Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [287]
King An Duong built his citadel inside three concentric ramparts, spiralling like a snail shell, separated by moats large enough for ships to navigate; the outer wall was 8km long, 6 to 8m wide and at least 4m high, topped off with bamboo fencing. After the Chinese invaded in the late second century BC, Co Loa was abandoned until 939 AD, when Ngo Quyen established the next period of independent rule from the same heavily symbolic site. Archaeologists have found rich pickings at Co Loa, including thousands of iron arrowheads, displayed here and in Hanoi’s History Museum (See "The History Museum"), which lend credence to at least one of the Au Lac legends. The story goes that the sacred Golden Turtle gave King An Duong a magic crossbow made from a claw that fired thousands of arrows at a time. A deceitful Chinese prince married An Duong’s daughter, Princess My Chau, persuaded her to show him the crossbow and then stole the claw before mounting an invasion. King An Duong and his daughter were forced to flee, whereupon My Chau understood her act of betrayal and nobly told her father to kill her. When the king beheaded his daughter and threw her body in a well, she turned into lustrous, pink pearls.
Co Loa’s temple complex (daily 6am–6pm; 3000đ) is signposted to the right of busy Highway 3, down a tree-lined road running beside what looks just like any other delta embankment though it’s said to be a remnant of the fortifications. First thing you come to after a couple of kilometres is an archer’s statue standing in a small pond; continue straight on here (west) to find the principal temple, Den An Duong Vuong, facing a refurbished lake, with a graceful stele-house to one side. Inside the recently rebuilt temple, a sixteenth-century black-bronze statue of the king resides on the main altar, resplendent in his double crown, while a subsidiary altar is dedicated to Kim Quy, the Golden Turtle. More interesting, however, is the second group of buildings, 100m north of the archer, where a large, walled courtyard contains a beautifully simple open-sided hall, furnished with huge, ironwood pillars, and containing some of the archeological finds. Next door is the princess’s small temple, Den My Chau. Sadly, it’s all new concrete, but inside she is still honoured in the surprising form of a dumpy, armchair-shaped stone clothed in embroidered finery and covered in jewels but lacking a head.
Hanoi and around |
Travel details
Hanoi and around | Travel details |
Trains
Hanoi to: Da Nang (6 daily; 14–20hr); Dong Dang (2 daily; 6hr); Dong Ha (4 daily; 12–16hr); Dong Hoi (6 daily; 9–13hr); Haiphong (2 daily; 2–3hr); Ho Chi Minh City (6 daily; 30–40hr); Hué (6 daily; 11–16hr); Lao Cai (4 daily; 7–9hr); Ninh Binh (3 daily; 2hr 20min); Thanh Hoa (6 daily; 3–5hr); Vinh (8 daily; 5–9hr).
Hanoi and around | Travel details |
Buses
Bus stations are gradually becoming more organized, with ticket desks and scheduled departures. However, it is still almost impossible to give the frequency with which buses run because of the large number of private minibuses that ply more popular routes, and depart only when they have enough passengers to make the journey worthwhile. Off the highway, to be sure of a bus it’s advisable to start your journey early – most long-distance departures are between 5am and 9am, and few run after midday. Journey times can also vary; figures below show the normal length of time you can expect to take by public bus.
Hanoi to: Bai Chay (Ha Long City; 4hr); Cao Bang (8hr); Haiphong (2hr 30min); Hoa Binh (1hr