My next stop on the Vietnamese adventure was Phong Nha National Park. It was my first stop that was slightly off the tourist trail, and although it took a bit more organising in trying to get there it was well worth it. Phong Nha park has only recently opened up to tourist so the infrastructure is not fully in place yet. I took a bus to Dong Hoi and was dropped in the middle of this town at 10.30 at night all on my own. I was being picked up my the hostel driver from the train station but had no idea where this was. After a bit of confusion and a taxi ride later I made it to the driver who drove 30 mins in to middle of nowhere in the pitch black until we stumbled across a tiny town with the Easy Tiger Hostel, a friendly haven for the western traveller as no one else spoke English nearby. I went to sleep and woke up in the middle of paradise. The views where spectacular.
That day I joined a group from the hostel and we went off to explore Phong Nha Cave. It was a boat trip up the river in to the majestic cave. The boat dropped us off inside the cave and then we walked back on the sand banks.
The next day I went off on a tour organised by the hostel to see several caves. We drove deeper in to the national park stopping off at glorious view points in the mountains. Our tour guide, Josh (who I later found out knows a friend from mine at home and is from Cornwall - such a small world) told us a bit about the history of the area. There are still thousands of unexploded bombs that the US dropped on Vietnam in the war which kill local people every year walking through the area. One reason why they say you should stay with a tour guide at all times.
The first cave we went in to was Paradise cave, named rightly for it is like walking in to paradise. We walked 1km down and in to the cold but beautiful cave, such a relief from the baking heat outside. It was truly spectacular and I'm not sure my photos do it justice. The rock formations were out of this world.
After an all you can eat buffet lunch it was time for a short Kayak up the Son Chay River to the dark cave which is only accessible by boat. In are swimwear we climbed in to the pitch black dark cave with our head torches on. It was full of slimy mud which at points went above the knee. Once we reached the centre of the cave and were covered in mud, we turned off our lights and were completely plunged in to darkness. There was absolutely no natural light, it was quite eerie and scary. We then swam back out the cave again going in to darkness and having no idea what was below was very daunting. Unfortunately because no one in the group had a waterproof camera I didn't get any photos in the dark cave.
After kayaking back and having a swim to ensure all the mud was washed away it was time to head back to the hostel. We stopped off at another cave which only specialist divers are allowed in as it is completely under water. They have not yet found how long the cave is and suspect it goes all the way through the mountains to Laos. Below is the opening to where the cave comes out.
The next day my bus didn't leave until the evening to take me further north to the great capital Hanoi. Therefore I spent the day with Dana and Ella two Dutch girls I had met on the tour. They were also taking the same bus that evening as me. The Easy Tiger Hostel is also linked with Phong Nha Farmstay another guest house in the area, where they had a pool we could use. It was great relaxing in hammocks and soaking in the beautiful views of the surrounding farmland.
With Love form Vietnam xxx
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