October 5, Phong Nha, Vietnam
While in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, we went to two different caves, one by foot and one mostly by boat. We then hung out in Dong Hoi until our night train left.
Paradise Cave
After breakfast, we drove about 45 minutes to our first destination, Paradise Cave. There were only a few buses in the parking lot with room for many more, so we were hoping that there wouldn’t be too many people in the cave.
Once we were through the gate, we started a series of switchbacks which took us up about 650 feet to the entrance of the cave. Until the point we turned back, we dropped about 100 feet, so we needed to gain that back on the way out. On the way up, Melody went into hiking mode and wove through the other visitors, needing to wait at the top for the rest of the group.
The cave itself has many of the same formations we saw earlier this year at Natural Bridge Cavern, with stalactites, stalagmites, columns, curtains, and several pools. Some of the rooms were very large with mostly flat ceilings, which gave the feel of a huge cavern. Along some of the walls, you could see the different layers of limestone had been pushed up on one side so the layers were at an angle.
The lighting was white spotlights, which made it challenging for pictures but did a good job of illuminating features. I think there were a few blue lights for accents, but they were very subtle.
At one platform the park employee took a group photo of us. He was obviously used to doing this since he had suggestions of what background would work. I watched him take pictures of another couple, and he was good at making sure the focus and exposure were appropriate.
When we got to the end of the boardwalk, we looked around for a bit, then turned around and started climbing to the entrance. It was very gentle until the very end, which was several flights of stairs. On the way back to the parking lot the path used stairs instead of switchbacks, so it was a pretty quick trip back down.
We got back on the bus and went back to our homestay so we could all shower. All of our bags went onto the bus then we walked down the street to have lunch.
Phong Nha Cave
Back on the bus, we drove the short distance just the other side of the homestay to our next cave tour. For this one, we boarded a boat that took us down the river for a while until we came upon a hole in the cliff wall. The boat pulled over to the side so they could remove the roof of the boat (for better viewing of the cave) and switch to oars to quietly propel us into the cave.
This was the first time that I had gone through a cave on a boat, and it was interesting how it changed things. Since you’re continuously moving, there is no lingering to look at features. Fortunately, the pace was leisurely enough to allow time to look around.
There was one very low section. The boat cleared easily, and the people on the oars needed to duck. I wonder if they just don’t do tours when the water is too high for the boats to clear.
Boats were going in both directions, and at one point two boats were coming towards us and another boat. There was enough room, but the other boat went between the two boats coming the other way. The boats seem pretty solid, and rubbing against each other seems to be a common occurrence. When boats are close together, the oars are dropped and hands are used to direct boats in the right direction.
At one point the boat turned around and we started exiting. When we were most of the way out, the boat let us out and we walked the rest of the way out of the cave. That allowed us to look at a different section of the cave that wasn’t visible from the water.
After we worked our way through the vendors, we got back onto the boat, rode to where our bus was, and then started driving towards Dong Hoi. We dropped our luggage into a restaurant, ordered what we were going to have for dinner, and then split up to wander the town. Melody and I went to a café to have hot chocolate and relax a bit, then went back to the restaurant to eat.
With everyone fed, we worked our way down the street to the train station, and once it arrived, boarded and found our compartments for the night before we arrived in Hanoi in the early morning.
