Tam Cốc, which is Vietnamese for three caves, is a popular tourist destination. The Ngô Đống is a little river that flows through the marshlands and is surrounded by towering limestone crags. At the base of three of these cliffs are little caves which offer low ceiling passages for boats travelling along the river.
As a tourist, you can take a guided tour of the area in a boat that is foot paddled by a local woman. The oars are fixed in oar lock at the side of the boat, and the women sit back, often holding an umbrella in their hands to protect them from the hot sun, and push the oars with their feet to propel the boat.
When offered, I jumped at the chance to foot paddle our little boat! I think I was doing ok for the most part, but the other tourists in boats that I crashed into might give you a different story about how well I did.
Along the way, we spotted this couple who were out net fishing in the marsh.
Location: Tam Cốc, Vietnam