Con Son Pagoda and Yen Giang Stake-yard

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Con Son Pagoda

   Côn Sơn lies in the pine-covered hills of Chí Linh, north-east of Hanoi, on the border of Hải Dương province, and it carries two of the great names of Vietnamese history. In the thirteenth century the Trần dynasty beat back three Mongol invasions, and its monks and commanders left a trail of temples, of which Côn Sơn, Kiếp Bạc and the sacred mountain of Yên Tử are the best known. Trúc Lâm, the Vietnamese Zen school founded by King Trần Nhân Tông, who gave up his throne to become a monk, has one of its centres here.

   Read the complete Con Son Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Con Son Pagoda is where the day begins. Next is King Chu Cavern.

2. 2. King Chu Cavern

   In the delta country east of Hanoi the land is mostly flat, a patchwork of rice paddies and ponds, so when limestone hills rise abruptly out of it they feel like a different world. Kinh Môn, in Hải Dương province, is one of those places, a small range of karst hills pitted with caves, and the Kinh Chủ cave, which I have placed under the name on the map, is one of them. Caves in northern Vietnam are often turned into shrines, with Buddha statues and incense in the dim light, and visitors come both for the religion and for the cool air inside.

   Read the complete King Chu Cavern write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   King Chu Cavern comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chua Lan Pagoda.

3. 3. Chua Lan Pagoda

   The lowlands where the Bach Dang river meets the sea in northern Vietnam are a place of legends and battles, and the pagodas scattered across this landscape carry centuries of history. Chua Lan Pagoda stands in Quang Ninh province on the low ground south of Uong Bi, between the Yen Tu hills and the port of Haiphong, surrounded by rice fields, fishponds and villages. Like many rural pagodas in northern Vietnam, it is a place of worship, community and memory, with incense-filled halls, statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and old trees in the courtyard. The region is associated with the Truc Lam school of Zen Buddhism, founded by the Tran dynasty king Tran Nhan Tong in the thirteenth century at nearby Yen Tu mountain.

   Read the complete Chua Lan Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 83 km into the recorded legs you reach Chua Lan Pagoda. Next is Yen Giang Stake-yard.

4. 4. Yen Giang Stake-yard

   Twice in Vietnamese history, the tide at the mouth of the Bạch Đằng river decided the fate of the country. In 938, Ngô Quyền defeated a Southern Han fleet by planting iron-tipped stakes in the riverbed, hidden at high tide, then luring the enemy ships upstream and waiting for the water to fall. In 1288, during the third Mongol invasion of Đại Việt, the general Trần Hưng Đạo used the same trick against the fleet of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, trapping and destroying it. In the fields around Quảng Yên, archaeologists have found rows of those ancient wooden stakes, still standing in the mud, and the Yên Giang stake yard is one of the sites where you can see them preserved.

   Read the complete Yen Giang Stake-yard write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Yen Giang Stake-yard, about halfway. Next is back through Chua Lan Pagoda.

5. 5. back through Chua Lan Pagoda

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Chua Lan Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Chua Lan Pagoda sits at 114 km, about halfway. Next is back through King Chu Cavern.

6. 6. back through King Chu Cavern

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete King Chu Cavern write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through King Chu Cavern comes up about 185 km into the recorded legs. Next is Con Son Pagoda.

7. 7. Con Son Pagoda

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Con Son Pagoda write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Con Son Pagoda closes the day.