BOAT RIDES, EPIC CAVES, BATS, BATHING BUFFALOES AND BASIC PETROL STATIONS
HEADING TO PHONG NHA
After three days in Hué, we were heading off to Phong Nha to see some of the magnificent caves in this area.
We had a few hours to kill before our bus to Phong Nha, so we managed to have a last lunch and a couple of drinks with friends before getting on the bus.
I was sporting a pretty severe hangover, as I’d met up with one of my friends that I’d met during my time in Thailand and we’d ended up sinking several whiskies and chatting until the early hours.
Little travelling tip – do not booze heavily the day before journeying off somewhere new.
The bus ride was fairly comfortable, fortunately and took roughly 5 hours to get to Phong Nha. The views of the countryside were stunning on the way here, with huge, imposing cliff faces and workers farming in the rice fields in their looming shadows.
We arrived in the early evening and checked into our hotel – Gold Plus Hotel. This place was only £10 a night and we had a huge room with two double beds and large ensuite bathroom. Bargain!
We didn’t get up to much on the first evening. Just dinner and drinks at a place called Bamboo cafe. Really good Vietnamese food here. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re in town. There’s really only one main street in Phong Nha, so you can’t miss it.
PHONG NHA BOAT TRIP
There are a number of caves to be explored in Phong Nha and you either need a motorbike to see them or jump on a boat. We opted for the boat.
We walked down the main street of Phong Nha and stopped for a bite to eat in a place called ‘Darts Zone’. Strange name and even stranger sign:
Not too sure what’s traditional about a gorilla smoking a joint
After lunch we headed down to the docks, where you could buy tickets for a boat trip to visit some of the caves in the national park.
We jumped in with a few other guys who were interested in a similar trip and bought tickets to see Phong Nha cave and Dong Tien Son cave.
PHONG NHA CAVE
We got on board the boat and set off down the river, towards Phong Nha cave.
As we got closer, we could see the entrance to Phong Nha cave. This was much more epic than I expected:
The boat continued on into the cave and was rowed by a tour guide for around 30 minutes as the river flowed into the depths of the cave. The opening was larger than I expected and hundreds of bats lined the ceiling and swooped as we sailed past.
The boat docked and we got out so we could walk around to see more of the internals of the cave.
Apparently Phong Nha cave is nearly 8,000m long, but tourists can only access the first 1,500m.
Even so, this place was vast! I don’t think photos can really do this place justice, but I tried my best with only my 35mm lens available. Here’s a few more pics:
DONG TIEN SON CAVE
After exiting Phong Nha cave there were some steps up to an area where we could grab drinks and snacks, so we chilled there for half an hour or so, before heading onto the next cave on the trip – Dong Tien Son cave.
For this cave, we didn’t have to get back on the boat, but instead we had to hike up several hundred steps to get to the entrance. It was a hard slog. The views on the way there, were pretty epic though.
After reaching the top of the climb, we entered the cave, which opened into a vast chamber. One key difference in this cave was that manmade walkways and platforms had been placed within the cave.
If you’re a gamer and have ever played any of the ‘Fallout’ series, you’d feel in familiar territory.
I was blown away by the visit to these caves. Nothing could have prepared me for the sheer scale of them. Just jaw dropping.
There were more caves and natural wonders to see in Phong Nha, but sadly we didn’t have time for much more.
We headed back down the steps to the boat and journeyed back up the river towards Phong Nha town.
Buffalo keen to get in the river for a swim
BOAT TRIP VIDEO
Here’s a quick video edit of the day’s boat trip:
WANDERING THE PHONG NHA STREETS
The next day we were leaving Phong Nha to head to Tam Coc, but we’d opted to get a sleeper bus, so that we could spend the day in Phong Nha before leaving.
It was an incredibly hot and humid day and getting out in the sun at all was almost impossible.
We had a fairly relaxed afternoon, just chilling out in a bar, until the day started to cool off a little.
Once it had cooled a few degrees we took the chance to take a bit more of a walk around the local area. Here’s a few more snaps:
I caught this epic sunset over a rice field:
It seems that even the smallest town in Vietnam needs a Karaoke bar:
And finally, I spotted this bizarre roadside petrol station. I guess if you’re only catering for the odd scooter that comes by, why not?
Simple, but effective
LEAVING PHONG NHA
We waited at the hotel for our sleeper bus to arrive. I had never got a sleeper bus before, so I was excited and worried about the experience in equal measure.
It was great! There were bunks of single berths and at the back of the bus a space for three people. No one had dared take this spot, so Holly and I made ourselves comfortable and spread out.
The best seat in the house.
It seemed really weird to be lying down on a bus, but I loved it.
We’d be arriving at our next destination – Tam Coc – at around 5:30am. That’s an early arrival!
