Being very brave in Tam Coc

26.2.23

We opted for eggs and bread for breakfast today at the Anh Buong Home stay in Tam Coc. We’d suddenly realised at 9.10 am that we only had 20 mins before we were too late for breakfast.

We decided to take advantage of the Homestays’ motorbike hire, an amazing 100,000 a day (£3.50) I guess you get what you pay for, no horn, very poor back brakes, and no speedo. From everything I’ve read this is about normal.
So off we went regardless.

Our first stop was for gasolene. Several people sell it alongside the road but we were told to go to a proper fuel station as it’s no good for the engines and more expensive.
At least we know that despite everything else they care about the engines.

We went to Hang Mua Viewpoint, 5.5 km away. Admission fee 100k each. (£3.50)
The first thing John did was walk into a small cave, like loads of other people did, but unlike them he walked straight into a large puddle and had squelchy feet for the rest of the time here.

It was fabulous, loads of steps again but worth it. Incredible views.

When we got right to the very top it did feel a bit scary as the only thing between us and millions of feet below was a couple of metal chains. Everyone wanted the photo opportunity for Instagram.. It was a nightmare, crammed in while some guy took a million photos of a woman dressed as many were, in red, with white fur and a bow an arrow.

I was unable to compete.
My 20 minutes getting ready didn’t include a perfect bouncy blow dry, flawless make up and Sunday fancy dress.

After a while we gave up waiting for the photo shoot to end and made our way back down as it became more claustrophobic and scary. The steps were very high and uneven, one poor woman was clinging to a rock terrified to move as she tried to go down them.

Back down a level it was time for more amateur shots before heading off.

I definitely recommend a visit here. Just stunning.

Next we drove to Trang An, 10 minutes drive away, to do the long boat journey and see some caves.It was really busy, I guess because of it being Sunday.

Everyone wants you to park at their places, but we didn’t know that. A lady suddenly appeared in the middle of the road waving us into her spaces. ‘Get out the way!’ yelled John as we have no horn.
Next was an old man with both arms outstretched. ‘Get out the way’ yelled John. No reaction. ‘Get out of the f*c*i*g way’ he screamed.
Don’t these people realise we have no back brakes?

Safely parked we went towards the entrance for the boats. It’s advertised as a 2 to 3 hour trip so we decided to have a snack beforehand.Doner kebabs.. But not as we know them in Turkey. Theyre pork and quite fatty.

They also had hot dog sausages.
‘Can we have 1 doner and hot dog sausage in bread please.’
‘No. The sausage is on a stick.’
Google translate. – No. Only the meat comes in bread.

Opposite was another doner stall.
‘Can we have 1 doner and one sausage in bread. Hot dog?’
‘Ok.’ Great.

While I was finishing mine John went to queue for tickets.
I started to think he’d found a beautiful woman with a bow and arrow and left me.
Eventually he reappeared and we joined loads of other people in a very decorative underpass to the river on the other side of the road.

There was a woman helping to allocate boats with a megaphone, whatever she said was totally ignored and people kept pushing past both of us and the young couple they decided to put us with, as it’s a minimum 4 people per boat.
Pandemonium. She gave up and took us over to the left side where no one else was and off we went.

None us us fell in. Result!

The boat took us to small temples but we couldn’t be bothered to risk falling in to explore them.
We went into 3 different caves of various lengths. They were all fabulous.

The young Dutch couple with us were really nice. They’ve worked with loads of Turkish people in the Netherlands and we chatted about how friendly and generous they are, how awful the earthquake has been and the plans to house them elsewhere. They were good company and once again we had amazing views. It was such a clear warm day too, just perfect.

We made it back to Tam Coc safely and had a well deserved rest before going out for food.
We opted for Trung Kien again, where we had lunch on our first day. 1 rice dish, 1 noodle dish, chicken spring rolls and iced coffee.
It didn’t disappoint.

It’s been a fabulous day, apart from gripping John very tight and squealing a couple of times I enjoyed the motorbike.Unfortunately I can’t cycle, so how something stays up on 2 wheels is a bit of a mystery.The roads were great, nice and smooth and very little traffic.

The only thing we didn’t like were the stalls on the side of the road with dead goats on them. Complete with heads. They were hairless and a shiny brown colour.We saw one being blow torched as if it was a creme brulee. What’s wrong with selling strawberries or oranges?

The only good thing is that all the goat dishes here are much more expensive, so hopefully demand is low.

We finished watching ‘Clarksons Farm’, no goats but a lovely white cow called Pepper that has probably captured everyones hearts.
So sad it’s over, the season went way too fast.
A great way to end a fabulous day in stunning Tam Coc and time to make plans for tomorrow.