Day 1
Three days of caving, climbing, camping, trekking, swimming in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park with Oxalis tours. A lesson of a lifetime.
(Borrowing from the famous 1987 movie Good Morning Vietnam, with Robin Williams playing radio DJ Adrian Cronauer. Xin Chao Vietnam …. GMV!!!!)
I survive my first day of mountain jungle hiking and spelunking. There are 8 tourist hikers and 3-4 guides on the mountain. None of the tourists are older then 25, most are 20 or 21. the oldest guide is just 32. All men, no woman on this back country trek. (Maybe their too smart for such a crazy plan).
Holy shit, I’m 62 in a few weeks. What was I thinking? Guess who is the slowest ?
In addition to the guides, 3 porters and a cook prepare the camp sites in our advance. Moving on to the next camp site for our arrival tomorrow. We only hike with the minimum needs in our packs. Luxury camping of-sorts.
With an easy 3-4Km hike as we start, crossing the Rao Nan river waste deep - we reach our first cave. We visit just one Cave today. Rat cave. It’s huge. Stalactites and stalagmites abound. No lights as at my Paradise cave boat tour yesterday; we all have spelunking gear of helmets and headlamps. The cave is a ‘dry’ cave, but many passages are steep assents and descents, very slippery and muddy. We enjoy a lunch in the main cave chamber (or is it a cavern?). Awesome. It was part of the 2017 movie Kong: Skull Island.
After the Rat cave adventure, we attack a daunting jungle mountain climb. Over 4 hours. I am spent. A miracle I don’t fall or slide on the steep muddy trail. Jagged limestone rocks everywhere. I use my hands to pull myself up almost every step. .. and often sit on my ass on the steep descent’s. Two of the guides fall back with me, offering a hand as they can..but the trail is unforgiving. Incredibly gorgeous. Views of limestone mountains spring up everywhere. Breathe taking.
We make camp. I swim to the falls just by our camp, next to a rushing stream and the entrance to tomorrows first cave adventure. Tents provided, sleeping bag, a great meal, a toilet of sorts - a bucket and a seat; and I’m grateful.
Well, at least I can say I’m the best swimmer of the lot. No one follows me to the falls. Chalk one up for the old man.
The camp is surrounded with steep limestone mountains that I can almost touch, the thunder of the falls echo. It’s enchanting. Spiders everywhere, centipedes, leeches, birds, bats. It’s the dry season, not many mosquitoes to fight off - I’ve picked the right time to visit.
Its 7:00pm but feels like midnight. A little rice wine and I’m ready to crash. I love it all, and wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Get ready for tomorrow
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