Today was the second organised tour, this time to visit the ancient capital of Vietnam, Hua Lo and the Tam Coc region. Our tour guide described the region as the Ha Long Bay inland. Turned out, that was a pretty accurate characterisation, I think. (I'm off to Halong Bay in two days time, so I'll confirm then.)
I was picked up early by the tour bus, so got to see some of the old quarter of Hanoi from a bus window while we collected the rest of the group - 26 tourists; big group! It was interesting seeing more of the city and reassuring when I recognised parts of it I'd already visited.
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| Street Scene of Old Quarter, Hanoi | A random cathedral that we drove past |
Then we set off for a two-hour mini-bus ride on a freeway (of sorts), with the obligatory stop halfway for a comfort break and to shop in the tourist station purpose-built for the task. The countryside was mostly flat, agricultural land (it seemed) but then as we arrived in the Ninh Binh province, the geology changed sharply.
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| The countryside between Hanoi and Hua Lo | An illustration of the dramatic landscape
and the conventional building approach |
Hua Lo is the ancient first capital of Vietnam, established by the first king (who coordinated the rebellion to end 1000 years of Chinese domination) and developed by the second king (a general that the queen married when the first king died and his heir was only six-years-old). The area we visited is the site of the capital (I believe) and contains two temples, one to each king. The capital area is a big open space where (I assume) bamboo houses and business were originally built but have been taken down or rotted after the capital moved to Hanoi (in about 1000 AD). So, not much to see, other than the temples. The only other thing to note was that it was 38 degrees and probably 80+% humidity and very little breeze. And I had made the mistake of wearing long pants!
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| Another indication of the dramatic landscape | The entry to the capital. Only the king may enter through the middle gate.
Buddhists enter on the right and exit on the left, I'm told |
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| A diorama of the capital |
There are, apparently, four important animal spirits: the dragon (King), the phoenix (queen), the unicorn and the turtle. The first king adopted the dragon as his motif but the second king, because he was not born to the role was awarded the motif of a Trout. It is believed that if a trout can climb a waterfall, it will become a dragon! So, him becoming king by marrying a queen made him look like a trout. I love this story!
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Entry to the King's Temple
Note the dragons on the pedestals | The second King's temple.
No dragons here as he married the queen |
The five-coloured flag is a traditional Vietnamese banner, representing the five elements: fire, earth, metal, water and air.
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| A dragon bed outside the king's temple | A ceremonial chair carried around the temple site on 8 March each year, celebrating the queen (another chair represents the king) |
From Hua Lo, we travelled to Tam Coc, where we were fed in a buffet restaurant that was doing a roaring trade in tour groups and managing pretty well to keep the food up to the ravening hordes. Then a short bus ride to the other side of the main waterway/lake to meet up with our boat trip up a river. This was a very peaceful trip that was probably 40 mins too long, for me, but definitely showed off the gorgeous countryside. The boat captain was an old woman, who swapped with her daughter about halfway up the river. They, and all the other rowers paddled with their feet, constantly for the whole 90+ minutes. They must be unbelievably fit!
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| A million small boats to take tourists around | Heading off up river |
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| Captain Mother | Captain Daughter |
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| A dragon monument and pagoda on the top of one of the hills | Adjacent the dragon, phoenixes sit on the hillside |
The river passed under the hills on three occasions - low, dark tunnels, carved by the river over time. (I was sitting behind a Chinese man - who had no English, in spite of being on an English-speaking tour - and that's him you can see clipped into these photos.)
I took dozens of photos of the surrounding countryside on the river, which I can share with anyone interested, but they are all pretty much the same as what you see in the photos above. It's beautiful, serene, (hot!) country.
The last part of the tour was a bicycle ride on a gravel road back along the river to visit another temple and to see the sights from a different angle. It goes without saying, the bike was not new, or particularly safe, nor could it be adjusted to my size, but it did the job.
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| The main courtyard outside the temple. The gate and flags opposite. |
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| The temple through the main gate | A pagoda in the temple |
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| The offering shrines |
After getting back to the main centre of Tam Coc, we re-boarded our bus and drove back into Hanoi. It fell dark on the drive and finally rained, though it was mostly lightning. By the time I was dropped off near my hotel (I recognised where we were and got off earlier than my stop), I was keen to have something to eat, a beer, and then a shower and bed. (That's why this entry is only going up now.)
I decided to go back to the San Ga cafe because it was close and I knew it served nice food. While I was there having dinner, there was great excitement in the quite busy cafe; the train was coming. So, that was a bonus. I got to be in the cafe as the train sped past, so close that I swear you can reach out and touch it as it goes by.
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| Patrons enjoying a beer | Boom! A train roars by | Close enough to touch |
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