Memories of Kong Pt.1 - A Return to Skull Island & Embracing the Change - Trang An, UNESCO Vietnam

A few days ago I wrote about my first visit to Trang An, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Vietnam’s northern province of Ninh Binh, and the set of the 2017 film “Kong: Skull Island.” This first visit was at a unique time in February 2021, when Vietnam’s borders were closed to the outside world, but travel was permitted domestically. As a result, I was the only visitor to this magnificent and mysterious landscape, and I was able to completely let my imagination run wild as I slowly creeped down the winding river. If you haven’t had a chance to read this post, you should check it out read here, as it has some great photos of the scenery.

This post will be about my most recent visit to Trang An, this past summer. On this trip, I would find many things have changed, resulting in a completely different, but somehow equally unique travel experience. There won’t be as many photos of the landscape as the first post, and I apologize for that, but you will understand why as you continue reading.

On this visit, I am accompanied by some friends and family that are visiting Vietnam for the first time. As they were on a tight schedule, they opted to make their visit to Ninh Binh a daytrip rather than staying the night. To optimize time, they hired a driver to take us down for a full day of touring the local sites. We left Hanoi at about 8am and made our way down to Trang An. Our driver, Son, was knowledgeable, funny and efficient. He got us from Hanoi’s Old Quarter to the Trang An boat ticket office in roughly 2 hours.

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When we arrive, I nearly do not recognize the place. The parking lot is full of vans, busses, cars and motorbikes, with a hectic energy to the entrance that is only exacerbated by the constant movement and sounds of honking vehicles that is all too common in vietnam. We get inside the ticket office, which is one of a few newly built structures that I do not remember from before. The whole boat launch island is not covered in shops, restaurants, cafes, waiting room, and people, lots of people.

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The boat dock is full of people, with boats coming and going in as constant a flow as if rushing the river to keep it all moving, but faster. When the seven of us boarded two neighboring boats, we assumed we would leave at the same time, however, that was the last we saw of the other boat until we finished a few hours later.

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The vibe on the river was completely different this time around, with boats and bright orange vests to be seen in every direction. It is hard to imagine Kong living in a place like this any longer, too noisy. Speaking of noise, I notice a group of Vietnamese men drinking beer in another boat roughly 20 meters away, they are wearing workwear (slacks, buttoned shirts, ties) and shouting “mot, hai, ba, yo!” If you haven’t been to Vietnam before, this is a popular way to cheers alcohol, like 1, 2, 3 cheers! I wonder why they are so dressed up for this trip down the river, and imagine the beers they were drinking must have been extra refreshing considering it was about 33 celsius and sunny that day.

The leader of the boat notices me looking over, he turns and says something to his boatmates, and within moments they pick up and begin to motion to their oars. The challenge was on.

I realize this post is going a bit longer than I expected, so I will continue this story in part 2 tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed what you’ve read so far, and that you will join me for the next installment.

read about my previous trip to Trang An here, it has the photos of scenery that this post lacks.