Phong Nha Farmstay

After Hoi An we took a train up to Dong Hoi to see the caves in Phong Nha.  Here is the longest (32 km) dry cave in the world and also the largest cave in the world (although it isn't accessible to tourists yet).  Phong Nha is a little out of the way and isn't on the main backpackers route, but we were told by some Kiwi's we met in Mui Ne that it was one of the best things they did in Vietnam, so we decided to head over there.  

We stayed at the Phong Nha Farmstay, which is a unique hostel/guesthouse in the middle of the farming villages outside of Phong Nha.  The farmstay is run by an Austrailian - Vietnamese couple, and has a very laid back and friendly vibe to it.  Many people come as guests and end up staying as tour guides for months.  The farmstay was set up with a central restaurant/bar/hangout area so you easily got to know the 20 or so other guests.  Here we made several friends and got to hear about a lot of other people's travels and stories.  

Phong Nha Farmstay

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We went on two tours while in Phong Nha.  The first involved biking through the farms and villages to a small cave  where we took a boat to entrance and then were free to roam inside for as long as we want.  Biking through the village was beautiful, and the cave was also pretty awesome.  The best part was doing a little bouldering in the cave and climbing up to a high view point.  

Bike ride though village

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Small Cave

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The next day we went to more caves, one of which is the longest in the world, and was the most breathtaking cave I've ever seen.  The second cave involved kayaking and then swimming in the pitch black to get inside.  It was pretty crazy.  There are things that you can do here that would never fly in the sue-happy culture of America.

Phong Nha National Park

Longest Cave

The best part about Phong Nha was the people we met.  Specifically two guys from Scotland named Chuk and Ed.  They are totally hilarious and we quickly bonded over Ed teasing me for being a "flashpacker" and then during the rest of our time together apologizing to me if the accommodations / restaurants / bathrooms weren't fancy enough, or blaming me if we ended up somewhere too expensive or posh... saying "well, we are traveling with Jess, so we had to go here."  We ended up traveling with them to Hanoi and then did a boat trip to Halong Bay together.  

Ed (in hat) and Chuk (in red)

Having other people to travel with for an extended period of time was really great.  I love Adam, but we quickly run out of things to talk about when we spend all day together everyday for weeks on end.  Chuk and Ed really mixed up the trip.  We ended up playing a lot of the card game president, swapping travel stories, teasing each other, and overall having a great time.  I'm trying to convince them to change their travel plans and meet up with us in Thailand, so maybe we'll see them again before our trip is over.  If nothing else, I hope that they come and visit us in San Francisco at some point in the future.