Yen river

Visitors are taken by sampan (a locally made boat with a metal hull) along the Yen river to the Perfume pagoda, a 4km ride through a karst landscape with rugged hills and peaks. Local Vietnamese use the river as a transportation artery and for fishing, both with nets and with cages. Vietnamese women, who otherwise work as farmers, compete for the privilege of being the boat rower, as they expect to receive good tips from the tourists.