I got up early to do the National Park tour all dressed ready for a day of adventuring. We left at 8.45 on a minibus to drive the Ho Chi Minh trail and highway 20 which had beautiful scenery all mountainous and green. Our tour guide was great and told us some really interesting information.

During the Vietnam war America would try to bomb the surroundings here in order to block the trail which was 20000 km in air, land and sea leading to both Laos and the Philippines. The highway is named highway number 20 as this was the average age of the people working on building and restoring it and many of these people died doing so. Along highway 20 is a small cave where soldiers would hide in between clearing the bombs from the road and it is believed that around 30% of the bombs dropped in this area never even exploded due to the swampy environment. So lots of bomb shells had to be removed from the trails! However, on one occasion 4 boys and 4 girls were hiding in the cave when a fallen rock blocked the entrance and they died there 9 days later. A temple was built in their memory and we visited this too after seeing the cave itself. Bomb scars can be seen on many of the limestone mountains - a reminder that Vietnam has a devastating history that I personally would love to learn more about.
At the temple we were told that the Vietnamese mostly belong to no religion but their beliefs sway towards Buddhism. They believe in two worlds; one for the living and one for the dead, and so they light incense as a way of communication with the other world. They will celebrate the anniversary of a loved ones dearth by giving offerings of paper (paper shoes, clothes, money, animals etc) with the incense and once the incense burns to the end - the paper will set alight and so the offerings will be transported to the other world.
After listening to the guide tell us fascinating things and taking lots of photos along the way we went to the Paradise Cave which was incredible! I have never really been in a cave and I would not be surprised if I had my mouth wide open in amazement the whole time I was inside. We climbed a ton of stairs to get up and then walked down a ton to get down into the cave which was massive and so mystical. So many stalagmites and stalactites! It was one of those times where you couldn't really believe what you were seeing and I knew it was going to be impossible to describe (the photos don't do it justice either!).

We had a Vietnamese lunch and then continued our drive, stopping at the Eco trail and the Blue River along the way which really was....blue! They think that chemical reactions within the limestone at the bottom create this colour and that the river originates from an underground stream in Laos.

Next we did the Dark Cave, named due to it being formed soley out of old, dark limestone giving an eerie feel - an experience I loved every second of from beginning to end. We started with a zip wire across the jungle in the middle of the limestone mountains. I had never done a zip wire before and it was so fun! Although instead of stopping at the end like every other person did I simply didn't touch the ground in time and went back up! With the next zip liner on the way down I had to be rescued by being pulled in by a flagpole and obviously everybody hysterically laughed at me dangling helpless God knows how high above the water! Natalie got a video of this so I shall show you all later.

We swam to the entrance of the Dark Cave with life jackets and head torches on and began the caving experience inside. It was unbelievable and so so so fun! We swam for a bit and then started to walk through mud.... Which got deeper..... And deeper.... And deeper! Until suddenly - no exaggeration - I was neck deep in slimy chocolatey mud; Everybody sliding around and floating with legs up as mud makes you buoyant! At one point we all turned our head torches off and were sat in complete silence, darkness... And covered in mud - such a surreal but incredible experience!

We washed off and went for a swim through the cave - this cave was absolutely massive and so cool. After a few hours inside exploring we all swam and climbed back out and kayaked across the blue river which was beautiful. The surroundings were so picturesque it looked like a painting. After the kayak we did another zip line - this time holding on to two handlebars and dangling like a monkey as it went until you couldn't hold on any longer and fell into the river below. This was followed by a nice cold beer - what a fantastic end to the most amazing day. I feel so lucky to have had this experience, especially considering these caves have only been open to the public for a few years - the dark one only a year or so and they are up there with the most impressive in the whole world.

We returned to the hostel and Natalie, Dario and I went for dinner at the same little restaurant I had been to the day before and had a yummy pho. Dario has decided to come with us to Hue in the morning so that should be fun! I'm looking forward to the next destination now and ready for a good nights sleep (well before my night bus at 4.30 am...).