Feeling eighteen caving in Phong Nha, Vietnam

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A year seems like a long time to travel and yet we are constantly finding we need to be selective. We don't want to be packing our bags every day. Even with a relatively small country like Vietnam there is so much to see.



So of all the options for a destination to break the train journey to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) aka Saigon, where we are meeting Catherine and Rene, we picked Phong Nha. This is the base for visiting the world famous and newly discovered caves in that area. After all it was a caving club we met at 32 years ago. Until a few years ago this area 70km North West of Dong Hoi was very remote and with the new discoveries and tourism potential is opening up rapidly as a lot of Vietnam is.



The longer trips are not cheap, especially by Vietnam standards, and we decided to book a two dayer as we only had limited time. We were glad we did. As it turned out we were the only ones booked on the tour. This meant we had the sole attention of Thang, our guide, Aneta, a trainee guide and three chef cum porters.



The tours are run by Oxalis, (www.oxalis.com.vn) a Vietnamese organisation who work with the British cavers who discovered many of the caves during expeditions in the naughties and employ many local people. The British cavers are apparently working to encourage a more ecological approach to tourism, pricing for limited access. Our two day trip cost 11 million Dong for the two of us ($500/£340). A seven day trip to the world's largest cave by volume, Hang Son Doong, discovered in 2009 will cost you $3000 per person.



We loved every minute of it. The area is a National Park although the area we drove to was North West of the town as many of the new caves are outside the park boundary. You select the kit you need and this is stowed in a dry bag. The company provide a pack to carry your dry bag, a life jacket for when you are swimming, a helmet, head torch and gloves.



The first part of the hike is through rice paddies (there are lots and lots of these in Vietnam!) and corn fields before you get to the jungle. We waded a few rivers and climbed between karst hills on rocky paths. The jungle is true jungle with vines and creepers as trip hazards and fallen trees to vault. Birds are almost impossible to spot. The entomology is impressive. Every butterfly, and there are many, seems to be a different colour and shape; bright yellows, irredescent blues, long tails. We found dancing caterpillars, sand bugs, massive spiders (none are poisonous we were told) and a beautiful florescent green damsel fly. Thang was very knowledgeable and pointed out different plants and how they were used by local people. Some were food, others rope. He showed us a plant called poison ivy which gave a painful rash and was nothing like the North American plant of the same name.



After a few steep up and down climbs we reached our campsite. It was on a shallow beach area which looked out on to a wall of rock. There was a large cave entrance and a small waterfall tumbling out creating an idyllic swimming area. The water was not cold once you got over the initial shock.



We had a cup of green tea and set off to do our first cave, Ken. As with all the caves you climbed some and swam some. The chambers without exception were enormous. I felt eighteen (briefly).



The formations, curtains, columns, stalactites, flow stone, were generally large and impressive. Few were active and many were covered in a film of calcite crystals. There has clearly been a significant geological change since the formations were created. The water is no longer seeping through the ceiling to create the formations and instead there are large rivers, which rise dramatically in the wet season, smoothing out formations in their wake and even leaving wood debris high in the cave in places.



We returned to camp in time for a swim and to hang up our wet clothes. There was barbecued marinaded pork cooked on the open fire. We shared the campsite with some other guides and Adam, a British caver working for Oxalis and scouting out a four day trail. Adam had done many expeditions in the area and had been the first caver into Hang Son Doong in 2009. He now worked for Oxalis except in the rainy season and did contract structural engineering reports for a UK firm. It was interesting to see that the stereotype of a seasoned caver was still in many ways the same as it was in our day.



After dinner with an LED spotlight over the picnic sheet, the 'happy water' (rice wine) flowing, the guides began to sing. It is a big thing here and like other Asian countries, Karaoke is popular. They wanted us to do something. Finally Jane got up and lead them through 'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes' which they seemed to enjoy judging by the howls of laughter. Later we had a happy time teaching Thang the card game 'Hearts'.



Our beds were hammocks slung between poles. They were surprisingly comfortable. Each had a built in mosquito net and a rain cover. This made them quite claustrophobic but that is usually not an issue for cavers! We had double sleeping bags in the hammocks and kept plenty warm. If you turned over they swung a bit and soon settled down.



The next day we donned our wet clothes, just like old times, and set off for Tu Luan cave. This was in two layers. The first was dry with massive chambers and beautiful formations. We then climbed down a short passage, the only bit of close caving in the whole trip and swam out through the river section.



We looped back to camp for more tea before heading to Kim cave. This is named after the Dutch tourist who found it when he went for a pee in 2012. Again it has massive chambers and provides an easy route to To Mo valley for the return journey. What made Kim cave special was swimming down the river whilst small bats swooped above gobbling the many sand flies bussing around our heads. Not many people have had the chance to do that, yet.



This left Hung Ton cave in whose top entrance we had lunched on the first day. There was bit of swimming and a short pitch. We walked back to base from there the way we had come. We enjoyed the hot showers and stopped for noodles and beer with the guides and porters before driving back to Phong Nha. We were tired and were glad to find a nice hotel with a balcony over looking the river where we could dry our clothes.



The next day we were back on a scooter exploring the countryside. We had been recommended a place to eat. It was all a bit precarious because off the main road the only surface was dirt and rocks often with big ruts. River crossings shown on our map turned out to be deep fords. We noted a bridge was being built. We finally found the place we were looking for and an Italian London based lady who could share their speciality with us - freshly killed chicken cooked Vietnamese style with rice, greens and peanut sauce. They show you the live chicken before it gets the chop so you know it is fresh.



On our final day we took a relaxing boat tour into Phong Nha cave. Until the recent discoveries this was the biggest known cave in the area. It has a remarkable recent history. The area despite its remoteness was in the thick of the conflict during the American war because of its proximity to the old North South border (DMZ). There are many bombs still in the area so you are warned off leaving established paths. The Vietnamese kept a pontoon bridge in Phong Nha cave which was used as part of a supply line at night. The Americans discovered it and shot missiles at the cave. You can see the scars on the outside cliff. One missile entered the cave but did not hit the pontoon. Our boat women rowed us in over a km and it would have been easy to take a pontoon bridge that far.



So now we are heading for HCMC. We had a few hours in Dong Hoi which seemed a pleasant provincial town. There was an active market and we found a family restaurant selling tasty pork and shrimp rice pancakes.



The train ride is comfortable and any journey of 24 hours becomes old eventually. A lot of the track is next to the sea and if boredom approaches all we have to do is look out the window.

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Photos

River wading as we approach the jungle
Thang (pronounced like Tung) is leading the way

A quick swim before dinner
This picture was taken from our campsite

Our hammocks
The hammocks were surprisingly comfortable, I just about fitted and we both got a good nights sleep

Breakfast
Adam is in the foreground, Aneta on the far left and Thang is opposite Jane

Ready for swimming
The water temperature was not unpleasant

We saw two of these wrapping spiders
Adam said they were 'Huntsman' spiders

Curtains like this were covered in a fine film of calcite
Many probably disappear under water in the rainy season when the rivers swell