Hoàng Ngà

Cao Bang Loop Day 3

Righto let's try and knock this one out fast as I'm still many days behind.

Breakfast? Check. Another cuddle with cute little Sam and a very heartbreaking goodbye? Check. The coolest parrot in the world that waddled up to me and wanted me to stroke it? Check (yeah I know right this place was awesome and I didn't want to leave). There was really only 1 stop today so I wasn't in a very big rush, so I waited for the rain in the morning to pass before heading out as I couldn't be assed to get wet.

I made my way back along the sketchy track but now it was filled with mud and puddles of water - which just required even more of my unmatched skill to maneuvere (I say riding an automatic 110cc).
Honestly for the first leg of the journey, this was the best quality driving I had done so far. It was absolutely stunning and I had to keep stopping to get a picture of the luscious green landscapes.

I arrived at Pac Bo cave which is famous for where Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam from China for the first time in 30 years in 1941 and stayed for a few weeks. And, it is at one end of the "Ho Chi Minh Road" that stretches almost the whole length of the country. It's a popular spot that Vietnamese people will take the time to visit atleast once in their lives. When I arrived it was fairly quiet and I hopped on an electric buggy from the car park to the area.

Not really knowing where I was going, I followed the path along the stunning turquoise water known as "Lenin Creek" and up along the first pathway off the main loop. None of the signs were in English so I did my best to translate them but it meant I didn't super know what was going on. I reached a little hut which I thought was where Ho Chi Minh lived but apparently he lived in the cave so I'm not super sure who's hut it was. Behind the hut, the path continued and having not learnt from yesterday I decided to keep going as I wanted to see where it went. Another sweaty climb uphill resulted in a dwindling path so I cut my losses early and headed back the way I came.

It seems whilst I was off gallivanting in the forest, everyone in Vietnam had arrived to this 1 place. It was a Saturday but it seemed that every school also decided to make their school trip here aswell. It was safe to say I may have been the only white dude in hundreds of Vietnamese people - so I definitely got a good few curious looks and a lot of enthusiastic hellos. I had a gander at the famous cave, with his bed / workstation and a cooking pot. Down by the creek, there was a spot where he would fish as well as a rock that he would use as a table. Becoming super exhausted I grabbed a cold drink of sugarcane juice by the exit and left to find some lunch.

I drove down the road for a bit before stopping in the first place I could find with food. It was completely empty and the food was sitting there so I decided to go vegetarian for the meal, not wanting to risk any food poisoning. The rest of the ride back wasn't very scenic and mainly took me through towns until I arrived back into Cao Bang.

I had oficially survived my 3 day adventure and hopped in the shower before going for dinner. I loved my dinner so much my first night here I decided to go back and order the exact same thing (and finish watching Castaway) before heading to bed.Read more