The reason we came to Phong Nha is that we were told by a guy earlier on in our trip that it is a 'must visit' that nobody really knows about. This to us sounded intriguing so we decided to have a day here. The main reason for the stop is to visit the cave systems that are located in the area. Phong Nha is home to the biggest cave in the world - Son Doong. Unfortunately it takes 7 days and $3000 dollars to trek there through the dense jungle, so needless to say we will not be doing that. However, it is possible by means of a day tour to visit Paradise cave and Phong Nha Cave.

After an hours journey on the Ho Chi Minh trail (this was the secret road the Viet Cong used to transport materials of war up and down the country to avoid the U.S.) to Paradise Cave winding through the best scenery of Vietnam yet (mountains, thick jungle and valleys of the highlands), we had a 1 km walk up the most grueling stairs yet and by the top everybody was soaked and gasping for air in the humid conditions. Once we entered the cave it was as if entering another world. The cave was 100m wide and high with stalagmites and stalactites as big as houses. The lighting made it seem magical, mystical and unreal. This is the longest dry cave in Asia as it winds for 34km underground. Tourists can only walk 1km but even this was overwhelming. A local stumbled across it when he was hunting in 2005.

Phong Nha cave is the longest wet cave in the world and it was used as a hospital during the U.S War. In wet season it is impossible get in as the rising water blocks the entrance and can be up to 35m deep in places. At this moment in time the wet season is tailing off and the cave has been open for one week. However the boats are struggling to get in and can get wedged at the entrance. The local guides got us to sit to one side of the boat and pushed up off the rocks inching our bait into the cave. The roof scraped along the rock but we made it. This was also a massive cave but we just got to sit back and enjoy the ride. The nickname of the cave is "Fairy Cave". This is because the mineral sculptures inside form many outlines of women and create an amazing underworld.

After the tour loomed a 10 hour night bus. Everybody knows that the night buses of Vietnam are famous for being risky, dangerous, overcrowded and uncomfortable. Up until we have had ok experiences but as we travel north the terrain becomes more mountainous and the distances longer. We always book coaches with well recommended companies however when the receptionist in our hostel told us that the company we wanted were fully booked and she had found another our hearts sunk. We quickly looked at the reviews on trip advisor and the journey to Hanoi we were taking is renowned to be treacherous. English people living in Vietnam have left reviews warning of the accidents that occur due to untrained, drugged up incompetent drivers. Nervously we waited to be picked up. At 10pm the bus arrived and things did not start well at all.

The death bus.

We walked on to the bus and a fellow Englishman said "I don't think there are any seats mate". Instantly we see the aisles are lined with locals sleeping on the floor. The driver gets out two more mats throws them on the aisle and point is to them. We don't back down and tell him we are not sleeping there, we have paid good money for this bus and demand we get a seat. The driver then started to wake up the locals who were overcrowding the bus and who had taken our seats and asks them to move on to the floor. The first few blankly refuse but then two seats are made available. Char gets a seat on the first level, next to the toilets with two local women laid either side of her. Matt gets the top level rows away from Char. We set off and matt looks down to see that the two women who have moved are quite elderly women who now have to lay on the hard floor for ten hours. Guilt floods our bodies but we are unable to risk the journey on the floor with no seat belt and we will have paid a ridiculous amount more than them and they will have known this was going to happen. When we set off within minutes it became clear that the driver was a risk taker. Overtaking other vehicles that are already over taking on sharp, blind bends and swerving and braking hard constantly. We were so tired that we still managed to nod off. Throughout our sleep we are woken a lot by these inappropriate and dangerous actions but in light sleep we could nod off again. Until the brakes slammed, everybody sat up out of their seats, the bus skidded and a huge thud hit the windscreen. The driver had just driven into metre deep water at 50km/h. Everybody on the bus was now awake at 4am and was anxiously sat up and peering out of the front trying to look for any other dangers. With a quick glance down at Char, Matt moved into a seat next to her that a local had vacated. The driver had not learnt from his previous water entry and it kept happening, luckily without the same outcomes. The bus kept stopping every few hundred metres and his mate got out to assess the same wheel constantly as if it was damaged. This bread an even more nervous feeling on the bus. Eventually the water got deep as we drove towards Hanoi and the traffic restricted the driver from "driving". We stayed awake until we reached our stop.

M & C xxxx

Bus journey hell!