Day 45 - Phong Nha

The caves at Phong Nha!

Day 45 - 07th August

Arriving at 4:30 am in a remote location is definitely not something I wish to do too much in my lifetime. 

The guy meeting us was, to put it bluntly, annoying. He was yelling around too much for my liking and trying to sell us tours. We headed to the Easy Tiger to check in, meeting two Danish girls, Anne and Julie and a German girl, Sabrina before hiring motorbikes and heading to the caves.

We cruised up Ho Chi Minh Highway East, me on the back of Jordy's bike, holding a GoPro and enjoying the rush. Weather wise it was a cracking day for a motorbike drive. 

When we arrived at Paradise Cave, we paid 250,000 VND and were told to disembark the buggy up the mountain side to the entrance because we hadn't paid for a ticket. #awkward. So we hiked.

Inside the cave, it was . . . interesting. Stalactites and Stalagmites were everywhere, of course as were many Chinese tourists. When we took group photos, we were suddenly descended upon by teams of tourist wanting photos with us. Ah, to be a westerner in Asia.

Shortly after, we made our way to the Dark Cave, and boy, what an experience it was. We paid 350,000 VND and were treated to a zip line, cave swimming, a mud bath in which you could float easily and kayaking. On the way, we met Winnipeg resident, Nikihta. He was a good crack, especially as he understood my jokes which were lost of my fellow Europeans.

And then it was my turn to drive. I had Jordy on my back which made me uncomfortable so I went solo. Ah, it was an awesome feeling to be rushing down the highway, enjoying life. I did pretty well to so came away happy.

After a fairly successful day, we had dinner at the hostel (the double BBQ burger was delightful) and then retired to bed early for the 4:00 am wake up to get the bus to Hue.