Arriving in Phong Nha by Arushi

Waking up this morning at 5 am was not the most delightful experience I’ve ever had, the train bumping around, our tiny room crammed with five people drowsily getting ready, although we did see the sunrise, which was a plus.

Not even bothering to get out of my pjs, I managed to wriggle some trousers on top of them in my bunk and threw a jumper on. Still half-asleep, we made our way to the train doors, five of us and all of our cumbersome bags swaying about as the train rattled on. It stank of cigarettes, something dad struggled to fall asleep with last night and I didn’t even dare look in the toilet, something I had managed to avoid since we boarded. As we were waiting by a sink, I brushed my teeth using a travel toothbrush I picked up from some hotel, just in time before we arrived at Dong Hoi.

From the station, we were picked up and driven to our hotel, during which I promptly fell back asleep. We arrived at the hotel at 6 and checked into our room for a rest and to get ready for the days adventure.

We had breakfast, which was as an ‘order from a menu’ system but seemed to not comply with the ‘get what you ordered’ system, as our meal consisted of some things we hadn’t even ordered, mainly being baguettes.

From breakfast, we were picked up by our friendly guide and escorted into a van with six other people, all couples. Our rowdy group piled in the back of this calm van, and off we drove to our first stop, Paradise cave.Read more