Deeper into the Phong Nha National Park, and much more difficult to reach than the park’s eponymous cave, the Paradise Cave is even more spectacular. There are no boat rides, this time, just a path twisting through grand chambers filled with some of the most massive underground formations we’ve ever seen.
Phong Nha Cave isn’t the biggest cave, or even the second-biggest, in the Phong Nha National Park. But it’s the one which bears the park’s name. So we felt safe assuming that it would be spectacular. And we weren’t disappointed; this is an underground wonderland of stunning beauty.
We spent four nights in the Phong Nha National Park, which is home to more than 300 caves including, incredibly, two of the world’s three largest. On our first full day in the park, we embarked on a long hike through the forest to visit two of the regular-sized caves, one of which we’d be swimming through.
After a few days in the Phong Nha National Park, we were happy to stay focused on Vietnam’s nature, and relocated to another park: Pù Luông. Just like Phong Nha, this is an exceptionally beautiful area. But unlike its more famous brother, Pù Luông is still largely untouched by tourism. We spent two days exploring the region, and never once saw another foreigner.
In seven years on the road, Jürgen and I had never once used our travel insurance. With all the adventures we’ve had, from an encounter with quicksand in Bolivia to paragliding in Macedonia, that’s a great track record. But in Vietnam, the streak came to a definitive end.
After a luxurious night of sleep in our cabin on the Dragon Legend, we woke ready for a day of adventure. On Day Two of our cruise, we’d be visiting two dream beaches, exploring a limestone cave, and kayaking around the hills of Ha Long Bay.
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When we chose Saigon as our seventeenth “For 91 Days” destination, we never expected that Hanoi might be the eighteenth. We’ve never stayed in a country for a second consecutive adventure, and it wasn’t even under consideration. But we never expected to be so completely enamored by the people, culture and cuisine of Vietnam. After spending three months in the south, we simply couldn’t leave without devoting an equal amount of time to the north.
