Halong Bay on Land?

by mikka




On Sunday, I took a brief break from lesson planning and the Present Perfect Continuous tense to take a day trip to Tam Coc, which is advertised as "Halong Bay on land," which confused me, until I got there (this ... might make more sense if I had posted photos of Halong Bay, which I promise I will soon). Tam Coc means "three caves" (I think?) and a trip there consists of getting into a tiny boat and being rowed through three caves that straddle the river. Most of the boats are rowed by women, and - like the real Halong Bay - it is inevitably quite touristy, with boats of tourists occasionally clacking into one another, but the entire area is astonishingly beautiful.



These guys were acting as the boat traffic directors on top of this narrow passageway.



Maggie, this photo is especially for you.

 
 









Above: a few more of the river and the palace ruins at Hoa Lu.