Phong Nha, Vietnam

This was never going to be easy. The open bus ticket is severely limited to the main stops. Phong Nha, and nearby town Dong Hoi are certainly not one of these! Nested mid-country somewhere between Hanoi and Hue we asked if the overnight bus could drop us at Dong Hoi, as it's on the way, to which they agreed. Fingers crossed we went to sleep expecting to be shouted at to get off the bus when we arrived. Luckily (or unluckily) I didn't sleep much and could see that we were approaching Dong Hoi so woke Talitha up and gathered our stuff. Sure enough, 10 minutes later, we were silently hurried from the bus at 5am, with everyone else still snoring.

legroom

Dong Hoi is dead at 5am with just the odd motorbike pootling about, viewing us with confusion. With no help from a nearby hotel (except the use of their toilet) we head out looking for the bus station guided by the LP map. After walking past an odd assortment of government buildings, one of which had an American warplane and a tank in its front garden, we arrive at the quiet little bus station, much to the bemusement of the locals. Asking about a bus to Phong Nha leads to differences in opinions: some people saying there's no bus, some giving us one time and some saying another. I go and grab a meaty breakfast baguette from a bakery we spotted on the walk over and get back to a conclusion. "This goes to Phong Nha now!". Off we go, still a little unsure if this is correct. We must've travelled around 10km when we're ushered off the bus. Asking the passengers where we go next we're pointed to the other side of the road, where there is some dirt. The bus roars off and motorbike taxis loom down. They explain that there's no bus, but having heard this a lot we're not convinced. I get a second and third opinion from a shop owner then garage attendant, who look at me like they'd never seen a white person. They tell me that there's no bus so we sit with a staring party, in a cafe, in the middle of somewhere, on the junction of the road that clearly leads to Phong Nha. We admit defeat and call the farmstay, who agree to come and pick us up (for 300,000 dong). So close :)

View from the farmstay

The farm and surrounding countryside are breathtaking. Fields of wheat and corn as far as the mountains in the distance seperating Vietnam with Laos. The farm building is tall with an open front and back making it bright and airy. There's a nice back garden with swimming pool, a pool table and bar inside and lots of chairs to lounge on. The farmstay is run by an Australian chap and his Vietnamese wife  who speaks with an interesting mix of the two accents. Our dormatory is in a seperate building belonging to the brother of the Vietnamese lady. It's another tall farmhouse and is possibly the hottest dorm I've ever stayed in, despite the ammount of fans working overtime.

Communal area

Hot dorm

We spend the day relaxing, updating the diaries, reading and eating. The farmstay run tours to the local caves and they're keen for us to join these, but we've already decided to get a motorbike and have an adventure ourselves. That evening we have a sunset walk accompanied by the farm dog, who doesn't seem fussy who he walks with.

Next morning we crawl out of the sauna as soon as it's light, able to bear no more. Bryan, who I met in India, said to me: if you only go to one cave in Vietnam make it the Paradise cave. Tooled up with motorbike, suncream, hats, useless map from the farmstay, water and swimming costumes I give Talitha a quick lesson on how to work a semi-automatic motorbike and we pootle down the dirt track to the main road. It takes about an hour to reach the paradise cave system in the Nha-Ke Bang national park (with a couple of wrong turns and a stop off at a cute Catholic church). You're supposed to pay to enter the national park but if you tell the guards that you're just here for a quick swim they let you pass (you still have to pay to get into the cave).

At only 10am the heat is already unbearable so the path from the car park to the cave is a very welcome leafy, butterfly filled pleasure. We are the only people walking with everyone else opting to take the non-complimentory golf carts and mowing down the poor butterflies; minus one for conservation. Approaching the cave you can feel pockets of sublime cool air emanating from the cliffs like natural air conditioning - so nice!!

Tiny cave entrance leads to this gaping chasm!

The cave entrance itself is merely a hole, barely enough to fit some stairs down. The cave was only discovered in 2005 by British explorers and is 31km long and a dizzying 100m high in places. They were so impressed with the features they named it the Paradise cave (Thien Duong). It's been open to tourists since 2010. I've been to many caves in my billion years in this universe but this one is astonishing! It was extremely quiet when we were there and at the deepest point tourists can go we were actually the only people. I can only imagine how terrifying being 1km underground would be if the lights were to go out. I'll shut up typing and give you a handful of images I took on my 5D. The images are not edited in any way as I have no software for this (on my travels). Talitha is my beautiful assistant trying to give the images some perspective!

Giant stalagmite (might touch the ceiling... remember? From school?)

1km underground

Cave exit

Leaving the chilled caves we immediately broke into sweat. The difference in temperature is ridiculous. On the way out I noticed this sign and had to take a shot. Being drunk and mental illness are the same?!

Out the caves on the road back there's a spot on the river that you can bathe at (for a small fee). We got into the cool water only to be suddenly surrounded by beer drinking, shouty locals. Back out the water and clambering out of bounds downstream over hot boulders produced a much more discreet spot!

Back on the bike to the farmstay for supper. On the way back we stopped for gas, and I got off the wrong (i.e. not left) side of the bike (amateur passenger!) burning my leg on the exhaust and giving myself a "Vietnamese kiss". Very common in this part of the world. It seems you're not a real motorbikey person until you have one, or something. I'll post update pictures in the coming months!

As a final note I would just like to say that Phong Nha is my absolute favourite place in Vietnam.

Nice helmet

Vietnamese kiss - day 1

Hanoi, Vietnam

(We're in Hanoi three times, using it as a base to go to Ha Long bay then Sapa then to the south. I'll put all three times in this post to keep it together)

1st time (14th April 2012)

New country! The third country on my trip (not counting the brief scout into Bangkok). The only option from the airport to Hanoi old quarter seems to be a taxi. Very nicely they tell us that another (Australian) couple are also going that way and we should share a cab with them. We will see this couple at many random intervals in Vietnam! The cab journey was extremely serene. The driver was very cautious. I thought it was just because my last reference was India, where nothing's serene, but the Australians thought to too. On arrival at the Hanoi old quarter we split from the Australians and walk about the main street looking for some cheap accommodation. Things are a lot easier here, everything feels a lot more western. Language is a bigger barrier here; English is not as widely spoken as in India, but it's extremely easy to pick up and recognise certain words. The main street in the French old quarter is bustling with people chatting, eating and drinking on tiny little bright blue or red plastic chairs. Motorbikes buzz about constantly with two, three, four and five people (and sometimes animals) on-board. We come across a hotel called the Queen palace. It's $15 a night for a twin room. Nothing special, just functional. As it's late and we're shattered from travelling for what seems like an eternity we take it and, after a quick local beer, pass out.

Next day we grab the free breakfast of baguette, fried egg and a cheese triangle then head out. The roads are infinitely busier now but still no-where near as crazy as India. The coffee here is extremely surprising at first. It tastes strong, almost like liquorish, and is very sweet when mixed with condensed milk. I assumed I would gain a kick from the caffeine but there was almost nothing. Is this because of my new mountain dew addiction? (which you can't get in Vietnam). What happened to the caffeine? Vietnam is the number two coffee exporter in the world (after Brazil), exporting double the amount of Colombia, so maybe they sell all the good stuff elsewhere, like Sri Lanka does with tea. I was a little disappointed, but still love the unique flavour.

You want buy hat?

Over the next two days we mostly say no thank you to people trying to sell you everything and anything. The variety of things to buy is mind-boggling. Wanting to ditch the stained, sweaty t-shirts I've been wearing for the last two months, and with Talitha threatening not to travel any further with me, I searched high and low for something with NO logo on it (to no avail). I don't need a t-shirt with Vietnamese beer logos and I definitely do not want one with "iPHO" emblazoned on the front. Just a nice, plain t-shirt would be lovely.

The food is just delicious. PHO (noodles) and COM (rice) with either GA (chicken) or BO (beef), and a side order of spring rolls and washed down with a BIA or CA PHE (I'll let you work those two out). The food is most delicious from the tiniest little street cafe's, where they might also serve BIA HOI: home-brewed, un-licenced, super-cheap and refreshing beer (quality does vary mind!) I learned last night, from a Dutch / Vietnamese girl, that the little accents that look like question marks mean you pronounce the word like a question, with an upwards inflection - even though it might not be a question.

For the second night we find a dorm in a hostel called May de Ville. It's $6 a night so not particularly cheap but it was amazing in every way. They booked our open bus ticket, booked the Ha Long and booked the Sapa tour, all with phone support if we needed it (thanks to ......). They had a free breakfast on the lovely rooftop cafe, the beds were big and comfortable and the shower was amazing. The only issue was the wi-fi in the rooms. It was shockingly bad to non-existent, despite the constant badgering (from everyone) of the technical guy. It was fine in reception though. For your information May de Ville also have a hotel in Hanoi, which I assume is severely more expensive! Next stop Ha Long bay

2nd time (18th April 2012)

The second time in Hanoi we literally arrive back from Ha Long bay in the afternoon. We go back to the May de Ville hostel who very kindly let us rest and use the internet until our bus arrived. We're recommended some pho by the doorman at the hostel. The cafe is tiny (maybe 8 seats) and is tucked down a back alley. This turns out to be the best pho I'll have in Vietnam. Cue the night bus to Sapa!

3rd time (23rd April 2012)

Arriving at 6am from Sapa on a night bus. Broken sleep and the after-effects of Nytol are never good for your head together. Swamped by people wanting to take us to the old quarter we jump in a taxi. After all this time on the bus and now in a taxi I desperately need to walk, so jump out as soon as we reach the town.

The sleeper bus. Complete with FREEZING A/C.

We only have a day here and May de Ville very kindly let us have a private room for a shower and a sleep for a few hours, with free breakfast! (I cannot recommend this hostel enough). In the afternoon I go for a walk around the lake and meet a Vietnamese student lawyer who wishes to better his English. I spend two hours with him. His English was good, but pronunciation bad, except when he sang, when it was amazing! Sitting by a lake with a Vietnamese student singing Beatles songs to you is a surreal experience. Once done with the lake I find a Korean restaurant and grab some food. I have a new found love of Korean food.

Yummmmm