VIETNAM - Phong Nha - Part 3

So Luca and I woke up feeling refresh after a good nights sleep and we went out to breakfast. I had yogurt and fruit with their natural honey which was really good and Luca had a pancake. But when he ordered the pancake he said he wanted a really really big one. And when they brought it out it was the size of a large dominos pizza folded in half, drizzled with chocolate sauce. Oh my word. But Luca managed to eat the entire thing, bravo! We was definitly full afterwards. So we could have gotten free bike rentals from our hostel but Luca and I agreed to find a place that rented mountain bikes instead of shitty road bikes because we knew the road to go see the Botanical Gardens was in need of a bike with good gears and brakes. But every place we went to told us their mountain bikes were broken... every single place... sounds a little suspicious to me. But we found one place! And then by the time we rode to the mountainous part we found out Luca had no working gears nor brakes. And I had one brake working but it wasn’t strong enough to stop me going downhill. The bike ride there was fine though, very steep hills but it fet good to build up a sweat and slowly ride through the Phong Nha Valley. At the top of the steepest part we made it to the Botanical Gardens. Only a 10 km ride, and we made great timing! Up there Luca was compiling about how full he was from the pancake still. And the receptionist at the ticket counter advised us to put on big spray since it is a jungle and there is a lot. I looked at Luca and we forgot ours so we had no choice. Then Luca made a “dad joke” and asked her if she sold blood, since we would most likely be sucked dry from bugs. The lady said yes and I don’t think she understood. I started laughing so hard again. And then even harder when I said all the sugar from the pancake he ate would make his blood sweeter for the bugs and we bursted our laughing and crying. We could both barely talk or breath. Not sure why we did but we did. So we entered the park and the first part had an enclosed area where monkey, ducks, and large snakes were roaming around. It was fun to watch the monkeys play with each other. We then proceeded to follow the trail around the park and it was stunning. The sound of the birds was pretty but also the frogs by the river were so loud! The trial was nice and it felt good to be hiking around so close to nature again. At the end of the trail we found the Gio waterfall which was really nice and you could swim in it actually. Luca swam in it but it was a little cold for me so I just dunked my head and wash all the sweat off my body. We then ended the hike and got back on our bikes to get lunch in town. Biking downhill was a little scary though... Luca had no choice but to go straight down because he had no brakes so he was gone within the first seconds starting, I was slowly trailing behind hanging on Mayo my one and only brake. I was pumping it so it wouldn’t give out but still even if I pressed as hard as I could there was no way I could stop. So I was going relatively fast down this narrow hilly road that had blind corners. Once at the bottom I saw Luca again thankfully and enjoyed the biking below the huge valley of forest. We saw wild boars to the side as well as chickens and cows. Once back in town we stopped for a beer and grub at a nice river view resturant. After that we went back to return the bikes and walked around town a little bit more before I had to pack my bags and head to the airport. It was a pleasant walk with Luca and I enjoyed his company. I think I would of had fun without him but no nearly as much, also I might have been lonely too. I want to thank him for being my buddy! Next thing I know I was at the Dong Hoi airport waiting for my flight back to Hanoi.