"Rave in a Cave"

We thought it was time to go off the beaten tourist track so headed to Phong Nha Farmstay. We had pictured a couple of days relaxing in the National Park- this was not to be! Our first day was a trip into the National Park itself. Our guides Petra, German, and Benny, English, were really friendly and gave us loads of information about the history, geology and biology of the park. We drove around the park on Highway 20 which was used during the American war to transport goods between the north and south. We stopped along the way to look at the limestone cliffs with scars from where the bombs hit and caves where the Vietnamese hide during the bombings. We also looked at the only waterfall in the entire park. Another stop was to see a military bridge that lies above the original Ho Chi Minh trail and to this day it is kept in pristine condition as the Vietnamese fear the Chinese will invade.

Scars on the limestone

Tiny hiding cave

Next it was time to pretend we were in Jurassic Park by taking golf buggies through the jungle to Paradise Cave. Until recently it was the biggest cave in Vietnam but now has the title of the longest dry cave in Asia because Son Doong was discovered in 2009. This is believed to be the biggest cave in the world but unfortunately is too dangerous for tourists to visit. Paradise Cave was impressive enough for us though. We walked 1km into it on a boardwalk whilst the cave was lit by white lights which made it far less tacky than the disco lights experienced in Halong Bay Cave.

Paradise Cave

Then after the biggest pile of rice for lunch we headed to the river to swim and cool down. The water was a gorgeous blue although the current kept sweeping people down the river until they hit a well positioned rope.


The last activity on the agenda was kayaking, although we weren't given much more information than that. This was because we only spent 5 minutes going in circles in rubber dinghy's they call kayaks before reaching the entrance of Dark Cave. This is kept a surprise to avoid people chickening out. Once at the cave we put on a head torch and a life jacket before wandering into the darkness. We swam and stumbled 200m into the cave where we were made to turn off our torches. It was so pitch black we couldn't see our own hands in front of our faces. To help everyone calm down after the dark cave our guides produced 2 bottles of rum and refused to leave until they were both finished! This made for a merry trip home even though we missed the sunset.

Our second day involved hiring bikes to visit Phong Nha Cave, after which the National Park is named. We cycled 5km through the country and villages before jumping on a dragon boat to visit the cave. At this time of the year the water is just low enough for boats to enter although the engine had to be turned off and our guides paddle. This was so the boat could be slowly steered avoiding the cave ceiling. After yet more food we started the cycle home. It was an eventful ride with children throwing things at us and hitting us when we didn't give them money and dogs viciously chasing our bikes! Despite this, the 2 days spent at the Farmstay were our favourite in Vietnam and we highly recommend it.

Phong Nha Cave 

Tight squeeze!

catching drips...in a cave?

Farmstay