Phong Nha National Park and Paradise Cave

The next stop in my journey north was Phong Nha National Park which contains the largest caves in the world.  Unfortunately, that cave is very exclusive and costs over $3000 to enter as part of a tour.  You could do a 5 day/3 night tour of the cave and camp inside.  Availability is limited and you have to book months in advance.  There are a lot of other tours and caves in the area that are equally impressive which were much more affordable.  Adventure tours which include slightly deeper journeys into the cave, some swimming and other activities, but many of them start at $75.

Upon arriving, Scotty mentioned that they were staying at a brand new homestay that has only been open for a month or so and that it was REALLY nice.  A private room was available for $13 which was about double what the dorm beds in town cost, but I told myself that every once in a while on this trip, I have to treat myself to a slightly nicer room and this was my first opportunity.  Over the two nights, I would spend an extra $10 for a much nicer overall experience.  I got my own bathroom, a large double bed and everything was brand new.  The balcony view was stunning and the hosts were very nice.  They offered to cook dinner for us on the first night and it was a certified feast.

They brought out the homemade rice wine and had a shot for shot competition with the proprietor.  I have no idea how much alcohol was in the rice wine, but I was barely feeling anything and he was getting red in the face and eventually conceded victory to me.

We were also talking about Canada with the one english speaking helper and I offered the first of my giveaway Canadian Flag patches.  They were very appreciative and happy.  During Dinner they had one of their photographer friends come over and take photos for what I assume is for their website.  Will have to check back to see if we are famous in the near future.

After dinner, everyone was feeling pretty full, so I caught up on the blog and attempted to fix some of the issues I was having earlier.  With the help of a college friend (Thanks Nick) we got things figured out and things seem to be working better now.

The next day, I woke up and went for a 6km recovery run in the morning mist and took some photos of the misty mountains.  We opted to go to Paradise Cave which was easily accessible and only costs 250,000 dong ($11) but does not include any of the adventure options.  The drive out to paradise cave was just as stunning as the cave proved to be, photo stops were included for some amazing vistas.  It was a bit overcast that day so it provided a really neat look and feel to the mountains, although I think a sunny day with more visibility would have been better.

We arrived at the cave and headed up to the entrance which was about a 500m uphill walk.  There was a tiny opening to enter but it quickly opened up into a large chamber which then descended into a very long passageway.  Apparently this particular cave extends more than 30km and is the longest known cave in the world.  We were able to go back about 800m and there was a tour that allowed you to continue about 5km into the dark.  I think this would have been a really cool experience, being in the dark in a cave, but it was also pricey and it was hard to know what the experience would be like before actually being there.  There were wooden pathways and the cave was well lit, which allowed for some really nice photos.

Afterwards we walked through town and had lunch at one of the slightly nicer looking restaurant as I have been eating a lot of street food over the past few days.  Got the beef stew and it was great.  After that we headed back to the homestay for a bit of logistical planning for the coming days.  I figured out my next few days and made arrangements for accommodation. While I was sitting on my computer, the host family kept bringing small plates of food, which I kept picking at so even around 7pm I was still not hungry for dinner, but we headed into town to grab a few things and see what the night life had to offer.  We ended up at the easy tiger hostel, which was basically a bar and restaurant for backpackers as well as a place to stay for a few.  Apparently they do not take online reservations, you have to email them ahead of time if you want to stay there.  I was very happy to stay in my private home stay and avoid the night time antics of this place.

I ended up meeting a guy from Hue, a girl from Saigon and another girl from Saigon, at this place which made the night continue.  The tiny tiger closed down at 11pm so that their guests could sleep, so the crew had to find another place to go.  Down the street was Andy’s bar which was basically a club.  Dancing was fun but the DJ was terrible so it was hard to continue the beat.  My unofficial bedtime on this trip has been 12am and at about 11:55 the power went out, which was my cue to leave.  When i got outside it was pouring rain and i had to walk 10 minutes in the rain to go home.  This was the first test of my rain jacket and the initial review is that is sucks.  There were water on the inside of the jacket after a light rainfall.  Therefore I have learned my lesson about buying a cheap Columbia rain jacket, on sale at Sears before they go out of business.  I arrived back at the homestay and the gate was locked and instead of waking anyone up, I hopped the fence and headed into my room.  I am kicking myself on the rain jacket front, because i have a really nice one at home but it is a bit bulkier than the one I ended up bringing.  Serves me right.

The next morning we had delicious breakfast and made preparations to head further north.

I can honestly say that of the places I have visited in Vietnam so far, Phong Nha has been my favorite overall experience.  The homestay was amazing, the views and caverns were awesome and there weren’t that many tourists.  Apparently the small town nearby has only popped up in the last 4 years and the caves are mostly visited by Vietnamese tourists vs foreigners, although there were still a lot of backpackers.  I would recommend this place to anyone visiting Vietnam.

A few shots of the Song Que homestay.  It was brand new and only had 4 rooms.  The proprietors could speak very little english, but were very nice.

View from their rooftop deck: