We are out of the cities and in the countryside. Our destination today was Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and to arrive there when drove parallel the limestone mountain range that separates Vietnam and Laos. Part of the drive was the Ho Chi Minh Trail that was used to move soldiers from the North to the South. This was the first time anyone asked Troy if he had served in Vietnam. fortunately the answer was no. Vu our guide said that recently former GI’s were returning to Vietnam to do volunteer work and that it was a healing process for everyone. The road led us through rice paddies which had been harvested and turned over to the water buffalo to feed. They shared the space with red Brahma and cattle egrets. They water buffalo had their young along side them and small farmers use them like we would a small John Deere tractor. They animals range freely, but he never saw any buffalo on the roads as they are so valuable.
These villages all had small Catholic churches. This area was settled by the Portuguese about three hundred years ago, and like the Spanish in Texas left their faith behind them. All of the churches had the same architecture and looked strangely out of place in these very Asian villages. Children were in school and many of the schools had open air classrooms. They go to class from seven until eleven, break for lunch and come back at one and stay until five. I wish that I would visit a classroom.
Again the villages were full of activity. Scooters transported everything and everybody. Young girls in short skirts and fancy shoes, delivery boys with flowers, pigs going to market. You name it and it is moved by scooter.
We finally arrived at Paradise Cave and climbed I thought to Laos before we ever got to the entrance. We huffed and puffed and got nearly to the top of the mountain and then started down into the cave. I thought we will surely emerge in Laos and We have no passports. Troy and I looked around and we were the only old people there.. Everyone else was under thirty. The formations were awe inspiring and worth the trip. We left drove about 30 minutes for lunch. Pork, fish, shrimp, soup, cabbage, rice beer and bananas. I managed to eat everything with my chopsticks except the beer and bananas. We then traveled down the Son River to another cave which we viewed from the boat. Loved again watching the Vietnamese working and living their lives. We had to leave the boats at one point, walked over some rough ground, reenter the little sampan and finally returned to our driver. This was one of my favorite days, but physically very hard. The rains set in early tis morning and we did this in a slow drizzle all day. Tomorrow more War sites and one to Hue.
