The Baby Train, Dong Hoi, and Phong Nha Cave.

One of the things I really wanted to do when I was on this trip was to get off the beaten track. While I do appreciate doing the tourist sites, I really like going to places where other people don't go. Even if that means some small town in the middle of nowhere where there's nothing to see in the traditional sense, as what you do get to see is what life is really like for people living in which ever country it happens to be.

I'm pleased to say that I've just had two of those days - although (incredibly) it did include a trip to a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I caught the train from Hue to Dong Hoi, taking the locals train, rather than the usual "Tourist Express". I was the only westerner on the train, and the conditions were totally different from the express trains. Hard seats, jam packed with people and luggage, and fans to stir the hot air.

Compared to the express, it was uncomfortable. But incredibly, people were doing the Saigon to Hanoi run on this train. Three hours was enough for me. Some of the people were spending a couple of days on the train.

At one point I could tell something was happening, but no one spoke English, so I kept looking around wondering what it was.

Then a man mimes a pregnant woman, and then rocks his hands as if he's holding a baby - everyone falls about laughing as I suddenly work out what's going on. It turns out that a woman was giving birth in the next carriage. The train didn't stop, it just kept going, and they rustled up hot water, blankets, and had a collection for baby clothes.

It was a real eye opener. People just got on with it - no fuss, no messing around. I felt sorry for the woman though - what a place to give birth...

My destination was Dong Hoi, which was on the north of the dividing line during the American War, and was therefore heavily bombed. It's basically all new, and it makes a nice place to stop.

Dong Hoi:



This is all that's left of Dong Hoi's church - bombed by the Americans during the war - you can still see bullet holes in the wall:



View over the fish ponds to the mountains behind:



It's a great place to walk around, and after seeing all there was to see, I headed to the market for food. The one thing I wanted to try was the local specialty Banh Khoai - a type of pancake with shrimp and pork.

So they brought the food, which included what looked like sheets of plastic, a bowl of herbs, the pancake, super hot chilies, and a plate of meat which I was unable to identify.

Luckily, there were other people in the place, and I'd been watching what they did. You basically grab a sheet of plastic (which turns out to be rice paper), put in some meat, put in some pancake, add some herbs, roll the paper like a big joint, and then dip it in this really nice sauce.

It was pretty good, although the meat was pretty nasty stuff. I only managed to eat half before giving up. I really don't know what it was, but a store down the street sold dog meat so you never know (although I definitely prefer my dog on a lead, than a plate...).

The reason I wanted to come to Dong Hoi was because back in the early 90's when I was climbing on a regular basis, people were talking about this huge cave system in Vietnam. I remember reading a report by the British team (The British Cave Research Association) who'd been to explore it, and had been further than anyone else into the cave - about 8 kilometers!

I headed to the tourist office to see if there was a tour for the next day, but they wanted $85USD - which was way way way out of my budget and stupidly expensive. So I headed back to the hotel who were really helpful. They spoke the best English of anyone I met in Dong Hoi, although we did need to do some writing down and miming. In the end they said it was 650,000 Dong for a car, 350,000 Dong for a moto with driver, or the same for a moto for me to drive.

I thought - OK - I might as well get someone to drive - at least they'll know the way. So I negotiated a rate of 200,000 dong (about 8 quid) for the moto and driver.

I was slightly surprised when the next morning, bright and early, I waited at reception and a lady pulled up, and handed me the key and helmet for a moto. It seems there were some crossed wires along the way :-)

Not to be perturbed I asked them the directions (which I couldn't follow), and then consulted the Rough Guide who had some basic instructions (which turned out to be wrong) and then set off for the 100km round trip.

The first bit is on Route 1, with trucks and coaches, and was definitely the worst bit. I pulled over and drove slowly when there was other traffic, and then floored it (well, as much as you can do with 125cc engine :-) when there wasn't any other traffic.

Once you get to Hoan Lao, it's a left turn, and then through villages and rice fields, until another little village where there's a roundabout. Some guys thankfully gave me some really great mimed directions, and I was able to find the rest of the way with no problems.

The Ho Chi Minh Highway:



The only way to the cave is in a boat, and as I was a little later than originally planned, there wasn't anyone else to share with - so I had to hire my own. It's a beautiful ride up the river.

On the boat:



Children swimming in the river:



The local village:



People harvesting reeds from the river:



There are actually two caves to see here - Tien Son Cave - which is a dry cave at the top of 350 very hot, and very steep steps.

Inside Tien Son Cave:



And then it's back to the boat for the ride into Phong Nha.

And what a ride. This is one of the best things I've ever done. I took some video of the ride into the cave, but it's too big to upload on the slow Internet speeds.

After a fair old trip in, you get out into this huge cave, and walk up to the end:





Is it me, or does this look like something out of Alien?





I only saw four other westerners on the trip - and they passed in a boat as I was heading up river to Phong Nha. All the other visitors were Vietnamese, and they all wanted to say hello and have a picture taken - with me!!!

I even got adopted by a family who insisted that I walk around Tien Son Cave with them, even though none of us could speak to each other.

And then another group adopted me for the trip into Phong Nha - the boat drivers even came along and wanted pictures. Which was really great as everyone was so friendly - it felt like I'd seen another side of Vietnam...



From there, it was back on the boat to the boat station.

I was pretty hungry by this point, so I stopped for lunch at a place, and ordered Tom Rim (prawns that are cooked so the shell is crispy so you don't need to peel them), and rice. They insisted that I tried some other things, and just kept bringing stuff out. There was so much food (including really good roast fish) that in the end I had to decline any more. And it cost hardly anything...

And then it was back to Dong Hoi, and the night train to Ha Noi.

This is one of the best trip's I've ever made anywhere. An incredible two days, made even better by the kindness of strangers whose language I'm unable to speak, but who made it a trip to remember. The caves were awesome - and it was so good to finally see what all the fuss was about :-)