Postcards from... Tam Cốc

Thanks to my crappy timetable, it was weeks before I saw anything outside Hà Nội. But in the meantime, I'd done loads of research, so when the time finally came, I knew exactly where I wanted to go and which operator I wanted to use. All the guide books gave this particular operator great reviews, their website was slick and professional... so what could possibly go wrong? Ha!

You know when you see a picture of a dish on a menu and then the meal comes and it's nothing like the picture? Well, this particular tour operator (who shall remain nameless) was like the disappointing meal. The staff were not friendly and they certainly weren't helpful. I enquired about a day trip to Hoa Lư (The Ancient Capital) which is priced at a steepish US$65pp (£41.50/€52) for a group trip. They laughed as they told me that not only did they have any group trips for the coming Thursday or Friday, but they had nothing for the next three weeks... However, they could take me on my own for the bargain price of US$135 (£86/€108) – more than it would cost for TWO people! Look, I may be a foreigner, and by virtue of that I may have money at my disposal but that is beyond a rip-off. Enraged, I left, still tourless.

So, the next day, having done some more research, I ventured into another office, which, at the time, was right opposite the Tour Operator Who Shall Remain Nameless, and enquired about a trip to Hoa Lư and Tam Cốc. And this is what I got: Sure. No problem. When would you like to go? Next Thursday? OK. You can join a group. That will be US$25. US$25?! (£16/€19) When across the road I was being held to ransom for US$135?! It was a no-brainer. I booked and paid for the tour on the spot.

Lotus leaves on the Ngô Đồng River

Known as "Hạ Long Bay on land", Tam Cốc (meaning 'three caves') is a section of the Ngô Đồng River that runs from the village of Văn Lâm through a scenic landscape of rice paddies and karst formations. Our trip involved a three-hour boat ride along the river, floating past lotus leaves, fishermen at work and of course, the three natural caves – Hang Cả, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba.


Since it was so hot, the boat people made the hat-less wear lotus leaves – I got the giggles every time I looked at this guy!



The first of the three caves

A woman fishing



The second of the three caves

The now sun-dried lotus leaf hat



The third and final cave

Life on the river

I took hundreds of photos on my three-hour boat ride, but sadly, the only ones I have left are the few medium-resolution ones I uploaded to Facebook. And to add insult to injury, they aren't even that good! Nonetheless, I think they give some impression of how lovely that part of the world was.