On the early morning bus to Hue, Kristy and I met Carrie, an aspiring jewelry designer from England. We arrived to a gray, drizzly day, checked in at a hostel, and set out to find some eats. After stopping for great street food, Kristy returned to the hostel while Carrie and I visited the Hue Citadel, which used to be a walled city/fortress/the home of emperors and other rich, important people. It isn't in the best shape now but is being renovated in accordance with UNESCO standards.
Although, if I'm honest, the giant koi pond at the front of the complex was definitely a highlight for me. These guys were all at least a foot and a half long!
After wandering around for several hours, Carrie and I went looking for dinner and stumbled across more amazing street food: sweetened popped rice and some wonderful soup with several kinds of noodles and a bunch of mystery meat.
Mmmmm, big ol' slabs of liver.
The next day I signed up for a tour of the DMZ, or the Demilitarized Zone, which, ironically, is one of the most bombed places in the world. On the trip I met Massimo and Paulo, two friendly older guys from Trentino, Italy. We stopped in Dong Ha to pick up our guide, Hai, a smart, delightful, woman with a great deal of poise and a very soothing voice. Our first stop was the "Rockpile", an old U.S. Marine base located on top of a mountain. A flag can now be seen on top, placed there recently by locals who climbed to the top to symbolically reclaim the land.
Next we visited a village of the native Bru people. They live almost exclusively off of the land, farming and hunting in the nearby jungles. Unlike other families in Vietnam, the Bru are allowed to have as many children as they desire and school for these children is paid for by the state. (Just FYI, the Bru are only one of several native tribes still living in Vietnam.)
The Dakong river and bridge were next. This is where POW's were often exchanged and marks the starting point of the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Our following stop was the Khe Sanh U.S. Marine base, site of one of the most violent battles during the war. Bunkers, planes, tanks and bombs are still there, and the ground is littered with medals and dog tags.
View from inside a bunker...
The final site was the Vinh Moc tunnels. Unlike the Cu Chi tunnels outside of Saigon, the Vinh Moc tunnels were used as emergency shelters for Northern Vietnamese citizens. Made up of three levels, the tunnels have tiny family rooms, kitchens, a meeting hall, security stations, and even a "maternity room" where seventeen babies were born despite it being little more than an exaggerated dent in the wall.
Getting back to Hue meant more street food for dinner! I explored the night markets along the Perfume River, sampling skewers of grilled ground fish (fish-balls, if you will); fried sweet and savory dumplings; plastic cups overflowing with slices of green mango and lychee; and fresh clams grilled next to the water they came from, served swimming in lemongrass, chili, and lime juice.
Whoever says you can expect to lose weight when traveling in SE Asia clearly has never been here.
Back in the hostel I met Mariana, from Brazil, who was also trying to make her way up to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang caves. As a good general rule in traveling and in life is "the more the merrier," Kristy and I welcomed Mari to join in the adventure. The following day our duo turned trio set out via bus from Hue to the small city of Dong Hoi, where we transferred to a local bus that took us to the tiny town of Son Trach, nestled beside the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and surrounded by nothing but mind blowing scenery and villages.
After learning the astronomical prices of the cave tours run through our hostel (and having the tours we did grit our teeth and sign up for cancelled...twice...in a four hour period) we decided to just rent motorbikes and do the caves ourselves. Our dorm mate Frankie - an amazing 20 year old from the UK traveling on his own by motorbike (who had just finished a month in India) - decided to join us. We spent a relaxing night in listening to one of the hostel staff beautifully play guitar and sing covers of American, British, and Vietnamese songs.
The next morning, motorbikes and caves were exactly what we did! For the first time I got my very own bike. Barry, an Irishman we met on the local bus the day before, tagged along as well. While renting the bikes we met John from the UK and Jonathan from Belgium, who became part of the growing group. We all rode to a marketplace in a nearby village for supplies (aka: food) and continued on the breathtaking ride to Paradise Cave.
(Grrrr upside-down photo, grrrr!)
Thien Duong, or Paradise Cave, was unbelievable. From the immense caverns to the still pools to the ancient formations dripping and growing from every vantage point, walking around felt like visiting another world.
Those dark spots behind the lights are people. Huge-ness!
After Paradise Cave we rode around the rest of the park's circuit. Beneath skies specked with dragonflies we passed sheer rock cliff faces, impossibly steep mountains blanketed in jungle, and multicolored village homes where children ran out to wave and give us high fives.
The Phong Nha Cave was next. Unlike Paradise, the floor of Phong Nha is underwater, so the only way to see it is by boat.
This guy paddled us all through the caves!
After all the caves and riding we went to a small family restaurant for a big group dinner and decided to spend the following day doing a tour of the Dark Cave. In the morning Kristy, John, Jonathan, and I motorbiked out to the Dark Caves (where we met three other guys) and spent a few hours kayaking, spelunking, sliding through mud, and swimming in complete darkness, with only our headlamps to light the way.
Even though we could easily have spent another week in Son Trach, exploring the local villages, riding around the countryside, trekking through the jungle and visiting other caves, visa time limits and better weather up north beckoned us to move on. That night, Kristy, Mari, and I began our journey up to Cat Ba island, off the coast of Halong Bay. Still, after my experiences in Phong Na-Ke Bang, I think it's safe to say there will be more caves in my future on this trip.
