Vietnam Day 10: Hanoi to Tam Coc

In an effort to get one more touristy thing in before we left Hanoi, I got up early and waited outside for my Grab Bike. If you don't know, Grab is the Uber of Vietnam, and not only can you get a car, you can also hire a scooter/motorcycle for transport. Though not being in control is not second nature to me, I thought this might be my chance to try it out.

Real life image of a very cool guy on the bike of a grab bike

I entered my info in the app, and a couple minutes later, a guy on a scooter pulled up, handed me the skullcap that most people seem to wear, and I was doubling on the back of the bike. It was strangely enjoyable. My rider bobbed and weaved in and out of traffic, and though we only went a couple kilometers, I thought it was a neat way to see parts of the city. Unfortunately for me, I broke the buckle on my helmet immediately, but fortunately for me we didn't get into an accident...

The whole thing took about 10 min, and cost me about $1.50 and I was standing in front of the Hỏa Lò Prison Relic.

I won't try and summary a century of info here, but instead will point you to the Wikipedia page on the prison if you want a deeper dive. In short, this prison was first used by the French colonists for political prisoners and then later by the north Vietnamese for American prisoners of war. A good part of the prison no longer stands, and when I was there the exhibit was undergoing some renovation so I could only access part of the grounds.

The couple of things that stood out to me while I listened to the audio guide were the terrible conditions that Vietnamese prisons endured during their time in this prison and also the wild ways in which many attempted and succeeded at escapes over the years. Additionally, the steadfast determination to read, write and transmit information and political ideology to one another during their years of imprisonment. These kinds of historical sites don't do a lot for me, but I found the diary entries of former prisoners to be a fascinating insight into a particular time and place. I like those kinds of first hand accounts most.

After the prison, I headed back to meet up with Cass and begin our exit from Hanoi.

I liked the city - it was congested and insane and polluted, but it also felt full of life and industry and culture. I would definitely go back.

The plan today was to start heading south, which meant we were going to the Ninh Binh region. To get there, we would be taking a "limosine" for 11 dollars each and the ride would be a few hours long.

Cass wanted to walk to the pickup point, but on a whim I decided we should go out in style and these two brothers hopped into cart and had a gentleman pedal us to the Hanoi opera house where we would get picked up. It was romantic as hell.

Veeeeeery romantic

After mulling around a while, a dilapidated soccer mom van pulled up with the matching license plate for our VIP LUXURY limousine ride, and my heart dropped. I did not want to be riding in this god-forsaken thing for the next several hours. Once we were loaded up however, a nice Malaysian man seated next to me explained that we were simply being driven to the other bigger nicer bus. Whew.

He had initially had the same worries as I did. Though that ride ended up being 20 mins, he was very convincing on why I should put malaysia on my list for a place to visit next time I was in this part of the world.

We hopped out of one van and into our limosine, which here is what they call these high-topped mini-buses with nicer mostly individual seating. It was ok, though Cass and I got separated, and he sat in the front with a shitty seat and I in the back with a good seat, but sharing shoulder space with another random dude. Luckily, the ride was only a couple hours and we were in Ninh Binh. Another short Grab ride and we found ourselves in Tam Coc (or as I later learned three caves).

The plan was to do the touristy things the following day, so we checked in, and did some night-wandering. While out on a lap around the hotels and villas lining the river, we ran into....JZ! From our first night in Hanoi! He was waiting for a bus to head south, and we caught up over a couple of beers Small world on the traveling circuit it seems.

At some point Cass went for a massage and I found a bar, and then eventually Cass met up with me. We spent the rest of the night at this restaurant bar where I proceeded to politely discuss the merits of AI, therapy, and eventually conspiracy theory with Lawrence, a 25 year old American, who by his accounts, made money by selling self help books that AI writes for him and he resells on the internet. It was...fun...but not something anyone should be doing every night - who knew you could do the exact same thing in a bar 6000km away from home?

Tam coc at night

We walked home through the now transformed streets of Tam Coc, in that apparently after dark all the waffle and crepe vendors come out. And were serenaded by a bunch of French dudes singing Karaoke on top of a bus-bar. Another successful day in Vietnam.

Late night waffles Nutella and banana