Slippy Days

As luck would have it, I found the most adorable restaurant and hostel in Son Trach village which had just opened the very day I arrived! I booked three nights at “A Vietnam Corner” and for my first meal I ordered the most wonderfully described meal on the menu - “A bowl of love.” It only made sense seeing as the owner, Henry, was so sweet and put every ounce of love he could muster into his food creations and his business.

As unluck would have it, I was getting sick. The weather in Phong Nha turned cool and rainy. Against my better judgment, I hopped back on “Silver Bullet” for Day 2 and returned to the national park to visit the Botanical Gardens. In the drizzle, I chose the longer three hour trek (not heeding the advice of the women at the entrance who warned “It's very slippy today!”), hiked through the jungle, got slightly lost, and finished with slick climb up a beautiful waterfall. Because of the weather, I didn't run into a single person on the trail. I paused, often, to listen to the gentle rain pitter-patter on the leaves and hear the birds call to one another. After several nights of sharing a dorm room with 6+ people, I treasure hours like this.

The dreary and cold weather combined with being sick forced me to turn the majority of my third day in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park into a rest day. I found myself a cozy spot at Bamboo Cafe and alternatively sipped hot “eggie coffees” (coffee with condensed milk and a sweet, whipped meringue topping) and cold fruit smoothies (ahhh, so good for a sore throat!) for several hours.

Since it was also my last evening in Phong Nha (I was eager to head south towards warmth!), I sat down for dinner at Henry's restaurant to order another “bowl of love.” I sat close to the only other table of diners at the restaurant – this may have had something to do with the fact that they happened to be three very handsome, very athletic looking gentlemen. Not wanting to interrupt (but really, definitely wanting to interrupt…) I was chuffed when one of the men turned around and struck up a conversation. I learned soon enough that the three of them were professional stunt men for the King Kong movie that was being filmed. As for the attractive black man that asked me my name? He was Samuel L. Jackson's stunt double.

Sore throat be damned, I hung out with the stunt crew, film crew and a handful of actors for a few hours that night, chatting around the bonfire and drinking a few beers. But, I had to catch another bus at 4:30AM the next morning, so I said adieu around 11:30PM. It wasn't until a few days later that I learned from another backpacker that Mr. Samuel L. Jackson himself turned up at midnight.