VIETNAM - Phong Nha - Part 2

So waking up wasn’t that bad since I went to bed early, still I didn’t have a great sleep. But I was the first to wake up out of the room so I went to breakfast by myself, assuming everyone was hungover and would sleep till noon. But when I got back to the room I saw Luca had woken up and was feeling alright and wanted to get breakfast. So I joined him and planned on renting a motorbike with him for the whole day. We waited for Elise but there was no sign of her. So instead of wasting more of our day we drove to go find Phong Nha Cave and planned on taking a boat tour inside of it. We drove all the way to the entrance of the cave to find out that the boats did not depart from there but further up the river near town. So we had to turn back but our motorbike kept breaking down on the bumpy road . Luckily Luca was bike savy so he was able to make it start up again every time. We finally got to the boat dock and had to wait for more people to come so we could split the cost of the ride. And that was smart because 12 more people came and we paid wayyyyy less! Also by this time Luca was entertaining me because he was feeling horrible from last night. He stayed out till 4 in the morning and he explained that when your almost 40, hangovers are far worse. But I’m glad he came on the adventure with me. On the boat I met another guy named Tyler from New Jersey and we talked almost the whole tour about life and how we should be living it and not working so hard all the time. Once we got to the entrance of the cave it was magnificent. The old man running the boat switched off the motor and started to paddle with a wooden ore. We was dressed in his finest clothes and pushing a huge boat! Go him! The silence of the cave gave it a misterious feel but so pleasant. All I was thinking about was how amazing it would have been to be the first people to discover this place. Heading back out the cave Luca made me laugh again because he was starving and all I had to offer him were stale Oreo cookies which he gladly excepted. There was no knowing how long the tour would take and it was past lunch time. I myself was surviving on one cookie and that was not enough for the next part of the tour, climbing up to Dong Son Cave. I thought it would be a short hike up the mountain. I was wrong. It was hot and humid and Luca was really feeling the pain by this time. Each step up the mountain was getting further apart from each other. At one point I had to use my hands to boost myself up a step! And then almost to the top Luca and I couldn’t control our laughing at how horrible our situation was at the moment. We were hungry, hungover, hot, and the stairs weren’t helping. I haven’t laughed like that in a long time, and it was the first time I laughed like that with a stranger! But it was the best. Finally after we pulled our shit together we made it to the cave and it is also called the Wander Cave. It was truly beautiful inside. I saw huge stalactites that have fallen over and made little walkways you could go under. Really worth the climb. Sort of... Going back down with Tyler and Luca was fun because a few kids joined us and were giving us high fives and talking in perfect English! At the bottom of the mountain we scavenged for food but all the vendors were closed because of Tet. So we had to wait for the rest of the tour group to finish in the caves until we could take the boat back to the dock. And they took forever. It felt like eternity especially because we were starving. But we laid out in the sun and just waited and talked about our travels. Finally the group finished and we headed back. Once we got to our bikes again, Tyler wanted to join Luca and I for lunch. So in town we stopped at the Indian resturant and it was pretty good. I mean we were dying of starvation by this point. After we paid, Tyler Luca and I biked to the Bong Lai Valley which is a dirt road leading into the mountains. Up this road is the famous “Duck Stop” which I had no idea what to expect. When we got there we paid $2 to put shoes on and wear hats to go into a duck pen and feed a shot ton of ducks. This was the most UNIQUE experience so far on my trip. Never have I done this and it was so interesting. These ducks would follow you around no matter what! Then the guy in the pen with us holding the food made up pick them up and throw them into the air where they would then fly into a pond. I laughed and had a blast with Luca. Afterwards we greeting the people living on the farm and had some coffee. The people here were so nice. And on the list further down the road was the “Pub with cold beer”. I wonder what to expect here... once we got there we were greeted by kids running up to our bikes giving us high fives and hugging us and telling us their names. So cute! All I could do was smile and hug back. We then got 3 cold local beers and took our shoes off to enter this family’s house. There we were sitting around a small table with a Mom, her kids, the young cousins. They gave us free homemade candy and rice wine that tasted like straight vodka to me. Luca looked at me and shook his head with a smile knowing if he drank anything today he would most likely die. Taking in English with the kids was fantastic. The mom was chuckling because I think she had a crush on Luca since they were around the same age and she was recently single. The kids then kept asking us to gamble money with them! But we ended up playing games with them for an hour, from balloon volleyball to soccer to a full on water balloon fight! I was laughing the whole time and was just so full of love and happiness. When it was time to say goodbye the lady refused to take our money for the beers and candy but we all insisted, and even offered more! We then gave hugs and kisses and took pictures to say goodbye. Tyler, Luca, and I all looked at each other knowing we would remember this moment for the rest of our lives. We wanted to stay there forever. Headed back to town was bumpy and I had to drive givin Lucas current state... but we then got to town and said goodbye to Tyler since he was leaving that night, great guy! Luca and I went back to the hostel to try and find Elise but still no sign of her, so we rested and showered until dinner. Dinner was quiet and mellow with Luca. All we could talk about was the kids we had fun with today and how it was one of the best days of our entire trip. Afterwards we kept looking at all the restaurants to try and find the Swiss guys and Elise but still nothing. So we went back and slept early. The next morning Luca and I planned on going bike riding together. Overall this was one of the top days of my trip so far.