phuong nguyen
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This is one of a must visit place for a vietnam trip. From here you can visit the Paradise cave, take a boat ride into the Phọng Nha cave, visit the Hien Lương bridge and the demarcation line which separated the North and South vietnam during the infamous Vietnam War.
You can reach phong nha by train, bus or plane. We took a flight from HCM city to Đồng Hới; the train and bus from different cities also end here. You should have contact your homestay or hotel, they will pick you up at the airport, train or bus station.
For food, there are a few options for western foods; Google is your best friend to search a place to eat. We stayed at the Sondoong homestay within walking distance to the boat ride to phong Nha cave.
Another good option is the Victoria Road homestay next door to Sondoong homestay. The Victoria is owned by an Australian with lots of experience exploring phong nha by bike.
The restaurant is pretty nice and cozy with some good western dishes and decent pizzas. There are also other places but this is the only places we ate during our time here.
There are a lot of places to stay in phọng nha, many tours are offered to fit your schedule. Overall, there is no 5 star accommodation and be prepared for the unexpected. But I can assure you this is a well worthy trip and enlighten your perspective.
The scenery is beautiful and truly reflect the live of the rural vietnam. This lifestyle has not changed for the last 60 years.
Life is still tough for a lots of local people, tourism brings some relief to this corner of the world and they are welcome and appreciated.
I also wanted to visit the demarcation line separated the north and south up to 1975. I have to say, for me at least, is a disappointment. The bridge is in shameful, neglected conditions with pealed paints, rotten wood planks on both sides of the bridges. I am not sure how to interpret the intentions here. Like it or not, this is a piece of history should be preserved. Either maintain it or tear it down !
For history bluffs, this city in right on the Ho Chi Minh trail, the road the north Vietnamese armies and supplies were moving south to attack the southern government. The old dirt roads are paved now but i can tell it is not a smooth road even today; small road barely fit 2 cars in opposite directions.
From here you can visit Khe Sanh, where some well known battle grounds took place during the so called American war. Sorry I can’t help to draw a comparison to the south Vietnamese situation then and the Ukrainian ones now; they all relied on the support of the American and at the mercy of the support of the American politicians who only cares about themselves and/or their idiotic party lines. They withholding the last aid in 1975 and eventually abandoned the South. I hope the Ukrainian will fare better this time.
Khe Sanh is now a city, I found virtually nobody has any knowledge about the war.
If you want to know more or feel adventurous, the owner of Victoria Road can help fulfill your quest.
I loved this trip. It is a bit rough for us, since she is wheelchair bound but we made it
