Underground Paradise

My overnight bus arrived in Son Trach village at 4:30 in the morning when the streets were still quiet and the sun had yet to rise. Two of my fellow bus riders and I hung around a closed hostel reception desk for a couple hours, only to learn when they opened at 7:00AM that the majority of the hostel beds and hotel rooms in Son Trach had been booked out months in advance. A giant crew from Los Angeles had practically taken over this small village in order to shoot a new King Kong movie in the nearby Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Whatdya know, Hollywood was in town! Along with their movie star, Mr. Samuel L. Jackson.

Not one to waste time in a new town, I found a place to store my backpack and made fast friends with another American and two Dutch travelers. The four of us decided to rent motorbikes for the day and cruise around the 60km national park loop. I was given a beat up, dull gray scooter which I immediately dubbed, “Silver Bullet.” As this was my first time riding a scooter – EVER – I was given a two minute lesson, a helmet (it's against the law to ride a motorbike without one), and sent on my way with instructions to “just ask my friends” if I needed any additional assistance. I got the knack of it straight away, and shook my head in wonder after I realized that afternoon that the rental place didn't require us to sign any waivers, leave any form of identification, or even prove if we had a valid driver's license. The motorbikes were ours – all for a whopping 120,000 dong per day per person – the equivalent of about five bucks.

It took no time at all to be convinced that exploring the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park by scooter was the best way to go. As we drove, the jungle covered mountains began to spring up on both sides, and the closer we got to the park entrance, the taller they loomed. It's funny – the national park is actually known for their giant caves, which we planned to visit, but the beauty that surrounded us as we sped along on our motorbikes felt as though we were in an Avatar movie. Lush and green and smelling of wet earth. On the back of “Silver Bullet,” I simply beamed.

With several caves to visit, we picked Paradise Cave, one of the longest dry caves in the world, which was only recently opened to the public in 2011 after having been discovered by a local hunter/jungle expert several years prior. With such a tiny opening in which to enter the cave, it was an immediate shock to walk into an enormous, cathedral-like space that could comfortably fit twenty airplanes. Scattered throughout were giant stalagmites and stalactites that glowed a soft yellow from strategically placed high-powered lights. I was having trouble remembering how to differentiate the two “stalas” when an older British woman came to my rescue - “Stalac-TIT-es. Tit's sag. So, they're the one's the come from the top. You'll never forget the difference again!” No, I don't believe I will!

I slowly wandered the 1.5km wooden boardwalk through Paradise Cave (the entire cave is a whopping 31km long!) looking waaay up and all around at the incredible variety of limestone formations that had been created over millions and millions of years. A small river carved out this monstrous cave and rain water that trickled through the soft limestone of the mountain just dripped over, and over, and over, and over, and over (well, you get the picture), eventually creating stalagmites and stalactites as tall as a two story house and as wide as a king sized bed. One millimeter is formed every year – just ONE MILLIMETER. If that's not the definition of artistic patience and commitment, I don't know what is. Paradise Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was the first time that I felt truly at peace in Vietnam. The clean, cool, quiet of the cave had a deliciously calming effect. And, after what felt like one hour in the cave, I emerged – and discovered I'd been inside for three.