Phong Nha- Cave Bonanza and 10 More Years

 Phong Nha in north central Vietnam bills itself as the adventure capital of Asia with trekking, zip lining, kayaking, rappelling,  cave swimming and camping and other activities all centered around a vast cave network, including the largest cave in the world (by volume)  discovered in 2004. Phong Nha naturally attracts a younger crowd- tons of young Europeans here- but you see all ages.  Several million visited last year of which 600,000 were foreigners. 

The setting for all this is pretty spectacular when the mist clears- 

I visited 3 separate caves- 2 “dry” and one “wet “ in my 1.5 day visit- 

The “dry” caves still had underground rivers and stalagmites, stalagtites and Stalag 13ites in various animal and human shapes, including an elephant, camel and king with a scepter on his throne-

They had one that they couldn’t explain how it had been formed, but I just named it a “cactus”, closed the case and moved on- 

The visit to the “wet cave”, called the Dark Cave, was for me a unique experience. You first took a zip line across a river, then swam into the cave, careful not to dunk your headlamp and thereby electrocute everyone in the cave, then slowly made your way barefoot in the dark to the end of the cave, slipping and jamming your toes against rocks continuously along the way. 

At the back was a million year old muddy pool so full of ancient minerals  that it allegedly gave you 5 more years of life. Well, I figured if you really slopped yourself in this ancient healing mud might you actually get 10 more years?  My guide, some might cynically say seeking a large tip, readily agreed-

But I was only part of a crack team of mud spelunkers assembled from around the globe (girl from Argentina, couple from Israel, me from US and our Vietnamese guide/photographer)-

A fun group and experience, tho some of us wallowed in the mud more than others. The guide said I definitely looked 10 years younger. I gave him a big tip for his great guiding skills. 

Adventure centers started with Queenstown in New Zealand about 25 years ago and have spread around the globe. Given the beautiful setting, unique experiences and  low cost, I believe Phong Nha will only grow in popularity, particularly as more Americans discover it  

 

Hue Fun

 I rented a high speed 100% carbon fiber state of the art bike for $2/day with one speed to save on weight to tour the city of Hue-

Hue is the former (1804-1945) imperial capital of Vietnam.  The Imperial palace is a large complex in the middle of the city that Hue is making a great effort to fully and faithfully restore.  Hard to capture its size and grandeur in pictures-

Interesting and fun to see so many Vietnamese women in particular posing for pictures in beautiful traditional garb (photo permission)

I also visited the tomb of one of the Emperors - Te Duc- which was a peaceful oriental place- 

I eventually got the hang of cycling through the city where the primary means of traffic control seemed to be the horn  I had my little bell to ward off the swarming motorbikes, cars trucks, etc  

Walking or cycling along the Perfume River in the middle of the city was a delight.  It had a bridge of many colors and you could pick your favorite-

I stayed at a very hospitable guesthouse whose hosts- Mi and Lam- were so kind and attentive-  

it did set me back $19/night tho it included a robust breakfast-

You can’t get away from noodles in SE Asia even at breakfast.   

Onto-

 

City of Lanterns; Heavy Weddings and Can and Ken Do Hai Van Pass

 I flew from Cambodia to Da Nang in Vietnam and then took a Grab (Asian Uber) to the popular tourist city of Hoi An about 30 minutes away.  Hoi An is an attractive small city dating back to the mid- 1500s, when it was a thriving trading port with China, Japan and Portugal.  In fact, its most famous site and symbol is the "Japanese Bridge" a long huge bridge whose vast span connected the distant Japanese and Chinese colonies of Hoi An back in the early 1600s-

 

 Hoi An's old town was named a World Unesco site in 1998 and since then it has taken off and become perhaps the biggest tourist city in Vietnam, receiving over 3 million visitors per year.  It is a very nice small city and is known for its lanterns-

Tailoring (there are custom tailoring shops everywhere for all types of clothing )-

And for its markets and food-

Part of the scene is to go out on the river at night and light a candle and mildly add to river pollution with all of the other lantern-lit boats-

It also seems to have perfectly captured the tattoo craze-

I noticed that Vietnamese weddings seem to be serious affairs-

On my walking tour of Hoi An I learned that the Buddhism of Vietnam is different than Thailand and others  it certainly seemed that the Buddha statuary was happier and better fed- 

After spending a pleasant day and a half in Hoi An, I hired a motorcycle driver by the name of Can to take me over the acclaimed Hai Van Pass and then onto Hue about 100 miles to the north.  While the pass was mostly obscured in mist (per usual, I guess), it was a fun trip with some interesting scenery along the way including a dragon bridge 

Can, while unafraid to pass on the twisty mountain (or other) roads, was a very good driver.