We arrived in Phong Nha at 5am, just in time to see a breathtaking sunrise and rainbow over the mountains, the oldest karst mountains in Asia.
Were starting to wear down a little, so we used some of our time in Phong Nha, the adventure capital of Vietnam, to rest. We began by having a beer and watching the sun rise, and then getting another couple hours of sleep.
For lunch we made the hairy motorbike trip a few kilometres out into the country to try the famous peanut chicken at The Pub with Cold Beer, a little oasis overlooking the river with a swimming pool, shady hammocks, and you guessed it: ice cold beer, which isnt easy by around these parts.
Chickens are killed to order, and you have the option to kill your own. If youd like you can pluck and butcher it, but we felt that was better left to the professionals. I did catch and kill the chicken myself though, because I think its important to have experiences that bring you closer to your food, especially as a meat eater.
sort of guillotine style set up like Ive seen at some farms, but this was pretty old school. I sat on a wooden stool about two inches from the ground, so my long legs made it difficult. The chef/owner, Nugh (Im surely spelling that wrong) helped me position the chicken onto a small stone slab with a metal bowl under it, and showed me where to cut with the cleaver.
Thankfully, I think i did a pretty nice job with one swift, strong cut. I held him for a couple minutes to drain the blood, and then let Nugh take over. Some folks reading this might feel uneasy about it, but I assure you it was a very peaceful experience. The chicken was taken from a coup where it roamed surrounded by a little garden. It didnt struggle, or cry out, but I felt its life slip away warmly, in just a matter of seconds, very calmly. Its certainly to what they go through in a massive factory farm.
The river appeared to be a bit of a hike to access, unfortunately, so we lounged with our cold beers in the swimming pool, until some groups
They are famous for the peanut sauce, but you also get a sauce of fresh crushed peppercorn, salt, and chilis. THAT is the stuff.
of neighborhood kids started to take over. Nate executed a sweet can opener into the pool, in an attempt to show the kids something new and make some friends. Those kids were definitely laughing at us and not with us. But hey, at least we are making people laugh.
After that, back to the bungalow for more pool beers, and more moonshine. We had been dying for a banh mi since we arrived in vietnam, so we tried a random spot by our hotel. We had a roast pork sandwich that was basically a fried onion sandwich. I think we got screwed on that one.
We met a young Finnish man who was travelling alone. He bought a Motorbike in Hanoi with plans to sell it in Saigon. That is, before going to Laos, Thailand, Indonesia and the Phillipines. Most tourists we meet here are from Europe, Canada or Isreal, and are travelling for months or years at a time. Must be nice. Not that im BITTER or anything, but
The next day we booked a tour, our first guided tour. You cant see most of the main attractions without one.
home to the largest cave in the world, but it takes days of trekking through jungle and 3,000 USD to enter it.
There are over 300 caves here, roughly 400 million years old but many of them were just discovered about fifteen years ago.
Paradise cave is the largest dry cave. Dark cave takes tourists swimming in pitch darkness, through sand baths and slides. There are many tour options to choose from, but most involve travelling in a large group with a large rowboat (well call them dragon boats), trekking through jungle, ziplining swimming, or all of the above.
We opted for a kayak tour of Phong Nha Cave. The dragon boats take groups of tourists about 1 km through the underground river of this cave, home to the longest underground river in the world.
