Holy Big Ass Cave!

I have been in a lot of caves. All the major ones in the US and a bunch of others around the world. Thien Duong Cave, better known as Paradise Cave, is 31 km long! Tourists can venture in for the first 1.5 km. This part of the cave has a considerable walkway, and great lighting, the designers of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park have done a phenomenal job. It’s the best national park infrastructure I’ve seen anyplace in Asia.

They let about ten people a day on a guided trek that goes 7 km into the cave. I was fortunate enough to get a slot. There were only 3 of us! We had an English-speaking guide and a porter. The cave complex is fantastic! There are places inside that feel like a stadium. There are also parts you have to swim through and some tight pass-throughs. And, of course, stalagmites and stalactites galore.

Before starting, they gave us camo uniforms and running shoes to change into. Of the three of us, I was the only one who could fit into the camo, and no one could fit into the shoes. They are not set up for western tourists. The cave was discovered by a local man in 2005. They have been doing tours of it for three years. My advice is to go now. It’s hard to say what it will be like in a decade. The only downside is that it’s costy. 2,600,000 dong ($130).

We started by going through a gate the tourists never get past and walked about 1/4 km. Then the guide had us turn out our lights, and we were in pitch darkness, and there were no sounds at all. It was very cool. If I had my way, I’d set up a rope that could be followed so you could do the whole trek in complete darkness. Though I’m not sure, there are enough weirdos like me to market it to.

We continued for about 3 km and stopped to take everything off but foot gear and swimwear. The wet parts were coming. There’s a strange cultural disconnect for me with the modesty involved. The guides used underwear for swimwear. I guess what happens in the cave stays in the cave.

It was me, an Aussie riding a bicycle through SEA, and a girl from Northern Europe, and when we got in the water, the Aussie was a bit shocked by the temp. I’ve swum in caves before, but not for this long. After walking past all sorts of fascinating formations and getting detailed explanations of how they form, we arrived at our stopping point for lunch. At the 7 km mark, the cave is open to the sky.

It was breathtaking to come around the corner and see daylight shining down on a little valley in the cave. We found a big rock to have lunch on. Lunch was crap, rice, a few pieces of nondescript meat, and an over-ripe banana. After lunch, we went exploring and swimming. There was a shaft of like shining down on a bolder, way up on a ledge. Of course, I had to climb up there and bask in the light.

The trip back was a rocket run. I kept stopping to take more pictures, and the guides tried to hurry us along, which inspired me to take even more pictures. I do not think the guide said two sentences on the way out. The cave is stunning, and it is a must-do if you are anywhere near the central\northern coast of Vietnam!

Lake Ba Be, Hanoi and Headed South

My last stop before Hanoi was Ba Be lake, a national park with three interconnected lakes. I did a homestay in a village on the lake and stayed for two nights at a place called Duy Tho. It was beautiful and affordable. I rented a boat for a day, which was expensive and loud, but I got to see the lake. It is well worth stopping by the lake for the homestay, but I would skip the boat trip unless you are with a group and have not spent much time on the water. I would have been happy with spending an hour in a small part of the lake in a dugout canoe.

Ba Be is quite beautiful. It was stunning on the water in the early morning. There are all sorts of exciting animals living around the lake, but they’re shy. The boat ride includes a stop by a small waterfall that feeds a hydroelectric plant and a short trek through a big cave. We stopped for lunch near the waterfall.

My host helped me find a faster and less trafficked road to get back to Hanoi, saving countless encounters with trucks and buses and saving me a couple of hours of driving. I was back in Hanoi in the early afternoon. Then it was time to get my bike serviced. It had some issues with shifting in 1st, 2nd and neutral

One of the great things about Hanoi is Bia Hoi. It’s a freshly brewed keg beer with a shelf life of a day. In the Old Quarter, you can pick up a glass for 5000 Dong (25 cents). It’s tasty, cold, and refreshing. On my last night in Hanoi, I went for Indian food at Tamarind. It was pricey but perfect. I was pleasantly surprised. I found a great place for a massage about 5km from the Old Quarter and walked over. For 450,000 dong ($22.50), I got a 90-minute massage preceded by a soak in a barrel, a soak in a jacuzzi, and a steam. Pure bliss.

I ended up in this tiny nowhere town my first night heading south, as my scheduled stop did not feel very friendly. The place I ened up in was very friendly!

I checked in to the only place to stay in town, which had two rooms. the next morning I went for a walk. As I passed by an elementary school, a couple of kids said, “Hello!” and I responded. Within 2 minutes, the entire school emptied out, and I was mobbed by kids saying hello, asking me my name, how old I was, where I was from, and on and on. They wanted to shake hands and were fascinated by my tattoos. I tried to get them out of the road and used taking a picture as a motivator. As you can see from the picture, they never really stopped vibrating.

I walked them all back to the school, some of the teachers were giving me the stink eye, and some were caught up in the kid’s excitement. When we returned to the school grounds, some of the kids were dragged off by teachers, but about 20 of them decided they would show me around town. We went to an outdoor market and the local hospital. I think they were introducing me to their parents, but who knows? One little girl gave me a flower, and that started a trend. After an hour or so of being dragged hither and yon, I escaped.

When I returned to the guest house, the second room had been rented to 4 engineers, and they invited me to eat dinner with them. Of course, out came the local hooch and a bunch of food I did not recognize, but they schooled me and approved of my use of chopsticks. When the bill came, they would not take my money. Of course, the woman who owned the restaurant tried to get me to pay for the whole bill. Unfortunately, if you are a westerner traveling here, you are a dollar sign to some people in SEA. Luckily that unpleasantness is offset by people like the four lovely gentlemen that bought me dinner.

Paradise in The Philippines

Sagada is as different from the rest of the Philippines as Darjeeling is to the rest of India. It’s an oasis of beauty with a slower pace. After an 18-hour journey from Manila to Sagada, I arrived at my guest house and was invited for coffee and cake by some educators. They were in the region for a conference on a curriculum for indigenous children. They were going caving that afternoon and invited me to join them. I jumped at the chance and got changed.

An hour later, we were making our way to the cave opening. There were nine of us and three guides. Most of the folks on the tour were middle-aged, and the caving trip was much more dangerous than anything in the US. I can not imagine finding such an adventurous group of middle-aged people in the US. The cave was amazing. There was some light technical climbing and some water crossings, as well as some climbing with knotted ropes. The guides were excellent and knew exactly what to do to help some of the less in-shape members of our group get up, over, or around obstacles safely. It’s the most fun I have had in a cave. The cost was about $5 US per person, including tip. A trip like this in the US would have required training, lots of safety gear, and a hefty fee.

The next day I went for a hike to the top of a mountain. There are no good maps available of Sagada. I think it is a way to encourage folks to hire a guide. With very rough directions, I started to make my way up the mountain. I missed a turning and ended up climbing up the rice terraces halfway to the summit; then I found the path. About 3/4 of the way up, it dawned on me that no one knew where I was or when I was coming back. If something happened to me up there, I was on my own. I made it to the summit, where three houses were at the top, but no one was around. I took the path on the way down and was glad I took the terraces on the way up. There were turnings off the path on the way up and no way to know which way to turn, so by getting a bit lost on the way up, I saved a bunch of time not taking false paths and had a much better experience.

Ken, Joalalito, Me, Wama and Jayson

I also took a walk to the little falls as the big falls were closed. There is a swimming hole at the little falls, and I had a nice swim with some locals. Four young people that worked at a local guest house invited me to join them at a nearby summit for some drinks and a sunset fire, so I did. They were from different parts of the Philippines and had come to Sagada for work. We had a great time hanging out, talking, taking pictures, and dancing to music from their cell phones.