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While Ha Long Bay wasn’t as great as what I had expected, my third day itinerary has given me a satisfying trip with an unique experience. There were 15 of us, and we paid USD20 each to book for a day trip to Hoa Lu - the ancient capital city of Vietnam under the Dinh Dynasty.
The journey from Hanoi to Hoa Lu via highway took us about 2.5 hours, with 1 stop along the way.
Rice grains were easily spotted everywhere in Hoa Lu. They were left on the floor under sunshine for drying.
Hoa Lu Tam Coc - The Little Ha Long Bay
Our first stop in Hoa Lu, was a visit to Tam Coc (means three caves) at Boi River. Similar to Ha Long Bay, Tam Coc is also known for its picturesque limestone caves and islets.
Why should you visit yet another topology of limestone caves? Trust me, Tam Coc is not just “yet another limestone caves”; it offered me a distinctive experience.
Along the way to Boi River dock, you will find many stalls selling conical hats. This is because, the 2-hour boat ride under direct sunshine could potentially be quite hot for your skin. To me, I found it all right; as it was year end, the outdoor temperature was around 18C - 20C, comfortably cool despite the direct sunshine.
Visit Limestone Caves by Sampan
At Ha Long Bay, we were boating on big junks on the sea. However, at Tam Coc, we were visiting the spectacular natural scenes by rowing sampan (we didn’t need to row ourselves la hehe). Imagine these:
- no sound and air pollution from mechanical engines
- you can hear sound of splashing water, which comes from the contact between rowing pads and water
- you’re enjoying the scenes from low level perspective (very close to water level)
- the limestone caves are all so near to you
By these simple descriptions above, I’m sure you can tell that it’s so different 
Tam Coc (three caves), as the name implies, we visited 3 cavernous limestone tunnels along the boat ride. When passing through every tunnel, we had to bend down our body and watch our head, as we wouldn’t want to return with bruised or injured head.
Believe me, the experience was a little trilling, and definitely distinctive. Feel free to relax your mind, temporarily forget about the bustling city, put yourself to enjoy and landscape. If you’re like me, then you will definitely enjoy the photography session too.
Potentially a Mood Spoiler
Most of the boatmen (or boatwomen) are not touring Tam Coc for full-time. In fact, most of them are farmers; and rowing Tam Coc tour is their part-time job. However, as there are many farmer families wishing to offer this service for additional income, they have to queue for their turn. Once they have got their turn, then they will want to make the most of out the 2-hour trip. So, in addition to the little fixed fare that they earn from each trip, all boats are playing secondary role as souvenirs and beverages stall.
After an hour of peaceful ride passing through the 3rd tunnel, you will immediately be greeted with another image of Tam Coc….
Firstly, from a serene river, you will then be coming to a small floating market like this. Plenty of boats were filled with snacks, fruits and drinks, trying to sell you something. They were all saying same thing - “he/she (the one rowing your boat) is very thirsty, buy him/her a drink”. Of course, everything are sold at much higher price too.
Besides, the boatwoman or boatlady will also be very friendly with you. Introducing herself, asking your name, where you’re coming from, praising that you’re very pretty or handsome… (marketing tricks ma)
Then, after going through these standard procedures, be prepared to be persuaded and convinced to buy a souvenir. In my experience, my gf were presented with quite a big collection of embroideries. As we were happy with some of the designs, and are comfortable with the price, so we bought 5 pieces of embroideries for USD10. If we didn’t buy from her, we will also be negotiating in Hanoi town.
While some of my friends were seriously annoyed by these marketing tricks on the returning journey, but my gf and I are still ok with it. Personally I think, as long as I’m ok with the price and services/products offered, I don’t mind contributing a little bit to the local economy, as poverty gap is really very huge in Vietnam.
The lady helped my gf and I to take 3 nice pictures too. So we happily tipped them as well. Basically, I’m happy and they are happy la hehe
Famous for Lamb
According to our tour guide, Hoa Lu is famous for lamb. So, we went to a near-by restaurant for steamboat lunch. And yes, we ordered some marinated lambs.
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beautiful photographs. i think vietnam is picturesque. but i didnt had a good experience with the people there, which marred such a beautiful country