Day 140 – Tam Coc
Boat ride at Trang An (Must do!)
Today we woke up early and rented bicycles from Phi Hung’s Unique Homestay. The bicycles were 50,000 VND /$3.04 AUD per day for one bicycle. The owners had the bicycles washed and ready to go while we had breakfast. As it was raining lightly, the owner gave us traditional Vietnamese hats to protect us from the rain.
Along the way, Bao Dien Hanh Cung Truc Lam 
Rice fields near the Song Sao Khe River
We rode around 8km to Trang An (Trang An Grottoes Tour on Google Maps). Across the road from Trang An, there is bicycle parking. It only costs 10,000 VND / $0.61 AUD per bicycle. We then crossed the road and bought tickets to enter Trang An from the counter. The tickets are 200,000 VND / $12.17 per person. Again, we were given reusable plastic tickets, that are slotted into a ticket machine as you enter into the boat section.
Once you pass the gates, they ask you which route to take. We took option 2, as it had a variety of Caves, Temples and included the Kong Island (where the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island was filmed). We had to wait around 15 minutes, until another two people selected option 2 as well. The boats have a capacity of 4 passengers with only 1 rower. Unfortunately, we were in the second row. The front row, is definitely better.
Trang An Route Options
Route 2, consisted of 4 Caves, 3 Temples and the Kong Island Movie Set. We didn’t regret our choice one bit. It honestly puts to shame the boat ride we went on yesterday (Day 139). Stopping at the temples is optional, but we decided to stop at all of them. The caves are nice and long too. The Kong Movie set, doesn’t have anything notable, but there is what I assume are some props from the film and a village. In the village locals are dressed up as Skull Islanders. Oh and plenty of amazing views of the lime stone mountains throughout the tour.
The entire trip took around 2 hours on the boat, and at the end, we were not hassled one bit to give a tip. We were so impressed, that we gave a tip. After the journey, we decided to have some snacks before cycling back to the home stay. On the way back around dusk, swarms of tiny insects appeared and one got stuck in my eye. Despite this, it was an amazing day.
