested to learn about me also, and I enjoyed spending time with her and her family.
Then up to my room, first visiting the roof one more time, and by 9:30 I could hardly keep my eyes open, so to bed. Tomorrow, I’ll take the Duyên’s advice as to what I should do and see in the area. Now to sleep.
