Phong Nha is a small town near the center of the country. During the Vietnam War the town residents provided assistance along the nearby Ho Chi Minh Trail, a main supply route from north to south during the military fighting. And because of its location, the area sustained repeated bombings in the 1960s and 70s. When we visited Phong Nha we saw several bomb craters in rice fields next to the town and beside rural roads.  The number of restaurants, hotels, and other tourist services has grown monumentally in the last 15 to 20 years as more and more visitors, like us, come to the area to visit the incredible caves and explore the national park. Phong Nha, meaning wind and teeth, is the name of both the town where we stayed and the cave next to it. And it’s not clear whether the town or cave was named first.

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Caves along the Song River – We rode on a traditional dragon boat along the Song River to reach two local caves. Our dragon boat was powered by both motor while moving along the main part of the river and muscles as the boatperson rowed when inside the larger cave. (See video below.) Since the river flows through part of Phong Nha Cave we were able to see about 1500 meters of the cave’s beauty while gliding peacefully in the boat and also by foot when we walked along a few of the designated, supervised pathways. And after that we climbed about 400 steps above the first cave to walk through the smaller, dry Tien Son Cave. Phong Nha Cave was used by the North Vietnamese Army as a hospital and place to hide bombs during the war. In both caves we saw very large and intricately shaped stalagmites and stalactites but found no remnants of war-time activity in Phong Nha Cave because the annual floodwaters of the Song River wash away any loose items or debris. As our boat motored along the river to and from the caves we noticed quite a few of the local people standing in narrow, long boats while using rakes to pull grasses from the river bottom. We learned later that the grass is food for fish in local fish farms.

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Motorbike Adventures – In addition to visiting the Phong Nha and Tien Son Caves, we also explored the surrounding area on two motorbikes, one for Heidi and Eric and the other one for us. We each took the opportunity to drive a motorbike, although Heidi and Susan declined to take passengers during their turns. Fortunately for Eric and Jerry, their wives only drove a short ways down the road before returning. We rode on paved, gravel, dirt, and very muddy roads. We don’t have any photographic evidence of riding on roads with four plus inches of mud since we were so focused on staying upright and fairly clean.  However, we did see very beautiful rice fields, gardens, and farming crops plus we watched large and small boats float along the Song River. We also stopped to photograph one of the beautiful Catholic Churches. A woman who lives next door to the church saw us and unlocked the church so we could admire the interior also.

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Jeep Tour – Our third way of exploring the area beyond the town was a half-day driving tour. Hung, owner of the old Russian-made army Jeep and owner our homestay accommodations, explained that land for agriculture is owned by the government and leased to families for growing crops. And it is common for families to use a small portion of that land as a cemetary for deceased loved ones. We saw several of the ornate cemeteries as we rode in the Jeep on narrow, concrete roads that separated sections of rice paddies. We stopped at three farms with eateries operated by local families. The Duck Stop family cultivates quite a few tall black pepper trees and hectares of peanuts. We sampled both foods at the same time and the combination was quite good. And we admired the meandering river from viewpoints at the next two stops. On our return drive we started along a different rural route but soon discovered that the river had flooded a short section of road.  When we stopped so Hung could evaluate if it was feasible to drive through the water, we watched a boy lead a buffalo through the river to the other side. The water where the boy and bull walked wasn’t too deep, but it was in the area of the soft roadside and not the actual road. Driving the Jeep through the water was tempting. But then a large, higher-clearance truck came from the opposite direction and drove through very deep water where the road was supposed to be.  It was clear at that point we needed to turn around and go back the direction from which we came. 

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