Last weekend we travelled to Dong Hoi to visit the nearby caves. Paradise cave is the longest cave in the world. We would have liked to visit the Phong Nha cave, too, but unfortunately our train arrived 1hr too late and we missed the tour bus. So, we just did a shorter trip to see Paradise Cave only. It was mighty impressive, highly recommend to visit. People tell me it's nicer than the Phong Nga Cave. The latter you access by boat but the cave is not as big as the other one.
We went from Vinh by train. Took the 4am one. Journey took about 4-5 hours. Train was half hour late in Vinh and an hour late in the end arriving in Dong Hoil. Hotel was nice, fairly newly renovated. Only $15 for both of us, so, can't complain - aircon, nice bathroom, clean, friendly english speaking manager. Not much of exiting eating out opportunities, but didn't starve. Try Sua Chua - Joghurt with ice. We needed that on the hot day after a short night on arrival.
The next day we walked through town to the beach. Beautiful white sand, not a soul. Water was warm. So, we went for a swim and spoiled ourselves with a nice western food lunch in a 5* Resort (Sun Spa Resort) right on the beach and later - after a swim enjoyed a cocktai.
Alcohol hard to find on a menu in restaurants around Vinh, only in some bars. Everyone drinks beer, so, for wine drinkers like me - not the paradise.
All in all an enjoyable weekend.
