I had a nice rest in Phong Nha, albeit a short one- with just 11 days left on my visa, time really is precious and still with so much to see, every day counts.
It seems to be an up and coming town, becoming more popular with tourists, especially when it has so much to offer. The town itself is situated within the Phong Nha National Park which is packed with mountains, rivers, waterfalls and caves. There are loads of activities to do here, depending on your budget of course, but the main attraction seemed to be the caves. There a lot of different caves and it's hard to work out which one is best to see. My decision was made easier when I met a couple of Austrian guys who I teamed up with for the day. We chose the Phong Nha cave and the Tien Cave. Both were as impressive as each other and really cool to see. The Austrian guys were impressed when I told them which were stalactites and which were stalagmites...tights always come down. They didn't really get the joke but I think they found the fact useful.

Whilst I was visiting the caves, my bike was having the work done and when I came back it was looking as good as...well it hadn't really changed other the tyre which looked new but decidedly skinny and pathetic. Without my guides I was charged 'tourist price' which hurt my wallet (and pride) but hopefully it's money well-spent.
Phong Nha seems to be especially popular with traveller-bikers. I guess because of its location and also because of what's on offer. It's easy to spot other bikers- an oversized bag strapped down on the back of a Honda Win (also driven badly, me included!). It's been really great to catch up with a few of them and find out from the North-to-South guys where would be best for my next stop and also the places/roads to avoid. Swapping our routes like excited school children.

I'm not really sure on my next plan, there's only so much planning I can do but I'm aiming to get to Sa Pa as soon as possible. Whether that's via Hanoi and taking a night bus or just driving straight there, I don't know. In the meantime, my alarm clock is set for half past five, ready for a big day and hopefully a lot of miles! I doubt I'll have much to write about for the next couple of days- fingers crossed my next blog will be somewhere close to Sa Pa.