From Hue, Kat and I traveled up to Dong Ha in Quang Tri to hang out with our friend Max, the country director for an NGO. As you may recall, Roots of Peace (the organization I'm doing my internship with) has an office in Dong Ha. Kat and I planned to spend Christmas with Max and take photos of black pepper farmers for Roots of Peace.
We arrived in Dong Ha and were promptly whisked away to an English school's Christmas show. Max had been asked to make an appearance as Santa, and asked us if we wanted to go. Cute Vietnamese kids singing Christmas songs? Of course we wanted to go! Upon arriving, Max was told he was going to be a judge for the "Kid's Idol" singing contest. They needed another judge and I was more than happy to help. (This is my second gig as "International Talent Show Judge". Not sure how I can continue on this career path...). After about 2 hours of singing and games, Max was told to put on a highly flammable santa suit and reappeared to greet excited (and a few terrified) kids. All in all, it was a high energy evening and we were more exhausted than jolly when we bid our farewells at the end of the night.
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| I don't think the second girl from the right sang one word all night...but she sure was cute! |
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| Santa getting mobbed |
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Santa's oh-so-lovely helpers
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The next day, having thankfully recovered our hearing, we had lunch with Max's office staff and then headed up to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. We planned to stay at Phong Nha Farmstay, a hostel in the middle of rice paddies, and visit 2 caves nearby. We arrived at this hostel in the middle of nowhere and found the temperatures had dropped. I ended up wearing around 2 pairs of jeans, 2 long-sleeve shirts, a hoodie, and a jacket I borrowed from Max. Luckily the rooms had heat and Kat immediately took to the bed as she wasn't feeling well. Max and I talked a bit with other folks at the hostel, drank some good gin and tonics, and ate a yummy beef stew for dinner. While I had originally thought we'd spend 2 cozy nights at the Farmstay and celebrate Christmas there, after a few hours of the cold we decided that one night would be more than enough. Additionally, the prospects for seeing the cave were limited--by rented motorbike (it was raining), by private car (over $50), or on a tour that cost $55 per person (pretty high for a tour in Vietnam). So...we called our driver that had brought us up and dropped us off that evening to come back the next morning, take us around to the caves, and then take us back to Dong Ha.
Our happy driver (the same guy Kat and I traveled around Hue with) showed up promptly the next morning and whisked us off to Phong Nha Cave. Thankfully Kat was feeling much better (the 12 hours of sleep she had might have helped). We took a boat ride to the cave and walked around. It was pretty impressive. Although, I must say, I'm not a huge fan of colored lights--but, whatever--this is Vietnam!
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| Phong Nha Farmstay |
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| view from the Farmstay |
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| Road trip! |
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| Boat trip! |
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| entrance to Phong Nha Cave |
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| Phong Nha Cave |
The next cave we visited made Phong Nha Cave pale in comparison. Paradise Cave was only opened with the past year--it's not even in the guidebooks yet. We walked through the jungle (on a paved cartpath, of course), climbed 500 stairs, and entered a huge cavern. We descended wooden stairs and walked 1.1 km into a natural wonder. It was truly breathtaking. At one point, we realized we were the only people in the cavern. Even cooler.
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| Paradise Cave |
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| Enormous stalagmite--had to be at least 10 meters tall |
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| These photos cannot capture the size of this amazing cave |
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| It just kept going... |
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| Mother nature is pretty amazing! |
After all this gawking, Kat, Max and I returned to Dong Ha and a Christmas dinner prepared by Max's adopted mother (the owner of Tam's Cafe--where Max's office and apartment are). The bun cha was delicious--the perfect Christmas dinner!
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| Christmas dinner in Dong Ha--bun cha! |
The next day, Kat and I visited the DMZ area around Dong Ha, including the Hien Long Bridge (across the Ben Hai River--the DMZ) and the Vinh Moc tunnels. We then headed off to take photos photos of Roots of Peace black pepper farmers.
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| Hien Luong Bridge on the DMZ |
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sisters reunited after the war
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| Kat with our Vinh Moc Tunnel guide--he said he was born in the tunnels |
The next day, we bid farewell to our Dong Ha friends and boarded the train for Da Nang. It was a lovely Christmas break with friends and farmers in Central Vietnam. Next up: Hoi An!
See the full story with my Facebook album: Central Vietnam Quảng Trị & Quảng Bình Provinces
