We had two great days in the interior of Central Vietnam, learning about the the "American" War and exploring the caves. We took a one hour flight from Hanoi to Dong Hoi, then a 40 minute taxi ride to the Phong Nha Farmstay - a hostel in the countryside, run by an Australian and his Vietnamese wife. Rooms were basic and cheap $25/room/night. When we arrived Chuck and I sat outside looking at the rice fields, drinking beer and watching the cows come home while Kenna and Cole played pool. Pretty relaxing. Lots of interesting people there - met a family who is living in Hoi An and some travellers from Germany, NZ, Australia, Canada and the UK. The next day we rented bikes and rode through the fields and along the river past lots of cows and water buffalo to the National Park. We rode on these boats through a really big cave - it was quite impressive. The setting is amazing - huge mountains everywhere. Right beside the mountain in the picture above is part of the Ho Chi Minh trail. The Ho Chi Minh trail was a network of roads throughout Vietnam used to move ammunition, supplies and soldiers from the north to the south. At this site every night during the war the Vietnamese would create a floating pontoon bridge so the trucks and people could cross the river. Before dawn they would dismantle the bridge and hide it in the nearby caves. Eventually the US dropped parachutes at night that were lighted up and after taking photographs they were able to see the 'night bridge'. Later the caves and the bridge was bombed, interrupting the trail until a new section could be built.
Kenna and Cole in the cave. Caves were utilized during the war to store ammunition, soldiers and supplies. They were also used a staging areas and hospitals.
We rode the boat for about 1.5 kms in to the cave - past many stalactites and stalagmites. The cave was
about 50 feet tall in some areas but the opening was only about 5 feet high and 10 feet across. The opening to the cave.
The next day we went on another tour through the park. We drove along Highway 20, a road that was created in 5 weeks by the Vietnamese Army when the Ho Chi Minh Trail was shut down by the Americans. Highway 20 went through the jungle into Laos, down through Laos and Cambodia before entering back into South Vietnam. It was called Hwy 20 as the majority of workers who created the road were only 20 years old. Every day the US would bomb the road so soldier would hide in the caves beside the road and clear the road every night to ensure the route was kept open. The US successfully bombed Highway 20 killing 8 women, who provided food and medical care to the soldiers, as well as 5 soldiers. There was a small temple in the cave where they were killed. It is a popular temple, with many visitors coming to recognize their contribution to the war. The day we were there, a bus full of Vietnamese arrived to visit the temple. I find this so impressive that 40+ years later the Vietnamese still actively honor their heroes. Usually people are buried in their village, in their rice field, but during the war the Government created "war cemeteries" in each village where all heroes were buried to remind everyone the sacrifice and price of war. Below is a picture of a "war cemetery" for a very small village. The caskets at the front are of "war mothers" - they represent the mothers and the sons that have died. The first casket on the left represents one mother and 3 sons that were lost during the war. The pillar states "your country will remember you". 
During our tour we also visited "Paradise Cave" - it was only discovered about 10 years ago. The British Caving Association continues to explore the area and find more caves; many of them immense in size.
We walked through the first kilometer of Paradise Cave , where is was at least 200 feet high in some areas. The stalactites and stalagmites are amazing! Pictures really don't show how impressive they are.
Kenna, Cole and I met 2 girls from Coquitlam. There are very few Canadians travelling through Vietnam so it was great to spend the day with them.
After we visited Paradise Cave we went for a swim in the river to cool off and then hopped into kayaks to paddle over to another cave. This cave was not on the tourist map - there was only the 20 of us from our tour there. We began to walk through the cave, splashing through the knee deep water. It was pitch black - our headlights were only able to illuminate small areas of the cave as we walked along. The water got deeper and deeper and then we were all swimming through the cave. We swam for about 200 meters through the cold, dark water - it was such a surreal experience. It was unexpected and a great way to end our adventure - everyone agreed it was super cool!!!!!
During our tour we also visited "Paradise Cave" - it was only discovered about 10 years ago. The British Caving Association continues to explore the area and find more caves; many of them immense in size.
We walked through the first kilometer of Paradise Cave , where is was at least 200 feet high in some areas. The stalactites and stalagmites are amazing! Pictures really don't show how impressive they are.
Kenna, Cole and I met 2 girls from Coquitlam. There are very few Canadians travelling through Vietnam so it was great to spend the day with them.
After we visited Paradise Cave we went for a swim in the river to cool off and then hopped into kayaks to paddle over to another cave. This cave was not on the tourist map - there was only the 20 of us from our tour there. We began to walk through the cave, splashing through the knee deep water. It was pitch black - our headlights were only able to illuminate small areas of the cave as we walked along. The water got deeper and deeper and then we were all swimming through the cave. We swam for about 200 meters through the cold, dark water - it was such a surreal experience. It was unexpected and a great way to end our adventure - everyone agreed it was super cool!!!!!
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