A boat floating down the river in Tam Coc

Time to Leave – Tam Coc and our Motorbike Crash

We’d been sat on the bus for an hour, yet we still hadn’t left the station. The sun was heating up the inside of the vehicle in sync with my rising temper and the beat of the awful music blasting us at full volume. We’d been waiting months for this holiday, this precious escape from the city into the countryside, and we couldn’t even make it out of the bus station in Hanoi.

The river and mountains in Tam Coc

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Finally we began to slither forwards while the conductor – who’d told us we’d be leaving over an hour ago – prowled around outside searching for last-minute passengers. My frustration had reached fever pitch now, the fury a terrible itch which prevented me from sitting still or relaxing. It wasn’t just the lying bus conductor and our slow crawl out of the city that had sent me into this rage; a build-up of everyday annoyances had been cementing my love-hate relationship with Vietnam for weeks now.

Loving and Hating Vietnam

In the last two weeks alone, the puppy in our courtyard, who we’ve loved and watched grow since we arrived here, was killed by a speeding car. Andrew was racially abused by a student at his middle school. Driving home one evening a woman strolled out in front of our bike without looking and seconds later a car drove straight at us through a red light, the driver beeping his horn furiously. A taxi driver took me the longest route home to run up the meter and I’ve been bullied by intimidating drivers whenever I walk to work. The noise, the chaos, the pollution – we’re over it.

Fields, mountains and river in Tam Coc, Vietnam

Luckily, two Vietnamese national holidays have granted us this entire week off school and a chance to escape Hanoi and get out into the beautiful countryside village of Tam Coc. When we finally arrived at our hotel, headachy, exhausted and stressed, we settled on the balcony with a cup of tea and gazed out over the lime-green rice fields studded with rocky mounds. The air was clean, the sun was shining, a cool breeze was blowing and the sound of traffic and beeping horns was replaced by the croaking of frogs from the lilly-padded river beneath us and the soft putter of a boat engine. My love for Vietnam was rekindled.

Tam Coc and our Motorbike Crash

Unfortunately, our new-found sense of peace didn’t last long. The next morning after a pancake-breakfast overlooking the rice fields, we rented a motorbike and eagerly set out to explore the area. Once upon a time I was terrified of motorbikes and would refuse to get on one but travelling in Asia and living in Vietnam has numbed my fear; after eight months of riding around Hanoi Andrew is a confident driver and I’m a docile passenger. This made our crash all the more shocking.

Road Rash from a motorbike crash in Vietnam

Gazing out at the scenery I was blissfully unaware of any danger until I heard Andrew shout: “Shit!” and felt the bike swerve violently, skidding out beneath us as we tipped onto the gravelly road. I had no idea that a dog had just darted out in front of us, all I remember is seeing Andrew’s head (mercifully protected by a helmet) bounce off the road and feeling an electric shock of panic as I looked down at my bloody knee with its skin torn off and deep scratches laced with gravel.

Injuries from a motorbike crash in Vietnam

Hobbling to the side of the road locals gathered around us; minutes later a Vietnamese woman appeared on a push-bike carrying a tray laden with medical supplies. Their kindness made me cry as they cleaned and bandaged our wounds, my tears stinging along with the embarrassment of looking like the foolish foreigners who’ve crashed their bike – the type of people I would have looked upon with a mixture of pity and exasperation.

Pagoda in Tam Coc, Vietnam

We retreated to our hotel to lick our wounds; the lovely staff bought us supplies from the pharmacy and helped to clean us up. Luckily we’d been driving very slowly so there was no damage to the bike and our injuries weren’t serious; Andrew had grazes and bruises down the left side of his body and an extremely dead leg. My knee was swollen and covered with road-rash, which would prevent me from walking properly for days. As well as a sobering reminder of how dangerous motorbikes can be, the crash felt like the final straw on top of all the other frustrations we’ve been experiencing. It felt like an omen telling us that it’s time to leave Vietnam. We’ve had an incredible adventure here, but when we leave next month we will do so happily.

View of the river and mountains in Bird Valley, Tam Coc

Recovering in Tam Coc

The past few days we’ve been recovering from our crash in Tam Coc and trying not to let it sour our time in this beautiful place. We headed down to the wharf and took a late-afternoon boat ride down the river, soothed by the sparkle of sunlight on the water and the soft slapping of our driver’s oars, which she paddled effortlessly with the soles of her feet. All around us vivid green floating fields of rice stretched out to meet fur-covered limestone peaks, which were perfectly reflected on the river’s glassy surface. We sailed through dark grottos, savouring the dark cool of the air as we floated along. At that time of day there were few other tourist boats to contend with; instead local fisherman and traders crawled along in wooden row-boats or waded shoulder-deep through the water, scooping up treasures.

A boat floating down the river in Tam Coc

Rowing through a grotto in Tam Coc, Vietnam

Knowing we needed to ‘get back on the horse’ sooner rather than later, we rented a smaller motorbike and gingerly set off to explore Bai Dinh, the largest pagoda in Vietnam. We spent a sweaty few hours circumnavigating the huge complex which is full of thousands of Buddha statues, a wooden bell tower and a tall pagoda which stretches up towards the sky and can be seen from miles around.

Buddha statues in Bai Dinh Pagoda

Bai Dinh Pagoda, Vietnam

The unexpected highlight of our week turned out to be Bird Valley. The park is a beautiful, protected area of forest home to thousands of different birds. A boat trip through Buddha Cave, so-called because of the stone mounds inside which resemble Buddhas, was included in the ticket price. The 40-minute ride was a surprising treat; by the light of our driver’s torch we spotted glittering stalactites and dozens of tiny hanging bats.

An orchard in Bird Valley, Tam Coc

Bird Valley, Tam Coc Vietnam

We spent hours in Bird Valley exploring its orchards, trails and bird gardens. The park was flooded with Vietnamese tourists in happy holiday moods; many smiled and said hello to us, a University teacher chatted while we ate fresh pineapple from the orchard and a large family walked with us through the forest, the kids practising their English while their father offered us oranges. It was a beautiful, calming afternoon.

Us in Bird Valley, Tam Coc

Sunset in Tam Coc, Vietnam

My lasting memory of Tam Coc is of the drive back from Bird Valley, of turning to see the buttery sunset over the mountains and rice paddies. Still somewhat bruised and battered, in the end we managed to leave Tam Coc, which is probably the most beautiful place I’ve been to in Vietnam, on a positive note.

Tam Coc and our motorbike crash

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22 Comments
  • Carmel
    Posted at 19:46h, 02 May Reply

    I’m glad you guys are ok. You are understandably burned out on Vietnam. Living in a huge city like that would wear on just about anyone. Glad you were able to escape for at least a little bit and renew your spirits for the last push. As much as I’m a city girl, I do need the serene silence of the countryside at times.

    • Amy
      Posted at 05:40h, 03 May Reply

      Thanks Carmel. I love cities too but Hanoi is so intense; it was nice to get away. Only a few weeks left until we leave!

  • Stefan Arestis
    Posted at 11:47h, 03 May Reply

    Crikey guys!

    We are contemplating taking motorbikes from Hoi An to Hue but still tentative to get on them yet…!

    When does your Vietnamese adventure come to a close? We are in centre Vietnam slowly making our way to Hanoi.

    • Amy
      Posted at 16:53h, 03 May Reply

      Just be careful on your bikes guys; wear helmets and keep your skin covered, road-rash is not fun! We still have five weeks in Vietnam, I hope you make it up to Hanoi before we leave, it would be great to meet. Let me know when you’re planning on hitting Hanoi 🙂

  • Patti
    Posted at 14:10h, 03 May Reply

    Oh Amy, what a day you had! I too am terrified of motorbikes and won’t get on them, I don’t know how you manage in the crazy Hanoi traffic. I’m so glad the two of you are okay, although those are some pretty nasty sore spots. Take care of each other and count down the days!

    • Amy
      Posted at 16:54h, 03 May Reply

      It’s crazy that we’ve been driving around crazy Hanoi for the last eight months and then we get out to the quiet countryside roads and crash! Yes, we do have some sore spots and I’ll be glad to leave the bike behind when we leave Hanoi.

  • Jenia
    Posted at 14:38h, 03 May Reply

    I am so glad you are ok! And I am amazed you guys made yourselves get back on the bike — if I sustain an injury from an activity, it’s so difficult to get over that! Tam Coc area looks beautiful — 10 years from now you will look back on this with amazement, and think that there is a silver lining in every situation, and Vietnam just proved it to you over and over 🙂

    • Amy
      Posted at 16:56h, 03 May Reply

      Thanks Jenia. We were pretty nervous to get back on the bike but I’m glad we did it sooner rather than later. Tam Coc was beautiful though, even though I’ll probably have a scar on my knee to remind me of our time there 🙂

  • Matt
    Posted at 20:27h, 03 May Reply

    Ouch – glad you guys didn’t come out too badly from the crash! We spent less than a month in Vietnam but still managed to develop a pretty strong love/hate relationship with it ourselves – not surprised you guys are looking forward to a change. Tam Coc looks beautiful – wish we had made it there.

    • Amy
      Posted at 03:53h, 04 May Reply

      Tam Coc was beautiful Matt, I’m glad we went there despite the crash. Yes, Vietnam can be a very intense, polarising country!

  • Gilda Baxter
    Posted at 13:20h, 04 May Reply

    Hi Amy, I am so sorry about your accident. My husband and I are bikers and we had our fair share of cuts, bruises and even some broken ribs, but we still love our bike and the sense of adventure we get. It is our plan to tour Australia and NZ on our motorbike in about 2 years time. It is almost the end of your time in Hanoi now but there are exciting times ahead. Can’t wait to hear about your next chapter.

    • Amy
      Posted at 14:21h, 04 May Reply

      Wow, a motorbike trip through New Zealand and Australia sounds incredible, you will have a brilliant time and many stories to tell from that trip! We have managed to get over the accident quite well but I will be glad to swap the bike for a car in America and Europe 🙂

  • Catherine
    Posted at 22:08h, 15 May Reply

    Oh no, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having a bit of a tough time lately! The crash sounds horrible, though I guess we should be glad neither of you was more seriously injured! Glad you did have some time to relax though, the boat ride sounds so peaceful and relaxing!

    • Amy
      Posted at 14:47h, 18 May Reply

      Thanks Catherine, the rest of our time in Tam Coc was very relaxing; I will be glad to get rid of our motorbike though!

  • Louisa Klimentos
    Posted at 07:59h, 22 May Reply

    I am so sorry you had a motorbike accident.I would never want anything bad to happen to you .Getting to know you ,Amy and Andrew through your travel blogs is so beautiful.Those places are so lovely and green that you visited.Take care and always have full travel insurance cover,when travelling the world .I am sure you will love travelling Europe and the US.

    • Amy
      Posted at 11:01h, 23 May Reply

      Ah, thanks Louisa. We are fine now and we gave the bike back yesterday so no more motorbike rides for us! We will definitely keep our insurance updated 🙂

  • Louisa Klimentos
    Posted at 00:18h, 31 May Reply

    if you travelled to a country which wasn’t quite what you thought it would be ,please don’t be disappointed?Be posative ,except the place for what it is and enjoy yourself.The reason why i am saying thisis that one day you may experience tragedy and then those things that used to bother you ,don’t seem that important anymore.You see my son who is a tree lopper along with my huband ,fell out of a 15m high tree while cutting some branches .He did not anchor his rope securely and when he landed and badly fractured his vertebrae lucky he had movement in his legs.the day before he had an argument with his ex girl friend and he was not focussed whie working up into the tree.It was devastating.He had a dream to go to japan for a holiday with his former girl friend.That is not going to happen ,maybe in the long term it will happen.Please enjoy life now especially when travelling the world and enjoy every minute love always louisa

    • Amy
      Posted at 15:40h, 31 May Reply

      So sorry to hear about your son’s accident, I hope he has recovered. Yes, life can be unpredictable and we need to remember to cherish every experience and accept the bad parts. We do still love Vietnam and our time here has been great, we’re just ready to move on and experience a change of culture 🙂

  • Louisa Klimentos
    Posted at 08:21h, 01 June Reply

    thank you for your kind worlds and keep on travelling and experience new cultures and Europe is definately rich in culture ,love always Louisa

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