On a slow boat to Phong Nha Cave

On the Thursday that Dad left to go on his 2 day expedition, the owner of Phong Nha Farmstay (http://www.phong-nha-cave.com/) suggested that the rest of us tag along with a group of Aussies that were going to Phong Nha Cave by bike and boat. We hadn't planned anything for that day and I was keen, but Mum just wanted a day to relax so she gave me some money to pay for lunch, I went over and said hello and once everyone was ready, off we went! It was a longer bike ride than the one to the Pub With Cold Beer, but the hills weren't as steep and everyone managed to keep up a decent pace. Not only was the ride fun, it was educational, as Malty, our impromptu guide (his name is actually David but no-one calls him that), gave a bit of a commentary as we rode along.

 Here's Malty

After a bit we came to a river that had to be crossed by boat, as there are no bridges for kilometres either way. The lady who operated it charged us just over 5000 đồng each, although Malty said it varies up to 10,000.

Not many foreigners cross the river  that way, so wherever we went every single kid we passed and even some adults called out "hello!" as we passed. As we rode along, we saw some lovely landscapes; it could almost have been NZ apart from the rice paddies!

Eventually, we came to the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park. It was pretty hard to miss:

Once we were in, Malty led us to the ticket counter, where I noticed a rather unusual sign...

I wonder how many mental patients try to come through? Obviously not enough for the cashier to recognize them, as we got through no problem. We got tickets and headed down to catch another boat. There are over 300 families who make their living through fishing and transporting tourists, so whoever organized the place had a roster system set up so only a few were there each day.

While on the river that led to Phong Nha Cave, we got a closer look at the hills around us.

At last, we saw the unimposing cave entrance in front of us, and after a brief stop we headed in.

At the end of the first chamber (above photo) was a tiny entrance we had to squeeze through to get to the main gallery. This was where the oohs and aahs began, as we passed formation after formation of beautiful rocks, each lit by well-placed lights.

Towards the end, we came to an unusual sight: an underground beach! This area contained some of the most impressive pillars and stalactites/stalagmites, including one that sparkled (third and fourth pics).

 At the end was a massive chamber with towering pillars on one side and a sheer wall on the other.

Once we got out, we stopped for ice cream then hopped back onto the boats to go home, passing what seemed to be a lighthouse, an odd sight on a river.

We had lunch at a stop on the way back (if 4:00 can be called lunchtime) that made absolutely delicious stewed pork and pork ribs. Sadly, we had to take a less scenic route home as we were pressed for time to get back before dark. This did, however, give me a chance to talk to the Aussies and find out how badly they'd been ripped off the first day they arrived, paying close to 10 times the normal amount for a taxi and coconut. It had been a great day, but we were all very happy to get to the farmstay again.