Day 297: Phong Nha

We arrived in Dong Hoi around 6am and found a taxi for the 45 minute drive to Phong Nha. The drive up was through the country side. Vietnamese houses in the countryside are so cool because they have big openings for the living room and kitchen on the first floor with no real windows and then bedrooms are on the floor above. As we neared Phong Nha, sharp mountains came into view and we got excited.

Quick shout out to our hotel at Son Doong Riverside because they let us check into our room at 7am, provide free breakfast, free pedal/motorbike rentals, and will organize your bus to the next location. Also the owners have a really really cute puppy that greeted us first thing!

After dropping off our bags, we selected one of the pedal bikes and biked 10 KM to the Duck Stop farm. We were greeted by Nhatvuong and his adorable 3 little cousins. They sat next to us and held our hands while we tried to communicate our most simple English and Vietnamese phrases. Resorting to farm animal noises worked best and the girls loved it.

Eventually we started our farm tour learning about how the family grows black pepper, turmeric, and ginger. Onto the main show, we are taken to see their ducks and get to feed them. The farm’s a little weird and offers duck massages which is just placing food in your hands, feet, and legs while the ducks nibble. They were so cute.

After duck time, we learned to make a traditional dish Bahn Xeo. In total the farm experience was $8 and we had a great time. The villages around this area were super friendly and little kids / locals would greet us with Hello while we biked around.

After recovery napping from our 20 KM bike ride, we visited 1 of the 300 cave system in Ke Bang National Park. This cave is only accessible via boat and you try to group up with others to split the cost; we found a French couple from Nice to split. Definitely the biggest cave either of us have visited! Vietnam actually contains the largest cave in the world and they only offer 500 spots per year to visit. After caving we enjoyed a delicious dinner and returned home.

Hotel: Son Doong Riverside Home Stay

Food:
Bun Bo Hue
Bahn Xeo

Spots:
Phong Nha
The Duck Stop Farm
Phong Nha CaveEn savoir plus