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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
After two wonderful days on Halong bay it was time to leave. The guy at the tour company told us the ferry back to Tuan Chua left at 8 am, 11 am or 3 pm. We figured we could take it easy in the morning and slowly make our way to the ferry terminal at the other side of the island and catch the ferry at 11. It took us a bit longer than expected to pack our stuff however, so when we left the hotel we were in a bit of a rush. When we were just a few … Read the rest
One of Vietnam’s most famous landmarks is Halong bay and the thousands of limestone islands (often called karsts) that stick up from the turquoise waters. There are plenty of operators that run boat tours to the bay, most of them out of Halong city. We tried to skip the crowds by taking a tour from Cat ba island instead. To get the most out our experience we went for a somewhat more expensive option and took a two day tour with a night on the boat. This worked out really well, we only had nine people on our boat, we … 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
The night bus arrived in Hanoi around four in the morning. Still groggy with sleep I rode my bike to the hotel which was completely dark. I rang the doorbell hoping someone would answer. After a few minutes the hotel owner, who I must have woken up, let me in and quickly ushered me to a room. I slept for a few hours then took the motorbike out to the airport to pick up Renegade Wife. Since she was tired after her early morning flight, we took it very slow during the day, just wandered around the Hoan Kiem lake … Read the rest
I normally don’t get hung over when traveling, I don’t know why but seems to work whenever I’m abroad. Yesterday I relied on this a bit too much and partied a bit too hard with some friends from the hostel. I had planned to take the bike and just ride around in the national park but when I woke up I was in no state to ride a motorbike. So, I skipped that and joined another cave tour instead. The Phong Nha cave is up the river from the village so the tour starts with a 45 minute boat ride … Read the rest
Phong Nha national park is home to the largest cave in the world, Hang Son Doong. It would be extremely cool to go there but it takes seven days and costs 3000 USD per person which is just not feasible for me right now. There are plenty of other caves in the area however, and I visited two of them.
The Dark Cave is set up as an adventure, they kit you out with a life jacket, a hard hat with a light on it, and a climbing harness then send you off with a guide. The trip starts with … 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