Kayaking In The Underground Phong Nha River Cave - My First Trip Of 2022

Hello Hiveans,
I wish you all a wonderful year ahead, full of new adventures to be discovered. The pandemic Covid-19 has caused so much change in the globe that we, as individuals, must adjust our thinking in order to pursue new opportunities. Live fearlessly in 2022 could be correct, because we believe the pandemic is not a big threat for us right now, and that humans will eventually be able to manage it well, turning it into a seasonal influenza. Of course, this does not give us the right to be subjective about the difficulties raised by Covid-19. Traveling in Vietnam is still a nice option for me, at least for the time being.

I just returned from my first excursion of the year, caving further in Phong Nha Cave by kayak, which is a brand new option. Have you ever gone caving after dark? Believe me when I say that it was a unique and fascinating experience. I'd been to Phong Nha Cave several times before, but this was my first time kayaking through it at night.

At 5 p.m., our crew took a 3-minute walk down from the Phong Nha Town to see the kayak and other items, as well as to begin our wonderful excursion today. Before arriving at the Phong Nha cave entrance, we kayaked for around 45 minutes.
The sun came out just in time on the way to the cave, allowing me to see the sunset. We arrived at the cave entrance about 6 p.m., and the temperature inside was drastically different, more warmer and drier. The cave, which resembles a massive air conditioner, will be warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

In the cave entrance, kayaks were waiting for us. Each of us will have one kayak, one paddle, one life-vest, and two water bottles. I had to put on my heavy jacket because it was raining and freezing. After the first kilometer, I started to feel a little hot and wanted to take off my warm jacket.

To begin kayaking in the dark, we were given one caving light and a caving helmet. Actually, the first kilometer of the cave is still OK without lighting because the lights were installed to allow people to explore the dry passage.
The cave was discovered in 1997 and has a total length of more than 7 kilometers, making it one of the first must-see locations in Phong Nha at that time. More specifically, in 2003, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its geological significance; as a result, a large number of international tourists visited Phong Nha, and the Phong Nha cave grew in popularity.

We paddled 3 kilometers, swam in the pool, and had dinner in the cave.
With our flashlights, we continued into the dark narrow passage, where we were surrounded by amazing stalagmites and stalactites. We discovered that we were far too little to camp in this location. We halted at the river bank inside the cave where we left the kayaks and found a good site for dinner after kayaking about 2.5 kilometers inside the cave. Fresh spring rolls, cheese laughing cow, breads, salads, biscuits, and more bananas were served during our dinner. We had a 15-minute rest after dinner before continuing our adventure. We hiked further into the cave to witness additional cave formations, then crossed several small bridges to see a massive lake with flowing water.

Taking a closer look at the lake I saw the dead-end, but the path on the left is carrying us deeper into the cave. I chose a large boulder and double-checked that the water was deep enough. I swam for around 15 minutes here after jumping in from here and appeared to forget about the frigid weather outside.

After walking about 100 meters, we discovered that the rocks were completely covered in mud and that there was very little to see. To check how black it was, we decided to turn off the lights. Wow, it was pitch black, and we sounded even more terrified as we held our breath and listened to the water drip from the cave ceiling.

At the moment, I imagined a big monster emerging from the depths, and we were scared to swim out of the cave as quickly as possible. What a thrilling adventure! We enjoyed it for 60 seconds before turning the lights back on. It was entertaining, but also frightening. I swear I'll never enter this place by myself.
We then returned to a stream, where we could relax by lying backwards in the water and allowing the river to push us downstream. On the way down, there were several sharp rocks under the water that we had to be cautious about.
We made our way up to the dry passage and changed into our dry clothes. It was considerably cozier and more pleasant. We kayaked back to the cave entrance from where we left the kayaks, and the boat transported us back to Phong Nha Tourism Centre to end the tour.

What should you carry with you on this trip?

• 1 warm jacket for the winter months
• 1 change of clothes after swimming
• Cellphone or camera dry box
• Hiking shoes or sandals

It was a quick excursion, but it was fascinating and well worth it.

Thank you all for reading my post, and have a wonderful New Year!!!