Tam Coc

Called the Halong Bay in the rice fields, this place is even more beautiful. Same Karst rock formations (created by dragons no doubt) today covered in mist, well, a light drizzle, but looking all the more mysterious for that. Shared a small flat boat with a young Dutch guy and we were paddled around for 2 hours to see the sites. Some of the Vietnamese were rowing with their feet, whatever dexterity is with feet, that was it.





The trip included caverns as long as 128m under the rocks and only just enough room for head clearance. As the Dutch guy said, glad it was low tide!



This place was at one time the capital of Vietnam, and we visited two temples, build by the Emperor who first named the country in this way back in 1130. The locals light 3 incense sticks and bow 3 times, once for the sky, once for the earth and once for their ancestors. Very beautiful, place, shame about us tourists.



Very glad I made an investment in a raincoat, 50p, and not the height of fashion but it will come in useful I think. The tourist bus has dropped me in Ninh Binh at 4pm and the sleeper bus to Hue will pick me up here ar 9.30. Too cold and damp to go anywhere but just into The Name of the Rose again so should get through a few pages tonight.