Woke to a thunderstorm (as expected) – it rained pretty much on and off all day (at times quite hard).
As such, we headed underground – into the Phong Nha Cave – as per the name of the national park.
We walked to the visitors center, and from there were ushered into sharing a boat with a Vietnamese group (up to 12 in a boat), and into the long boat we all went. The group was quite friendly, making sure that we didn’t get lost…. the two older gentlemen, did not seem to stop talking and expressing their thoughts and opinions….
About 3-5km up river we were driven with lots of locals fishing(?), and doing their thing on the river and on the shore. Then around the corner, and into the “relatively” small opening in the side of the mountain. From there, the motor was switched off, and two paddlers guided the boat through the cave for about 1-2km of just AMAZING caverns and huge formations, all tastefully illuminated.
The pictures again today do not do justice to the amazing space you are in. I was particularly impressed by the infrastructure they set up for tourists – – very tastefully done – well maintained, and well thought out. On the way out of the cave, about 200m before getting into sunlight again, you get off the boat and walk the rest of the way on a sandy surface to the entrance – very cool idea, and an amazing extra to the trip. Jörg and I were overwhelmed by the last 2 days of the countryside and caves to be seen here – I can only highly recommend it for everyone.
The afternoon was spent planning the next 1-1/2 weeks, and doing a basic schedule check of when do we have to be where to get to our destination in time for our return flight.
Oh yeah – I found a pharmacists and got various medications for freeing up my chest and helping with my cough – all for under 3€. A quick research in the internet to make sure I was taking what I was expecting showed that it was exactly what I needed (antitussive and expectorant)…..we’ll try it out this evening.
Here some more pictures of the day…..
Hallo Roland,
Erst mal schön, dass es dir so einigermaßen gut geht. Die Bilder und deine Beschreibungen dazu sind schon beeindruckend und man könnte neidisch werden. Ich schau zwar nicht jeden Tag auf eure Seite , aber macht weiter so, ich bin gespannt. Alles Gute für die weitere Reise. . Viele Grüße aus dem kalten Neuhausen und gute Besserung.. Norbert