The amazing journey to the world's largest cave : Hang Son Doong - The final

The first night at the campsite in Son Doong, before dinner we had a plenty of time, the scenery here in this cave was very extraordinary, fascinating to watch. I hardly believed in what I saw here - the extreme enormous space in mist, the ruins of gigantic rocks, surely from the fallen roof of the cave, occurred millions years ago, the huge golden alien stalactite on the other side, the unusual air in the cave, the sound from the underground river deep down in the dark abyss along the campsite, the mysterious atmosphere...then the smell of human sweat after a day-long hiking, no bath, the smoke from the kitchen, the human voice - everything around giving me a special feeling that would be hard to experience again anywhere else in my life.

                   One of my favourite sceneries in Son Doong - look like we just landed on Mars!      

The amazing journey to the world's largest cave: Hang Sơn Đoòng - Part 3

After Hang Én (Swallow Cave) we continue our hiking to the most fascinating place on earth - Hang Sơn Đoòng (or Mountain River Cave), considered as the largest cave in the world and according to Sweeney - one of our British caving experts, who accompanied our team in this adventure, it's surely the most beautiful, the most mysterious cave system that he has ever explored. The experts still continue their exploration of the new caves in this area. Few days ago I read in the newspapers that another 30 caves has been discovered by the research team.

                               On the way to the first campsite, located next to the entrance covered with mist.

The amazing journey to Hang Sơn Đoòng - part 2: First challenge & night camp at Hang Én (Swallow Cave)

I really don't know how to start my story about the journey to Son Doong. First heard about the cave in 2010, but as it was not open to the public so I totally forgot until early this year when I was sitting behind a dining table with relatives, we were talking about different spots around the world.
All of sudden someone mentioned Son Doong, and few weeks later I managed to book the tour. I did ask myself what motivated me that much to make a quick decision? Is it my wish to escape for a moment from the state of being stuck at home over the past two years? Or the great curiosity to discover something unusual, right in Vietnam, or just my pride to show how much I'm capable to do such a thing? Maybe all!

         Before heading to Son Doong we had a group photo with Ho Khanh who discovered the cave in 1990.

The amazing journey to the world's largest cave - Hang Sơn Đoòng - Part I - The preparation.

Just one day left before my departure to one of the most famous spots in Vietnam - hang Sơn Đoòng.  I really really feel excited and can't wait to take part in this life-time expedition. I first heard about this cave, its discovery in 2010, I still remember some online competition to create the best name for a cave in this mysterious prehistoric caving network of over 150 caves. I don't know which name was chosen finally!

I made a quick decision when I called a guy at Oxalis - the only tour agent in Phong Nha, authorised by the local authorities to organise different trekking tours in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. For certain reasons the  number of visitors to Sơn Đoòng cave is limited within 224 persons per year, and there is no tour during the flooding season from September to January, so that's why the demand is huge and always mostly fully booked.

                                                                                                               Photography by Carsten Peter

              Mist sweeps past the hills of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, its 330 square miles 
             set  aside in 2001 to protect one of Asia's largest cave systems. 

The Twelve Midwives - a comedy on stage, a wish in life...

If going to see a play can be compared with going out to dine, we always prefer a good place with a fine dinning experience, we should also find a nice theatre with an interesting play. But I doubt Saigon could offer generously that to us.
It's hard to remember when was my first time in Saigon's theatre. Long, long ago. Over the past decade, the theatre life here changed a lot - more activities, more freedom. These days people seems prefer the comedy, easy laugh. Very popular stand-up comedy here, we call it "tấu hài". Maybe I'm from another generation, so it's not funny for me to see "tấu hài" these days, I still can laugh but this laugh is far from good.

Tonight I'm going with a big fan of play, my nephew, to see a famous "The Twelve Midwives" (12 Bà Mụ). According to him, it's not easy to get tickets to this show.

             Young fan posed in front of the official poster of "The 12 Midwives" 

Sweets from my mother's hometown

As tradition, whenever we travel somewhere, we always get something back home for friends, for loved ones. Sometime we give something to someone with a message, if you have a friend who loves to exaggerate all kinds of stories, I may suggest you to give him or her "bánh nổ", i.e "explosion cake". "Nổ" (i.e explosion) in Vietnamese still jokingly means "exaggerate". I'm kidding.

By the way, bánh nổ is a speciality from my mother's hometown - Quảng Ngãi. I remember if someone coming from Quảng Ngãi, visiting my mom, after they left, I surely found few packs of bánh nổ in our living table.

                 Bánh nổ - "explosion cake" - a speciality from Quảng Ngãi.

Year later - living in the countryside - Part 2

Year ago I went to my friend's dacha ( I love this Russian word, i.e a holiday home in the countryside). His dacha located in a huge area, next to the sea-like lake...If last year I was very much surprised of what has been done here in my friend's place, it was just a magic to turn an abandoned "jungle"of cashew nut trees into a farm. Last year we spent two nights in a tiny old house, but we did enjoy fishing, exploring the forest, the mango farm in the neighbourhood. Today when I come back, it's not a surprise, it's something much stronger, like a speechless, indescribable impression because I'm visiting a paradise...

                   This time I stayed in a villa with a nice view of the lake...