A long drive to Thiên Đường (Paradise) Cave by taxi. The driver was not allowed to exceed 80 kph or an alarm, installed by the taxi company, would sound. I enjoyed the ride through the countryside, rice paddies with Water Buffalo along the Ho Chi Minh Highway and mountains beyond them. Groupings of colorful graves. A beautiful Catholic church. Small children on bicycle and motorbike darting into the road unexpectedly. And several times the taxi had to stop for cattle crossing the road. Sometimes the driver would wait, other times he would tap his horn and inch forward until the giant animals begrudgingly moved aside.
At the park entrance to the first cave, we paid an admission fee then opted for the tram taking us to the mouth of the cave. The heat was oppressive and we had gotten a late start. Even after the tram there was some climbing up the side of the hill to get to the cave entrance. Once there we took a break, had some water and ice cream. The vendor also sold Coke, tea and Red Bull (that vile beverage has spread internationally like a virus). I looked around at the other visitors, mostly older Vietnamese and a handful of foreigners, European or American I’m guessing.
The air was cool as we descended into the cave, and there was a smell I couldn’t place, maybe damp wood. An older woman passed us and smiled, said, “hello.” I returned her greeting with my biggest smile. I try to remember that when I’m traveling I’m not just myself, I represent an entire nationality or culture to people who may have no experience with it at all. I try to always smile and be polite, even if I’m having a bad day.
The cave was beautiful. Discovered only in 2005, it’s 31 km long (the longest cave in Asia) though only 1 km is open to the public. The shapes and colors of the stalactites and stalagmites were like stone works of art. Thao joked about which piece she’d like to take home.
Then we took a boat ride through another cave, Phong Nha. We arrived late and were told the boats had stopped running for the day but that we could catch up with a boat if we drove to the next boat landing. As it turned out this was even better since we had an entire boat to ourselves, steered by a friendly older couple.
Being with Thao, being a middle-aged American guy with a Vietnamese woman in her twenties, we get a lot of attention. I was very aware of it as we explored the cave together, the looks we got, mostly just curious. And having a boat entirely to ourselves, I realized it may have given the impression that we had planned it that way, paid more to have a private boat. I found myself wishing we had a bottle of champagne.