Hey there faithful readers, thanks for your patience with my posts about the recent trip to Vietnam. As I have mentioned frequently, it takes a lot more time to do these than you might imagine. Ideally I know I would post at the end of each day, but when I am actually really just enjoying myself in the moment, that frequently doesn’t work out as theoretically planned. Still, my travel notes are quite detailed, and looking back with a bit of a lapse in time also sometimes is a bit fun for me, as I relive the day in my memory.
In general terms, day 4 was a day of simply wandering around, exploring a few caves, and reflection on what appears to be the local obsession with ranking everything. As I had nothing actually planned, I took it slow this morning. At 8:55 AM I went down for breakfast at the hotel and just took my time enjoying the moment.
It wasn’t until 10:03 AM that I finally finished up (Yes, I was also surprised that I somehow stretched out the simple breakfast that long) and decided to hit the bathroom once more (always a strategic move) and then head over to Bich Dong. I was out walking by 10:29 AM.
Bich Dong Pagoda
I used Google maps for the walking instructions, and despite some rather hysterical past experiences I have had with this feature, this was once when the route was much appreciated.
I arrived at Bich Dong around 11:07 AM. One thing I’ve noticed is that the “ranking” of places seems to be a big deal here. In this case, near the entrance, Bich Dong proudly displayed that it had the second most beautiful cave in Vietnam, thus validating its importance. The entrance itself, I think was enough to invite visitors, even without the official ranking.
At 11:10 AM I was inside the actual Pagoda. I loved these “cause and effect” religious posters, even though several of the scenarios don’t seem to make sense to my eyes. Still, they are fascinatingly specific about consequences.
At 11:25 AM, as I moved on past the initial “welcome garden” I noted that most places here only have signs in Vietnamese. It adds to the mystery, I suppose, but it seems like they might consider putting in one or two other languages. Perhaps most foreign tourists just don’t visit here? However, they had gone to the trouble of making sure that we would understand the consequences of all of our actions, so I’m not sure what was going on with that.
As I started climbing at 11:30 AM, I had a familiar thought. The implicit message of these places is “no worship nor tourism for the weak, old or disabled.” I mean, it’s all very beautiful, but so much is completely inaccessible for those with even minor special needs. That said, the stairs here were in good repair and not insanely uneven. I did notice that with some assistance, even a man with a cane was able to manage, as there weren’t too many steps. Certainly, this was physically much easier to manage than other spots I’ve been to recently.
As I was walking up, I saw there was something else up the other side. I was on the left side at that moment. Going further in, at 11:45 AM I noticed the incense they use here are these large spirals that hang down. Based on what I have seen in other places, that seems to be the standard temple incense in this region.
Then at 11:54 AM, I also wondered about the purpose of a small artificial pool to the side of the highest structure to the left. It was clearly artificial, and incense seemed to have also been burnt next to it. A ritual spot, perhaps?
At 12:05 PM I remember something about the terminology of these sites. I think they make the distinction that all of this is supposed to be a “Pagoda,” not a temple. It’s some sort of religious difference that I don’t really understand, even though it is probably quite obvious to others. Regardless, I am not certain that the cave was the second most beautiful in Vietnam, but it was certainly interesting.
The Caves to the Right
I went back down to the entry area to figure out how to go up to the right side. Wandering around a bit near the exit, I was able to see this area with what appeared to be weeping willows, that was very pretty, but I think the photos don’t really do it justice.
I don’t think “the right” is actually part of the official Pagoda complex, but it’s right next to it. At 12:13 PM I found the way: you go through the little entry to the bicycle parking area. I started up at 12:19 PM and ran into some Spanish tourists who told me that there’s a very interesting cave, but a bit hard to navigate if you don’t know any Vietnamese.
At 12:31 PM, after going up some stairs and then down again, I reached the entrance to the aforementioned cave.
It costs 30,000 VND ($1.15 USD) to enter the cave itself. The scenery outside was already beautiful, but as I was already there and had nothing else planned, I paid to go in. I think this video does a better job of showing the experience than the pictures. As far as I could tell, there were all sorts of things inside which were really supposed to impress me, but for most of the time I was just sort of low-level terrified that the guy would run off with his flashlight and leave me stranded in the completely unlit space. To ward off this horror movie possibility, I tried to make non-committal sounds of appreciation during his spiel.
Wow! At 12:45 PM I emerged. That whole experience was a bit crazy. It’s certainly worth the money, but definitely a bit “adventure style.” For sure, if you are REMOTELY claustrophobic, or even particularly imaginative, maybe don’t go in here. On a separate note, for some reason, the hollow where the cave sits seemed to be much warmer than the surrounding area.
I finished up at Bich Dong at 1:11 PM and started meandering back in the general direction of my homestay. However, this time around I was not following any specific map directions, even though I realized that this approach had the potential to end up with me being lost. However, there were still several hours of daylight, so I figured it would be fine.
The Fairy Cave & The Cemeteries
At 1:33 PM I saw another set of stone stairs and asked myself, “So, where do these go?” Despite now appearing to be abandoned, clearly at some time in the past, a lot of time, effort, and even money had gone into constructing them. I mean there was even a handrail! Was it private property? As there was no sign warning people off, I decided to go up and check it out.
There was one moment in which I sort of had to crawl, but otherwise it was reasonably accessible. Given that there was an exit sign in English, clearly at some time in the past this had been a bit of an attraction, but that appears to no longer be the case. Nevertheless, probably precisely because it was mostly abandoned, visiting here had seemed like a bit of a secret treat.
The accessible area was rather small, so I finished up there at 1:49 PM and continued along my meandering path, still being mindful of the time. And then just a bit further along the way (at 1:55 PM) I arrived at Linh Coc Dong Tien Pagoda, and I was pleased to see someone in a walker, so evidently at least part of the area is a bit more accessible to people with some minor special mobility needs. The funny thing was that it was incredibly close, but due to the karst, I would have never seen it nor had any idea it was there.
There was a bit of a worship area there right after the gate, but a woman quickly approached me with a flyer in English indicating that the main attraction here was the “Fairy cave” which would have a cost of 20,000 VND ($0.75 USD) to visit. She didn’t speak English, but the flyer was clear as was her pointing to . . . you guessed it, another flight of stone stairs.
I was done with the whole Fairy Cave visit at 2:22 PM and then headed down the stairs to look around the rest of the installations. It was definitely worth the 20,000 VND. I think it is much more beautiful than the one where I paid 30,000, but also much less “adventuresome.” So, it’s a trade-off. There had been no ranking listed for this cave, but of the four caverns/caves I had seen today, I would say this was objectively the most beautiful, but a lot of that might have just been good lighting. The gardens and lower-level worship area were also quite nice. I was particularly intrigued by this berries/fruits/flowers on this one bush; I had first thought they were artificial decorations. Really it was all very lovely.
This pagoda was the end of the line for the path I had gone down, so the only option was to turn around and head back along the same route. At 2:37 PM, as I started down the peaceful path, I thought it might be nice to check out the building I had seen sort of in the middle of a lake, next to a different karst, when I had come down from the “secret cavern”. It had seemed like a strange place to build a house, and there was also no obvious easy access besides a relatively narrow footpath.
Peeking in over the fence at 2:41 PM, I realized that what I had thought was a small house, was actually some sort of a small cemetery, or perhaps just a family burial plot? Continuing along the narrow footpath, at 2:56 PM, I realized that this flood plain (or whatever it is) seems to be the place to be when you are dead. There were several of these isolated burial spots. However, at 2:58 PM I realized at least part of this area is also being used as a farm. So, there you go, life and death, side by side.
Shortly thereafter, I came across which was clearly a much larger communal graveyard. The odd thing from my point of view, both with this much larger burial site and the many isolated ones I had seen, was that while it was obvious that A LOT had been spent on many of the initial tombs, the great majority of the graves didn’t actually appear to be that well-maintained. It would have been one thing if the graves were clearly ancient, but several of them were rather recent. Furthermore, even in the much larger burial site, there didn’t seem to be a clear pattern of organization. It is hard to show these things in pictures, but this video might give a better idea.
At 3:12 I was out of the graveyard and into either some sort of a neighborhood, or maybe a town? I think this whole graveyard/farm/village is on the same little island, but I couldn’t tell if it was water reservoir or a natural lake or some sort.
Then at 3:20 PM I recognized that I somehow was back on the main road I had used when I had originally walked to Bich Dong. There were a couple of these government propaganda signs that just seemed weird. They are so simplistic by today’s standards, that at one point earlier on in my trip I had thought that it wasn’t really a government sign, but rather just some sort of art installation or maybe even an intentionally ironic statement? However, several people assured me that this was not the case. Perhaps the art style itself inspires patriotism?
Dinner & Egg Coffee
The rest of my walk was uneventful but pleasant. At 3:44 PM I was back in the obvious general area of my room and decided that I would have a nice early dinner, given that I had not eaten any lunch. After some internal debate and looking at what was available, at 3:44 PM I decided to eat at Hoang Cuisine. At the server’s recommendation, I ordered the pork with quail eggs and a bottle of water.
At 4:48 PM I paid 164,000 VND ($6.25 USD) via the Moreta app at 4:48 PM. From there I walked nearby to the other place when I had eaten several times while in Tam Coc and ordered an egg coffee, a draft beer, and a Nutella pancake. (Don’t judge the combination). I was seated facing out towards the street, and somehow ended up just sitting there relaxing until 6:36 PM, when I paid 102,000 VND ($3.90 USD), once more using Moreta to pay.
It was a quick walk back to my room, where I arrived at 6:41 PM, where I worked on this travel blog (but not this entry which came more than a month later!) until 9:55 PM, finally going to sleep at 10:00 PM.
And that was my last full day in Tam Coc. Again, the various cave and cavern pictures didn’t do a good job of showing how things looked, but did you have a favorite? Do you have any idea about what is going on with all of those expensive tombs which don’t seem well-maintained? What about any special insights on the propaganda signs? Let me know your thoughts below, and keep following along if you want to see where I went next!
Travels with Jay 