Vietnam Dec 2023 Day 4

Day 4

13 Dec 2023

Tam Coc, Thung Nang, Thung Nham, Linc Coc 

Today I am on cycling tour outside of Tam Coc Town, into the rural areas to look at Vietnamese hamlets (villages). The planned route was to Thung Nang, Linc Coc and Thung Nham.

First stop was the wet market on Tam Coc. This is Singapore in the 50s and 60s. I love to visit wet market because you can tell how ordinary people live. 

Chickens and pig sold in cages on motorbikes!

On the way towards Thung Nang,

They beauty of rural Ninh Binh is unquestionable. These are photos taken on the way to Thung Nang.

I stopped in Thung Nang where boat tours are available, but I had preferred to tour this area on bicycle. December is off peak season and I saw many empty boats and rowers are waiting for visitors.

Cycling to the nearby Thung Nang Hamlet is very scenic.

At Thung Nang, there is a big temple.

Near this temple, the canal is full of blooming water lilies. 

I saw villagers fishing from the river. Pig, goats and chicken were running around farmers houses and ducks swimming in the ponds.

From this hamlet, I cycled to Linc Coc, another places where boat tours are also available. But there were hardly any tourists at this time of the year. The scenery was equally breathtaking.

My next itinerary was the Thung Nham Bird Park. 

I didn't see much birds flying around or in the park or pond. This place look more like a very beautiful botanical garden with very unique landscaping.

Out from Bird Park, I cycled into a Den Mau hamlet. It was unplanned and I soon ended up on narrow bicycle track that brought back fond memories of my childhood days. 

This hamlet reminded me of my childhood days, cycling through Jalan Ulu Sembawang. It was quiet and desolate. Like in my old kampong, the houses had doors wide opened, occasionally, the dogs would barked. There was the smell of farmers burning leaves and rubbish that filled the air. But here the scenery were just refreshing and spectacular.

I had Beef Pho for lunch near Bich Dong Pagoda with the view of the entrance. 

After lunch, I continued my cycling to Hou Lu Ancient Capital. This was the capital of ancient Vietnamese Kingdom in the 10th century. It's a citadel surrounded by limestone Hill to protect itself from the Chinese. To the northwest is Hoang Long River. Inside this citadel were temple solely for the Emperor. The tomb of the first Emperor is located here.

These were photos of Tam Coc town taken in the last few days. This tourist town have many places of accommodation and food outlets. Most of the accommodation are family operated, converted from private residential houses and are call  "Homestay"

.