From Ninh Binh we once again took a sleeper cabin bus – this time even as a replacement for a hotel, which worked out great. We arrived at Central Backpackers Hostel in Phong Nha shortly before 6 a.m., still half asleep. There we were offered the sofas at reception to fill the time until breakfast with a mini nap. We made the detour to Phong Nha, a little off our direct north-south route, only because of the great cave tours offered there. In any case, our love of and fascination for nature is so great that a small detour to visit another UNESCO World Heritage Site is definitely worth it. The area around Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park already borders Laos. It's the narrowest point of Vietnam along the South China Sea. The national park contains numerous caves and grottoes (some of them navigable), including what is said to be the largest cave in the world (Son Doong Cave)!
At first we were a bit overwhelmed at reception trying to choose the right tour and the right cave. Since the cave boat tour wasn't possible anyway because the cave was flooded during the rainy season, we opted for a 10 km hike in the national park with a visit to Muc Moa Cave.
We definitely made the right choice, because the hike was run by a likeable organisation that spoke reasonably good English, and it took us through an indescribably beautiful landscape. But I'll still try to describe it a little :) :
We were a large group of about 15 people. But the group size stopped mattering after the first few minutes of walking, as we strolled through huge swampy grasslands framed by high limestone mountains whose peaks stayed hidden behind wisps of fog, and all the participants spread out at their different walking speeds. Of course I also had to stop in amazement at the many cows and buffalo grazing freely, which made us fall back a little. Unfortunately, none of the animals wanted me to pet them. We had all been given knee-high socks and rubber sandals, a long-sleeved shirt and a helmet. After a few minutes it was clear why. Large parts of it were a mud hike, where you had the feeling the ground was trying to grab a shoe with a slurp and swallow it. Since everyone probably had to reach for their rubber ballet flats at some point, we'd been given the tour's long-sleeved shirts to protect our own clothes from the dirt. The socks were meant as protection against the many leeches, which are a significant part of the nature reserve here. Every now and then our tour guide did a leech check and helped remove any bloodsuckers. (The leeches here are rather small, dark brown to dark red, live only in the mud and, apart from being disgusting to some, are completely harmless.) After the first muddy paths and meadows, the hike took us on through streams and refreshing rivers with a considerable current. You battled your way through thigh-deep (at my height), and the long trousers and socks soaked up the water – but in return the clayey mud was washed out of your shoes again. In any case it was huge fun, and we were deeply impressed by the beauty of the mountains and the landscape in general.
We marched upriver until we reached a spot where the river flowed straight out of the mountain from a large grotto. We were invited to swim here, at the spots explained to us beforehand. The water was a bit fresh, but I find that you become less sensitive to low water temperatures in relation to the beauty of the surroundings. The current was pretty strong, but once you'd found the right way out, we could swim into the grotto as a group and climb up onto the rocks lying in the river. Some ventured very far in, to where the daylight no longer reached. It turned out that this wasn't a grotto at all, but already the exit of the cave we were soon to explore. But first, after the fun swim, there was a shared Vietnamese lunch. About 8 porters had accompanied us, carrying the caving equipment, life jackets, water and food for us. When we returned to our camp from swimming, they had laid the ground with a tarpaulin and banana leaves, which served as plates and serving platters. On top, all kinds of delicious food were laid out like on a long banquet table. So we all sat cross-legged around our banana-leaf table and got to know each other a little better for the first time over food and drink. We met a very nice Canadian couple, whom we then happened to bump into again soon in the next town.
After lunch we were handed headlamps and started the climb to the cave entrance. Our guide quickly explained the most important rules for behaving inside the mountain and thanked us all several times for booking the tour. He explained that without us tourists, the porters who came with us could only pursue illegal activities (such as logging) in the national park, as they came from the surrounding villages and there would otherwise be almost no way to earn money. Since the area became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and various tours can be offered, better and safer jobs have been created. It was very important to him to tell us this, so I'm happy to pass this information on to you. You then hike through this beautiful area with an even better feeling. We spent a good hour in the pitch-black cave. The chambers were spacious and large, sometimes narrowing again. Everywhere water dripped gently from the ceiling. The guide told us all sorts of things about the cave's geology and the many different metals and earths found here.
At one point we stopped to switch off all the lamps and listen to the silence. The damp cave path led us over short stretches of stairs and past small cave lakes. Stalactites, stalagmites and columns could be admired and inspected more closely throughout. The finale was the adventure part. First we had to climb down a steep metal staircase attached to the wall on one side. On the other side the drop went steeply and far down the slippery rock. Once you'd managed that, you had to squeeze downwards through a narrow rock passage to reach the next chamber. Not one for people with claustrophobia. We were now a good 30 metres above the cave river, in the huge chamber we had partly swum into at the beginning. Then we were strapped into a climbing harness and sent one after the other down a further 20 m ladder passage, belaying ourselves. This last part took a while and there were long waits, since everyone had to tackle the adventure slowly and carefully in turn, and after every 5 people the harnesses and descenders were pulled back up. Luckily we were among the first to be lowered, so we spent our waiting time on the last platform, where we were now given the life jackets. Here you could jump the last 5 metres into the river in full gear in the dark, or alternatively climb down a slippery wooden ladder. Everyone who had to wait could jump into the river as often as they liked – and you can imagine that Chris made good use of that. Including a one-and-a-half forward somersault and a back full in the dark. I myself managed to motivate myself to jump into the dark water a good 2 times as well, and I have to admit it was really fun. After this world trip I might even become a high-diving fan. So far it still takes me some effort every time. It was simply a great experience to jump not into a blue lake from a cliff in daylight, but into a cave river from a dripping rock into the dark. When the whole group had made it to the last obstacle and jumped or climbed into the water, we could let ourselves be washed comfortably out of the cave in our life jackets for the rest of the way, carried by the current that had previously worked against us. Of course Chris and I stopped at one of the last 3 m high river rocks to do one more cool jump into the water in the bright grotto.
After a warming coffee for the others and a glass of hot water for us tea drinkers (which is very unusual here), we hiked all the way back along the beautiful path, chatting with our new adventure companions about our Vietnam experiences. After dinner with the Canadian couple we fell into bed and the next day took the midday sleeper bus to Hoi An. Unfortunately, this time there was no cabin bus, only small bunks that were in no way suitable for Christian's height. Our brilliant globetrotter trick that we can recommend to everyone: in the very back row (where there are 5 bunks side by side as standard) we booked 3 places instead of 2 and told the bus driver that there were only two of us but we'd happily pay more to have more space. The bus driver and his helper, who found this extremely amusing, made it their special mission to make sure nobody lay down next to us, and we had a 5-person lying area at the back of the bus for the whole journey.
Chris could lie crosswise and enjoy the ride with a back scratch. I fit well in almost every Vietnamese bus anyway. From here we had an overview of the other bunks and sympathised with everyone with a standard Western build who had to endure the long journey in their far too narrow single bunk with their legs bent.
Enjoy the video and the photo gallery: