Jungle trekking through Vietnam
- 1stbelhartrooper
- Apr 23, 2017
- 2 min read
JHOOOOOOOOORRRRR!!!! DIT WAS FOKN FANTASTIES!!
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is one of the worlds most scenic . You may remember a shot of the Hang Son Doong cave from Pan the movie. The waiting list for that trek is insane and the cost... Luckily I still got to do my jungle adventure en dit was FOKN fantasties!!
MA DA & ABANDONED VALLEYS 2D1N with Jungle boss
DAY 1
8:15 , Arrived at Jungle Boss Homestay where we are given a safety talk, brief on the tour route and an introduction to our guide, Leo (we did not realise how funky you'd be). After a 15 minute bus ride to the national park, we were dropped along a gravel road where we started our walk towards Elephant Cave. Elephant cave was used as a hiding spot for soldiers during the Nam war. Remnants of the war as well as stalagmite (and stalactite!!) rock formations are some of the caves highlights.
12:00 After about 2 hours of walking through the jungle trying our best not to get attacked by leeches or brush past poison ivy we arrived at Ma Da Lake. From a distance, the mere sight of the crystal clear waters instantly takes you to a happy place. With butterflies all around, little cliffs for jumping and limitless rice paper springrolls, you are only short of a beer to choose to label that moment heaven.
13:00 Filled up on lunch we set foot towards Tra Ang River Cave. The cave is filled with so much water that we swam for about 1 km into the mountain and we still did not reach the end of the cave. We had headlights but they were not bright enough for the deeper reaches of the cave so we found ourselves having to play Marco polo just to figure out where the rest of our pack were. After more than 2kms of swimming in total we were exhausted, fortunately our campsite was just a stone throw away. There was a much appreciated hammock and a warm cup of coffee waiting for us at the campsite.
Our Jungle home
And while we preferred to snuggle in a tent shielded from the jungle elements, our porter and guide displayed true BOSS behaviour... Sleeping wherever!
DAY 2
9:00, The day started with a noodle soup and fried egg breakfast. This was followed by a short walk to Hang E cave for more Crystal blue water and butterflies.
12:00 A walk into darkness. Our last cave visit was into the Dark cave. The video below shows exactly why this cave was given its name.
15:00 Its over :( What an incredible time. Every time I look through this folder of memories my mind leaves my body behind and visits some magical place. I leave you with a clip of butterflies and a lullaby played by our guide while we had Saki around the campsite. If this does not convince you to visit Nam I don't know what will.
Peace and love from the jungle with my karate kids **
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