Day 21: Paradise Cave

Sunday, 11/10/2024

Was up at 6:00am as usual, but decided to just lay in bed for a while as I was in no rush this morning.

Eventually got out of bed to pee, then took a cold shower as I was not awake enough to figure out how the hot water heater worked.

Dressed and checked on the hours for the bike rental shop to see if they were open today, as well as the cave I wanted to ride up to see.  Both were good.

I went out on the deck off the hallway outside my room to check out the city during the daylight better and get a feel for the weather.

View onto the street in front of hotel.

I then walked over to the bike shop, the gate to the garage was open so walked in, but no one around.

I could hear people in the house, but distant enough they may have been on the upper floor.  I waited a few minutes, then I took down the WhatsApp number from the sign and texted them, but no response after a few minutes.

I walked back to the hotel and did a bit more research and found that number was current, so called via WhatsApp.

Someone answered, but they were at another location in the city as the business has multiple locations.  

After short talk about what I was looking for, we moved the conversation back to the WhatsApp texting so she could send me photos of the bikes.

I indicated I would take one of the 150cc motorbikes they had with the manual shifting.  I said I would walk over to the shop and she said they would meet me there, though I was not sure if she meant herself, or someone at that shop.

I arrived at the shop and again and no one was there, but there was a child standing in the door way into the house and they went to get someone.  The lady arrived and turns out she was the sister of the lady I spoke with on the phone.

She started to show me a 150cc bike, but this one was an odd auto shift setup where you shifted the gears, but was clutch-less.  More of a scooter.

About then a guy rode into the shop on his scooter and started talking to the girl, and he went over and pulled another bike over that looked more like the photos I had been sent.  This was also a full manual shifting bike, though it was still built more like a scooter in the frame and controls.

I sat on that bike and it was big enough for me to work with it, so agreed to rent that one, for the cost of $14 for the day.

I paid the money and they took a photo of my passport, but did not even ask about my International Driving Permit nor require any other paperwork.

Then they tried to show me how a few things worked, but was not always sure what the button or switch they were turning on and off was doing, and neither spoke very good English.

I then rode the bike over to the hotel so I could put on the proper gear and gather stuff I would need for the day out on the bike.

I wore all my gear except the larger riding boots, they were still damp, and the hiking shoes I was wearing would provide enough support for the lower speeds I would be riding and would be much nicer for walking around at the cave.

I figured out my route on Google Maps and even had the GPS plot it, but there was no way to mount the phone on the bike so I could see it

I would have to keep the phone in my pocket and pull it out if I was not sure about the route, though most of it was easy enough to remember it.

I then figured out some of the controls on the bike and hit the road about 9:00am.

I got to the edge of Dong Hoi and the highway heading out of town, and then I stopped for fuel as I noticed the tank was almost empty.  Then got back on the road and headed for the town of Phong Nha, where I had been just a week prior.

The ride up was mostly dull countryside fields and such until we reached the area near Phong Nha and the green covered hills and rocks started to pop up out of the ground.

I stopped just outside town to take a few photos of the landscape and then rode on past town and back along the highway I had ridden down the week prior.  

Approaching Phong Nha from the south.

The turn was not too far down the highway, but was not sure if it was marked well.  I stopped to check the map on the phone and thought it looked like the next road, but when I turned at the next road I saw, I quickly realized it was a smaller country lane, and not the main road I was looking for.

I stopped for a piss along this small road and then went back to the highway and down about 1km (2/3 mile) to the road I actually needed.  Once on it I stopped again a bit farther down as things would get a bit more complex from here. I also just took the gloves off as it was making using the phone next to impossible.

At one point I had the option to stay on the main road which would wind down in a big loop and come back up to a bridge over the river, or I could short cut over a smaller pedestrian/bike only bridge and cut through a village to the road I needed.  That route saved me a good distance, and looked more fun, so I took it.

This put me onto the Ho Chi Minh Trail Road again, and it was off this road that I would turn to go into the park with the cave.  This was a different section that I had not ridden before and was mostly in the lower river valley and not quite as hilly for most of the ride.

Very common road hazard on this trip, dog laying in the road relaxing or sleeping.

Coming into the hills.

View from the road on the way up the valley.

The turn off to the cave was marked very well, so I turned off onto the small road headed into the hills.

Turn off to the Paradise Cave park.

The road now became very steep, going both up and down and a few curves along the way.

Steep roads getting to the cave.  Downhill section (or uphill on way back).

I reached the main area outside the park where the parking lot and several restaurants and shops were located.

As I rode into the edge of the lot some guys yelled and pointed for me to park under a canopy along the edge of a volleyball court setup in a parking lot.

All the bikes parked out here, which was the most distant point from the park you can be.  I find it strange that bikes are always forced out to the edge when they are so much more common than cars and take up less space.

I paid the 5000 Dong fee to park (20 cents), sorted out the gear into the small backpack I brought along and then walked across the main lot to the entrance where the ticket office was located.

Walked over to pay for parking, forgot to turn off camera again.

I bought my ticket (just over $10) and then walked down a short trail, through the ticket check gate and then to a waiting area to wait for an electric cart to take me up the road to the cave trail. The cart actually pulled up just as I was about to sit down.

Another couple had come in just after me and the 3 of us took the cart to the trail.  They were from Spain and we talked a bit on the roughly 2km (1.5 mile) drive.

Once at the trail head we had to start hiking up the cliff side on a sloping trail that went through about a dozen switchbacks as it made its way up, and was fairly steep at times, but at least it was not stairs! 

I Stopped about 2/3 of the way up to use the restroom and then continued to the top.

Walkway up the cliffside.

View from the walkway over the valley.

At the top was a café selling drinks and showing info on the cave.  The cave entrance was next to it and was just a small opening in the rock wall.

Café at cave entrance, not sure where the stair continue up too?

Cave Entrance.

Once inside you immediately head down a series of steps that probably took us down nearly the same distance we had just climbed up!

Once inside, it is a big walk down!

The first chamber was huge. At the bottom of the stairs you continue along an elevated wooden walkway which takes you through the entire cave.

There were several areas where you could walk over to a viewing platform, or even go up steps to get an elevated view, or see something higher up on the wall that was not visible from lower down.

Going to be fun going back up!

The cave is accessible for the first kilometer (2/3 mile), but there are roughly 31km (20 miles) of tunnels mapped.  This makes it the longest cave in Asia as measured by total distance (though this may have recently been surpassed).  It was fully mapped by a British team between 2005 and 2010 just after it was discovered.

Most of the cave is quite large, only a few sections that get narrow and nothing that would make you feel enclosed.  The formations were frequent, large and quite elaborate at times as well.  Just an amazing cave!

There were not too many people inside when I started, though as I went along, I could hear more noise up ahead, so a larger group had gone in before I arrived, but still only about 12 people that I saw passing me going back to the entrance as this cave is an in and back route.

I finally reached the endpoint where you cannot continue and turned back.  I decided to film the entire walk back on the phone so I can edit it into a video sometime later.  

On the way back I had to pass through a massive group of Chinese tourists, all shouting at top volume, coming into the cave. They were also making the walk way crowded and blocking the path for their selfies, which always had to be posed just right and took ages.

The echo was very annoying with all them trying to talk over the next one.

I liked it better on the way in when you could hear distant voices maybe, the occasional creak of the wood as you walked, your own footsteps, and even some water drips.

I reached the base of the large staircase to get out and started up.  This took me awhile as I was worn out already from all the walking and riding that day.  A group of much younger girls that was nowhere near me when I started actually passed me on the way up.  

At the very top I did not see the low ceiling as I was looking down to make sure I got my feet on the steps and smacked my head into the roof which was only about 1.5m (5 feet) over the stairs on that side of the steps.  Did not help that I had so much sweat dripping into my eyes and glasses that I couldn’t really see out of them anymore anyway.  OUCH.

Reached the top and stopped at the bar to buy a cold drink and sat down to drink it and enjoy a bit of the cooler breeze blowing up there while I checked out the map of the cave.

Map of the tourist section of the cave.

I then started to head down after checking out the stairs heading upward.  Not sure what is up there, but too tired to find out.

The way down was all steps, but that did make it shorter than the hike up at least.  But still a lot of steps, would guess around 500-600 of them.

Stairs, but at least it is going down.

I reached the bottom and walked over to the space to wait for the carts.  While several were sitting there, I guess they wanted to wait for a larger group and not just take me alone.  Finally, a few more people showed up and we got onboard the first cart and drove off.

I talked during the ride back with a guy and his daughter sitting in front of me.  They were from Kansas, but lived 6 months out of the year in Vietnam and loved it.  He said it was a bit difficult to arrange the visas, but worth it in the end.

On the walk back after exiting the cart, I saw a large pile of butterflies gathered on something that was spilled onto the roadway.  They were good sized, and did not seem to mind my presence when I got down to take a photo.  Must have been some good eating!

Butterfly dining spot?

I walked back over to the bike, got geared up and back on the road out of the park. 

On the road out, the hills were very steep, and on this little 150cc bike with my weight it was a struggle to get up them.

Due to this, I decided not to take the longer 3-hour route on the Ho Chi Minh trail as it would be hell on the bike and I might not even have enough fuel with the extra effort it takes to get up hills.

There are no fuel stops on the road unless you can find a café or restaurant that will also sell you fuel.

About half the route back I had already ridden anyway, so while it would have been nice to see the route without the rain and clouds, just not something I felt comfortable with on this bike.

I head back down the road toward the villages, but did stop for a few photos along the way.

The bike and the river valley.

Waterfalls on the river flowing down the valley.

The road heading back to the highway.

I again decided to take the shortcut through the small village to save time and distance.

Shortcut through a village and fields to save time.

Small bridge on the shortcut route.

Going over the bridge, love these things!

After reaching the edge of Dong Hoi, I took a wrong turn as the road curved here, but I did not realize I had come onto the road from the straight section next to it.  I did not recall this intersection.

After the curve went longer than I recalled on the route out I stopped to check the GPS and found I was actually on a parallel road to the one I was looking for about 2 miles farther on.

I let the GPS re-route me and followed a different route back to where the Hotel was.

I stopped at the hotel and dropped off some of the camera gear and the gloves and then grabbed my journal and took off to find lunch somewhere in town.

I was craving pizza and had done some research earlier and found a place called Pizza Cats over near the coast a few miles away.  Was not a difficult route, just needed to drive down to the main road just south of the hotel and take it across town, over the river, and then turn down a smaller road just past the river where it would be only a 1 block ride to the restaurant.

Crossing the Nhat Le River in Dong Hoi.

But when I got there I had some trouble finding it.

First I turned on the wrong side street, but that was quickly figured out with a quick check of the GPS.

Once on the correct street, I rode up and down and around the intersection it was supposed to be at, but it was not there.  I checked online and it there was evidence of it being open just a few days prior, so it was not a case of stale data.

I eventually found it, the place was actually on the other side of the street and a few buildings down, and I had actually stopped in front of it not once, but twice, and failed to notice the sign since I was so focused on the other corner.  Another reminder to not always trust the dot on the map with Google Maps.

Once I found it I pulled up along side, but it did not look like it was open.

Where I tried to eat, but owners decided not to be open today?

As I pulled up, an older lady was coming out of building next door and she started saying something to me and gesturing at the place as I was sitting in there looking confused.  She went up and knocked on the door shouting, then pulled it open and went inside.

I pulled up into the parking area and waited.

She came out a few minutes later and from her body motions and tone, I took it that the owners were not going to be bothered to open up at this time.

She gestured to a Vietnamese restaurant next door, not sure if it was hers, or just being nice, but I was not interested in local foods. 

I looked online for another pizza place and found one back on other side of the river and over into the center of town more.

I followed the map over to that place and it was open. I parked and went inside.

I had a really good pizza, some fries and a drink while talking a bit with the guys working there, who were probably the owners.

Where I ended up having lunch, and it was very good!

I then got on the bike and headed back to the hotel, but decided that I was probably not going to ride anywhere else today, so would just drop off the bike first.

I rode over to the place and pulled up inside the gated garage.  No one was around again, and must not have been close enough to hear me pull in.

But as I pulled in, an older lady who had been walking outside walked in and started to talk to me.  Of course I no clue what she was saying, and not sure she understood anything I said.

She seemed to be trying to accept the bike, so I took out the keys and handed them over and told her I might come back tomorrow and rent it again.  I then walked out as she started to push the bike over into the garage more.

I stopped up the road a bit and texted the lady I had talked with earlier to let her know I had dropped off the bike and that some lady had taken the keys and pushed it farther into the shop.  No response, so hopefully things are okay with that. [I did get a text back later that night from the owner, it was her mother that I gave the bike too, so all good.]

I walked back over to the hotel and got out of the riding gear and then took a 30-minute nap.

When I woke, I wrote the last two days up in the journal as I had not felt like doing it the night before.  I drank the last of my beverages too, so will need to go get more.

But I will go out later as I think I just want to relax a bit for now, and will also try to find dinner maybe then as well.

I do have chips left over, so might just do that again as not feeling very hungry right now since I had a large lunch.

For now, I will read a bit and do some research on possible things to do for tomorrow as I currently have no plans for the entire day.

Originally, I had set the day aside to visit Phong Nha cave as well, but since we did that cave on the bike tour, I really do not need to do it again, and since I cannot be sure the water levels have come down enough to get access to the parts we missed, probably not worth the rental and ride up just to find out there is nothing new to see.

Around 6:00pm I walked over to buy more drinks for the evening, but decided I was not hungry enough to experiment with the Vietnamese restaurant on the corner I had thought about stopping at.  I just returned to the room and snacked on chips instead.

I read more of my book and played around online until about 9:00pm.  Really thinking I might just turn in early tonight or just read more as I finished the one book, so could start another now.

I have not yet planned anything about tomorrow, so will do that in the morning or just have a lazy day to reset and relax as I have been on the go for several weeks straight now.

Goodnight!