Good Morning Vietnam!!!

So we haven't blogged in agess!! Due to the fact of limited wifi and lack of time! To pick up from where we were last, we ended up doing a few more little things in Laos but nothing of major importance, so this post is going to be about our trip around Vietnam!!! 

We had 15 days in Vietnam thanks to the Vietnamese government bringing in the 15 day free visa!

The trip started with Hanoi and Halong Bay. We spent two days and one night in each place. Hanoi was a good place to try and get accustomed to the money (we became instant millionaires) and some of the quirkiness of Vietnam. The roads all over South East Asia are fairly crazy but not until I arrived in Hanoi did I have the feeling of "im not making it to the other side of the road" coupled with the joy of making it too the other end alive! The street food was amazing and beer was super cheap, it was our first try of frog and we liked it a lot!!!

Halong Bay was a different type of trip from what we have done before as it was the most westernised trip we had been on. We hadnt seen so many none locals since we were in England, but the views were amazing and I really enjoyed the relaxing time on the mini cruise! For our little cruise we had a few activities a few just felt like walking in a que through pretty places but some were really fun like Kayaking and watching wild monkeys (none of them jumped on Sarahs head this time) and the view point at the top of 'tippy point' (I think I have spelt this wrong). It was a lovely way to spend the first few days!

From then we started our trip down to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) but we were stopping off a few places on the way, Hue, Hoi An, and Nha Trang. Hue was very interesting as it had the old palace of the Nguyen Dynasty, but we didnt go too far out too the other temples as were a bit short on time as I got us lost in peak heat!!! (I wasnt the most favorited person that day) but we still had fun!

Hoi An was the place we enjoyed most in Vietnam because of its beautiful old town and it was only a short cycle to the beach! We spent a bit longer here than we had planned but we loved every second! We wished we were coming home straight after here as the suits and clothes were cheap and really good quality also made too fit hahaha but unfortunately they wouldn't fit in our backpacks!

Nha Trang was the most westernised town we visited as it seemed very much built up for Russian tourists. There was a beach about 2 mins walk from our guesthouse which work well as we had rain the day we arrived but sun for the main day we were there so beach fun we had! We didnt even get burnt. Our final treat in Nha Trang was a trip to the cinema which doesnt sound to exotic but I got all giddy because it only cost about £4 for tickets and popcorn, and we saw the new Jame Bond film!

The final destination in Vietnam was Saigon. We had a couple of days here before we leave to Cambodia tomorrow so we are making the most of our time. We went too see the Co Chi Tunnels to see how the Vietnamese fought during the war. I didnt fit into the tunnels very well or the hiding places but I made it! We also spent some time talking to a local guy we met in the park who was learning English. He was very nice and put up with our bad accent quite well, he knew a lot more English than our tour guide to the Tunnels did and we ended up chatting for a good hour or so! All in all Vietnam has been awesome and I think we will be seeing more of it in the future.

It feels like a lifetime away since we were that but we couldn't miss it out of blogging so better late than never i suppose! 

The Pirates of Kong Lo Caves

Sorry this post is a bit long overdue but we havent had good enough wifi to upload! Oh well better late than never! 

Attempting to get from Vientiane down to the 4000 Islands sounded like a dounting task that we did not fancy doing in one journey so we decided to take a detour! Kong Lo is located south of Vientiane and north of Pakse. The main attraction to the Kong Lo is the 7km river that runs through the humungois cave making it an enjoyable boat ride.

Although its not directly on route, it is worth the visit and breaks up the journey. We left Vientiane around 10am arriving at the local village of Kong Lo at 5pm (hefty bus ride) costing around 110,000 kip per person (just shy of 10 pounds).

If you are the kind of person who likes to be where the crowds are, this may not be for you as there are very few tourists who stay in the town but its worth it as the cave in incredible. To be fair, it isn't a ghost town and there ended up being about 8 westerners in what seemed to be a very small village but compared to 50 people that tube in vang vieng together, it is extremely quiet.

Skipping to next morning as there is literally nothing to do in the village, we entered the cave around 9am. For a small entrance fee, the hire of 1 boat and the entrance of the cave, it came to 140,000 kip (£11) for 3 people!

I have to say the cave was just breath taking! Mainly because of the humidity but I suppose it could have been the experience too!!!! In all seriousness, the first thing that hits you is the noise of what seems to be 1000 high pitched bats that echos through the cave! The next is the sheer size of the cave. The little glimpses of the cave you get to see with the torches that are provided are nothing compared to the size of it. Even though I had 1 torch provided and two of my own, the cave was so big that it barely lit a section! However, what little you could see was beautiful!

In the centre of the cave there is a dimly lit section, allowing you to get out and walk for a bit to see just how amazing the cave actually is.

Once you have sailed through the cave on a motor boat, you stop off for refreshments at the rear exterior of the cave. It was here we met an adorable child who was very shy one minute, then dancing around the forest the next! After this amusement, it was time to hop back in the boat and come back the way we came.

On the first boat ride we had to get out a couple of times to help the boat move due to shallow waters and rapids. But on the second ride, the boatman decided to just go for it which meant a rocky and wet experience for us and giggles for him! It was very fun although Gareth mildly regretted taking off his life jackets!

My favourite part of the caves was that for long stretches of the boat ride, bats would follow us along due to the light we provided! Even though part of me was terrified that I was going to get rabies, it was truly magical to see wild bats in their natural habitat!

If you ever find yourself travelling the south of Laos make sure to put this on your list and I promise you won't be disappointed!