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Ninety kilometers south of Hanoi, the small town of Tam Coc sits amid some of the most famous scenery in Vietnam: a series of tree-covered limestone hills rising from a plain of rivers and rice paddies. Small row boats---which local people often paddle with their feet---carry visitors on tours through this watery world. A popular river route starts in Tam Coc, just down the street from our hotel. For two hours, you can glide quietly down the river, the only sounds the slashing of oars and the calls of birds. The route leads through small caves, past shrines and rice fields dotted with water birds, into ever-wilder and more remote jungle landscapes. The misty rain that hung over the area while we were there made for a perfect atmosphere.