By James

We left Sue and Brendan at their hotel and went to the train station for our first (and last) night train in Vietnam. Space is at such a premium in Hanoi we saw something we would never have expected: houses, barbers and even small restaurants whose faced directly onto the train tracks! It was bizarre to be chugging along in a train, sat on our beds in our own little cabin, a mere meter away from someone’s front door.

We both slept rather badly and had to get off the train very early at Dong Hoi for our taxi to Phong Nha.

We dumped our baggage at our hostel and immediately rushed down the road to join our cave tour. The Phong Nha-Ke Bàng national park is another of Vietnam’s UNESCO World Heritage sites and home to the largest cave in the world- Sơn Đoòng, which is so large that you can fit the Empire State across its widest point and two Boeing 747’s, flying side by side into its entrance! We couldn’t visit this cave though, as it’s a 7-day round trip and we only had 28 hours before we had to leave for Hue, so we settled for the first 1km of the 31km long Paradise Cave (the largest dry cave in Asia) and the amazing Dark Cave. Sometimes you’ve just got to make these tough decisions…

Paradise Cave certainly lives up to its name! This beautiful vaulted cave is home to huge stalactites, stalagmites, and strange looking pillars. The ceiling had swirls of colour that reminded me of a nebula I had seen that one time when I was in Deep Space (citation needed).

After lunch, we changed into our swimming costumes, helmets and safety harnesses, and headed up to the launch platform for the zip wire that led us across the river to Dark Cave!
(Editor’s note: if you’re reading this aloud, then “Dark Cave” should be said in the style of Gandalf and with some serious echo on it. Try saying it in a cave, it’ll help. If you don’t have a cave to hand, then a public bathroom will do.)

After a rather unceremonious landing on my part, we swam the last 50 meters to the cave entrance and made our way into the dark…

After scrabbling down claustrophobically tight crevasses we made it to the end of the cave. What awaited us was a delightfully squelchy pool of mud, glorious mud! It was so full of sediment that we could float close to the surface like filthy, giggling Buddhas.

Once we had reached the light again- via a carved out slide with a hidden rock at the end that grazed both Chloe and my bottoms- we boarded canoes and headed back to base.

With a certain sense of schadenfreude we watched a young Englishman desperately search for his GoPro at the bottom of the river (if you’re not going to attach a flotation device to your expensive device, don’t take it into the water!) We played on the smaller zip wires that ended with a drop into the river, then we’re taken back to our hotel, where we promptly passed out at 6pm, exhausted but happy.

*****

The following afternoon we headed back to the station for our very cramped and noisy train to the former capital of Hue. You can see from the rather blurry photo below that when there was no more room, passengers just grabbed a little plastic chair and sat in the aisle.

 

We met up with Sue and Brendan at our hotel- who had the loveliest staff and free infused rice wine tasting!- and went for Italian food, before an early night.

The following day we were met our driver for our tour of the main royal sites of Hue.

The tomb itself was a very interesting concrete and stone affair, with guards at the entrance. We discovered through our own research (thank you again www.travelfish.org!) that the king was so opulent and disliked that the masons had put in subtle clues that undermined the respect and reverence that he felt his tomb deserved. For example, some of the guards are holding their swords in the wrong hand, or backwards – little signs that they weren’t willing to fight for this disliked King.

Next, we headed to the main Citadel for a tour around the Royal City. When Vietnam was gaining more territory in the South, Emperor Gia Long moved the capital to Hue and began building his capital. It is said that it once rivalled Beijing’s Forbidden City, however, after Vietnam’s wars with the French (1946-1954) and Americans (1955-1975) the Citadel took a heavy beating and is now a shadow of its former self. It was still lovely though.

Finally, we headed to Tu Duc tomb, which was our favourite by far. Set in the former king’s hunting grounds, this tomb was very peaceful and a lovely way to end the day.

Next, we head to Hoi An and it’s UNESCO World Heritage Old Town.

Until next time, all our love- The Backpack Duo x

By James

So, nice and early we headed off on our 4-hour journey past rice paddies and ‘Glorious Dead’ war memorial statues for Ha Long Bay. We stopped at a truck stop/tourist trap with what they called a “Customers Corner” which was actually a display on each person who had bought a large statue, complete with their photo, phone number, email address and home address for all to see- an identity thief’s wet dream! (I’ve not added a photo of it here, I don’t want to perpetuate this absurdity!)

At around midday we boarded our boat for Ha Long Bay and the beginning of our cruise with Vega Travel.

After a short break, we hopped into kayaks and went off to explore Hang Luon lagoon.

Next, we climbed up to visit the wonderfully lit Surprising Cave (the discoverer didn’t expect to discover it, apparently!)

That evening we made DIY fresh spring rolls and slept to the sounds of the waves lapping at our boat.

 

 

The following morning we got up early to scale the 425 steps up Ti Top Hill. The view was good, just maybe not 425 steps good…

 

 

Then came the best bit. We moored to the East of Cat Ba Island and hopped on rather rickety bikes. We cycled around a beautiful valley to Viet Hai village, where we met a woman who brewed her own rice wine. We got to try the ‘normal’ one, one infused with hibiscus and even a snake infused wine! (The snake one was the best one, in case you were wondering.)

 

 

After getting a little fuzzy we left Sue and her previously broken leg talking to a woman who made pearl necklaces, and headed off for a trek through the jungle and up the rocks over a ridge.

We got back rather sweaty and hungry, so we ate such a large meal we all fell asleep.

 

 

By the time we awoke we had travelled away from the crowds of Ha Long Bay to the quieter, less travelled area of Lan Ha Bay.

 

 

We refreshed ourselves by jumping into the sea from the boats, daring one another to do more exciting jumps.

Until a sweet, tattooed Japanese lady messed up a flip and Spider Monkey jumped into her front. Her belly and face made one hell of a slap as she hit the water…

As the sun set, we made our way past floating villages into Cat Bay town and spent the night in a perfectly serviceable hotel.

The following morning we headed back to the port just in time for a very localised storm, and then the journey back to Hanoi.

 

Next is caving, tombs and royal cities.

All our love, The Backpack Duo x

By James

After a rather confusing journey trying to find the correct hotel (they’re all called such similar things!), we arrived at Charming Hotel 2, Hanoi.

We loved Hanoi, although we did next to nothing in it before Sue and Brendan (my parents) arrived. Our days were spent wandering about looking for bargains, going to cafes, eating King Roti buns (oven bottom buns with chocolate in them) and going to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2!

 

 

 

 

One trip we did manage to drag our carcases out for was to the Temple of Literature, the oldest university in Vietnam, dating back to the 13th century.

 

 

 

Other than that, we just hung out and waited for my parents to arrive- bliss.

Love, the Backpack Duo x