I’ve been riding through the mist and drizzle all day and then, just as I reach the highest point of the pass, I spot a patch of blue sky up above. Moments later, the whole sky opens up and I can see for miles, the mountains rising into the mists on all sides, the slopes down towards the valley below clad in verdant green against the clear blue sky. In the middle of this stunning vista is a sea of clouds, pristine white foam lapping the mountain sides… What a view.… Read the rest
I’m looking out over the valley below and the mountains rising up on the other side. The slopes are all covered with terraced fields making them look like the sides of giant stepped pyramids. It’s late in the year now, the rice has been harvested and the paddies lie barren and empty, just the prickly stalks sticking up from the mud. The mist lies like a thick blanket over everything and two days of drizzle has made things all damp and soggy. Standing here I imagine how it would look earlier in the year, just before harvest, the golden yellow … Read the rest
The road, raised on an embankment, cuts straight through the Vietnamese countryside. On the right are yellowish green fields with grazing cattle here and there, and a few scattered houses. In the far distance a row of mountains frame everything in, and up above pure white clouds tower majestically in the clear blue sky. To the left the square pools of the rice paddies are almost indistinguishable from the river that curves it’s way through the landscape; old barges that look too big to fit between the rice paddies floating lazily by. In the middle distance the karst cliffs rise … Read the rest
All around us are little islets, grey limestone rising up sharply out of the turquoise waters, the tops covered in verdant green plants, against the background of a pale blue sky. Whichever way you turn there is beauty, more cliffs in a variety of shapes, more little islets and more turquoise waters; crisp clear colors grey, green, sky blue and the deep turquoise of a tropical sea. I sit back in my sun deck chair and watch the gorgeous views flow by as our boat chugs lazily along.… Read the rest
We are paddling through a cave, the roof so low that the upper end of our paddles almost scrape it. We paddle past shell encrusted limestone formations hanging down from the roof and as we come around a corner the darkness opens up to a small lagoon. Grey karst cliffs rise sharply from the turquoise waters, up towards the pale blue sky. The cliff tops are dotted with greenery, trees climbing the steep sides, their branches hanging down over the water. We stop paddling and glide slowly out on the lagoon.… Read the rest
We are in a small, waist deep pool far inside the the dark cave. The water is completely saturated with mud, sort of like a thick soup, and it changes the density so that we all become more buoyant. Floating on your back with your feet in the air is effortless; so is floating on your stomach, hands and feet out of the water, it almost feels like you are flying. This experience is so special I don’t think my words do it justice.… Read the rest
We are in a crevice branching off from the main cave. It keeps getting narrower as we walk and we wind our way past stalagtites, stepping over rocks and through mud. The sense of adventure is almost tangible…… Read the rest
The water is cold, I wouldn’t go swimming in it if it wasn’t for the promise of adventure up ahead. I look behind me and all I see is a line of lights, eight of them twinkling like stars in the darkness, streaks of silver lashing the surface of the jet black water. In front of me I can just make out the walls of the cave but straight ahead nothing, just a darkness so compact my light cannot penetrate it.… Read the rest
We have left the jungle’s slow moving brown river behind us and are entering the cave. In front of me, a pillar of rock that looks like petrified silt rises up out of the cave floor. On top of it is a stone formation that almost looks like a statue of a naked lady, all green with algae. Above, the vaulted roof of the cave is covered in lime stone formations hanging down like curtains. Behind, the jagged mouth of the cave is silhouetted against blue sky.… Read the rest
Finally I am here, the real Ho Chi Minh highway. The disappointment I felt two hours earlier is gone, now all I feel is the excitement of being on this road, it’s smooth, it’s curvy in just the right way, and when the jungles along the side open up you get beautiful mountain vistas. It’s everything I hoped it would be.… Read the rest
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