Down to my last few days in Vietnam, and as with all travel adventures, I try to spend it relaxing on the beach. Ten years ago, I visited an island called Phu Quoc at the southern tip of Vietnam near Cambodia. It was a sleepy island with mainly military hotels and three hotels and two bar/restaurants. It is now a vacation destination, with hundreds of hotels and resorts, karaoke and neon lit bars everywhere. There is new construction in all directions, and even a giant ferris wheel and casino being built. They say in 10 years, this will be even worse (well, they say better) than Phuket, Thailand.
I had booked a room far up north at Wild Beach Phu Quoc Resort, to get away from it all. There was a little snafu at the airport, as I had arranged for a car to pick me up through my hotel. After waiting at the airport for a while, no one came for me. The taxi companies at the airport descended on me like vultures, claiming they had all called the hotel and I was to go with them. The person that eventually drove me didn't know where he was going and had to stop and ask directions and then took me to the wrong place. Luckily, my hotel was nearby. But I was pretty pissed by the time I got to the hotel.
The hotel staff was super apologetic when they found out what happened. Apparently, the employee I was emailing with was recently fired. They gave me the best room, brought me tea and a fruit plate, and I relaxed into beach mode. Spent the rest of the evening enjoying the view of the ocean dotted with the bobbing lights of squid and fishing boats and a lovely ocean breeze from the porch of my beachfront bungalow.The next morning, I woke up rested (softest mattress in all of Vietnam, though that doesn't say much). I take a long walk down the beach for much of the day, collecting shells and playing in the ocean. Lots of trash and the beach appears to be eroding as big resorts build next to small family places. Also found an uncapped needle on the beach which was a little frightening.
During the hot part of the afternoon, I got in some good hammock time and read this amazing book I picked up at the Women's Museum in Hanoi about the personal stories and study of life as a migrant Hanoi Street Woman. Interesting to read about the hardships of rural life and what changes politics and laws have done over several years. I went to the restaurant to get dinner and was surprised when looking over the menu and a huge salad and bowl of rice was brought over. A woman began BBQing these huge oysters. Apparently, the manager still felt bad about the taxi snafu and sent the staff out in the morning to get these special oysters about 500 meters offshore, as a treat on the house. He wanted me to have a dozen, but I could only eat 6 before I was full.The next day, I booked a boat cruise to two islands to snorkel and try my hand again at fishing. They sent a smaller boat to pick me up right of the beach of my hotel. There were only two other tourists on this big double-deck boat. More staff than tourists. And redemption for my lackluster fishing adventure in Hoi An... I caught a fish!!! Okay, maybe not THE biggest fish ever caught, but keep in mind this is done using just fishing line with a hook, bait, and small weight, wrapped around your finger until you feel a small change in tension. Then you pull up on the line as fast as you can to hook the fish.
Snorkeling was okay, but the reefs weren't great and the visibility was just okay (which helped me decide not to waste my time scuba diving the next day). Had lunch on the boat and had these amazing sea urchins that are lightly BBQed with peanuts and green onions, and then a sweet sauce is put in before eating. Amazing and only like 80 cents each. Also tried seahorse rice wine, which is terrible (our caving guide had good advice that when you start liking the taste of rice wine, you've had too much). 
The rest of the afternoon was spent jumping off the boat and playing in the water. Back at the hotel, they continue to give me little treats "on the house" (all kinds of fruit since they know I like all the strange tropical fruits here like sapodilla that I don't think I have ever tried, teas, and a drink like a banana milkshake that one of the staff's mom used to make him when he was a kid).I got really sunburned on my back snorkeling, so the next day I planned to stay out of the sun and just relax and read in the shade in a hammock. Shortly after, I was kicked out of the hammock for some huge beach party BBQ. Turns out, some government officials requested a party there and as the manager said "we can't say no and we have to give them discount." I went off to read, but was shortly i invited over to join them. Several attendees were Beer Saigon executives and I was challenged to a drinking contest. I may have lost (in mu defense, it started around 10:30am), but they gave me an XL Beer Saigon shirt, which fits my big American size. I got to try all kinds of seafood from BBQ clams, oyster, sea urchin, to fish salad rolls.
The next morning, my cabana neighbors from the UN with a newborn baby came back after checking out the day before. They said this hotel was way better and we agreed it is like staying with family.
The staff finally allows me to rent a kayak. They seem rather nervous with the half inch waves. They get my phone number and call me several times on my four hour kayak. "I can't see you, Madam okay?" "Too windy, Madam come back now!" When I return, he says "Vietnamese women not so strong." I laugh. I also beg to differ as I often see the Vietnamese women lifting boulders on construction sites while the men sit in hammocks and drink. Same same, but different. I fix up another hotel guests jellyfish sting and gash on a foot from rocks, so the hotel only charges me for an hour with the kayak. First aid kit for the win! If you ever find yourself on Phu Quoc, I can't recommend Wild Beach Phu Quoc Resort highly enough.The next day, it was time to return back to the chaos of Ho Chi Minh City. Boo! Of course, the flight was delayed (of my seven domestic flights, all of ZERO have been on time). The taxi line haggling was annoying me, so I learned on my last layover that you could walk a little ways outside the airport and get a cheaper taxi. But then I was approached by a motobike driver, and I figured... What the heck. So much fun zipping around on the back of his motobike, him holding my huge backpack almost obstructing his view. Buses, taxis, other bikes are inches away at stoplights. And then there was when he went down a crowded one way street... The wrong way! But the seas of traffic parted, and no one seemed to even bat an eyelash.
Got to my hotel safe and sound. It is only a few blocks from the big market, which I immediately wandered around, eating everything in the stalls, on the streets and down alleys I could get my hands on. Oooh, the fried banana with pumpkin batter covered in sesame seeds may have been my favorite. Tonight, I will meet up with the Polish girl I traveled with in Iceland who saw my Facebook post is en route by bus from Cambodia. Also meeting a sweet girl who lives here that I met on the medical mission for girls night out! Then shopping tomorrow and I return on the 14th. Interested to see about jetlag, since night shift work makes me often feel jetlagged as a normal occurrence.
Anyhoo, miss everyone and while I love it here, also can't wait to come home!
Vietnam trip photos are online or you can view them as a slideshow.
Love,
Betsy
The next day, I set off to Dong Hoi. The caving company, Oxalis, picked me up to transfer me to Phong Nha just in time for our safety meeting. I was pleased to find out that the group was half men and half women, as when I asked several months ago, I was the only female that answered. Our group also lucked out to have one guide, Howard, who was on the original survey team when the cave was discovered, as well as another experienced caver from Tasmania, John, who was also an ICU/ER nurse. I felt comfortable and the group all got along really well. Slept at Oxalis, the caving company's hotel in Phong Nha.
Cave Day 1, we had a group breakfast and took off around 9am. Nice to sleep in after weeks of early clinic starts. Bussed to the trail cave head with our group of 10 and our 3 guides/cave experts and met up with our porter and chef team of about 25. 
Set off down the mountain through the jungle full of bird and cicada noises, splashed through rivers over and over, went through a small village, crossed more rivers, entered the mouth of Hang En (the third largest cave in the world). We put on our provided cave helmets, gloves, and head lamps and climbed a rocky incline. 
At the top was a spectacular view down to a lake, sandy beach and our first campsite. Scurrying down, we each found our labeled tents the porters had set up and grabbed our gear that the porters had carried in. I blew up my thermarest I had brought for extra sleeping comfort and used it as a raft, floating in the lake and admiring the beauty of the cave. The chef made a fabulous meal with tons of food. 
At night, our guide Howard gave us some photo tips (he had taken some of the first ever photos of the cave) and we tried doing some light painting. Our group clicked really well and we all had fun. We stayed up chatting and watching the lightening storm visible out the cave entrance while listening to the sounds of the thousands of dragontail swiftlets and watching a few lightening bugs fly around in the cave.
I had ordered beef and egg pho, as it actually makes a great breakfast to give you energy. We headed up a steep wall of rocks, more river crossings and marveled at the cave landscape. It truly is another world in there. Stalactites, stalagmites, cave pearls, sparkling rock... Truly incredible. 
The group goes at a good pace, giving time for some attempts at photos even though clouds are continually rolling through the caves. Back out in the jungle, we hike up and have a lunch stop before getting our harnesses on for the descent into Hang Son Doong, the world's largest cave. 
I am continually impressed by the professionalism of the cave organization as they deal with a constantly changing landscape as rivers rise, trails wash out, or rocks crash down to change paths. It is an enormous obstacle course. The cave entrance is impressive as clouds roll in and out and the cool air hits my face. More bouldering about, waist deep river crossings and fun and we see our second campsite at the bottom of a steep, slippery climb down. Another excellent meal for dinner (I love that the Vietnamese seem to believe in eating as frequently as I do).
Cave Day 3, we hike to dolines, which are where the cave roof has fallen in and streams of light appear. Jungle vegetation grows under these openings. 
We had all heard a big crashing boulder earlier, and John runs ahead to check the safety of our route. We go in smaller groups, taking time for photos. The lush green in areas where light can break through is a stark difference to the cave landscapes. We eat lunch at an amazing spot, watching the sun illuminate the jungle and cave structures, with reflection in small cave pools. 
The cave is very cloudy, making photography difficult with the strange light reflection, but it is beautiful to watch the cloud formations roll past us. We hike through more rivers before hitting campsite three. We then head for the "Great Wall of Vietnam", a limestone wall at the end of the cave. 
We see a very large cave spider and a "scary hairy mary" which is some kind of evil looking, large, many legged cave creature. Both moved frighteningly fast, making for bad photos in the dark. We also get to see "fields" of amazing cave pearls. There are boats, as sometimes the passage turns into a lake. But the water is not enough for the boats, so we don life vests and start slogging through the narrow muddy river passage, surrounded by walls of mud. The water gets deeper and deeper until we can't touch the bottom any more and we are swimming in the cold water. We finally jump out of the water, slosh through mud that sucks your shoes in place when you try to walk. 
A slippy short walk takes us to the wall (where there is another emergency escape route placed by the cave experts). We take a quick "bath" in a less muddy part of the river on the way back to camp. That night after dinner, we play cards after dinner. There is the local rice wine consumed, as is every night, plus a bonus bottle of wine shared by someone in the group. We play some stacking card game that starts over a coffee cup and quickly moves to the wine bottle. I also try to teach the Vietnamese guide hearts, but not sure I was all that successful.
Cave Day 4, it is nice to wake up to everyone wishing me a happy birthday. We have our breakfast and head all the way back out of the cave in one day back to our first campsite at Hang En. We take a different route and hope for better weather conditions for photos, but no such luck. Still a blissful day being in the cave. 
At times, I feel like I am walking on another planet (actually, in our briefing/safety meeting, Howard said that until recently, more people had been on the moon than in Hang Son Doong). I love all the climbing around on harnesses up ladders and ropes. 
I spent as much time in the cave as possible, stalling until I am the second to last out. My request to just live in the cave and eat chocopies from visiting tour groups is denied. Lame sauce. We reach camp, go for a much needed lake bath and swim and have dinner. After dinner, I am asked to close my eyes. When I opened them, everyone had sparklers lit up and there were bottles of wine and a rose that the porters had been carrying that whole time. There was a happy birthday card made on the back of a chocopie box and the porters wrapped a little present for me and gave me a paper flower. A most memorable birthday and so appreciative for our awesome group for making it special, even on day four in a remote cave.
Cave Day 5, the last day, we get a little earlier start to try to beat the heat. The walk through the valley is still hot in the sun. Luckily, we have the endless river crossings full of colorful butterflies to help cool us off. We see a snake slither out of the river and I also narrowly avoided stepping on one as we hike up out of the valley. 
The exiting group crosses paths with the next entering group on the steep path out of the valley. We had decided the night before to play a prank on them, remembering how we our anticipation mixed with a little anxiousness of the unknown. 
So after the last river crossing, we use supplies from my first aid kit and a few of the Oxalis kit to put fake bandages covered in iodine fake blood and slings. I guess that is what happens when two ER nurses are in a group together. Of course, unknown to us, some bigwig Vietnamese head of park tourism is the first to pass us and he looks very concerned. John tries to explain it was a joke, but he did not look too happy. The next group got a good laugh, though. Back on the bus back to civilization, I realized how wonderful and relaxing it was in the cave, even with the strenuous scrambling. It seemed like reality was suspended in there for five days, and I could almost feel the weight of everything returning as the bus got further from the cave. We slept at a brand new company hotel/farmstay, Chap Loy, about a half hour from Phong Nha. They greeted us with champagne. It was a great place, but only opened a few weeks ago and they are still working out the kinks. But back to electricity, showers, non-rice husk toilets, cell service, and internet. We had a group dinner at the hotel and were given medals for completing the tour and took a group picture (only after donning the colorful rice paddy hats from the wall if the restaurant). After sharing such an adventure, I was sad to say goodbye to everyone.