The World's Greatest Cave District: Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Vietnam - 'Dark Cave Exploration and Pure White Rice Balls' (Part 1)

Prologue

I didn't want to become a boring adult.

There were fewer things that excited me. Perhaps it's because I've been accumulating life experience. I stopped seeing things for the first time, stopped experiencing new things, and could no longer find things that truly moved my heart.

So, I decided to go on a journey.
To see things with the same sparkling eyes I had when I was young.
To return to that version of myself.

The summer of 2019.
A mysterious cave called the Dark Cave, located in the World Heritage site of Phong Nha-Ke Bang in Vietnam.
And a quest for pure white rice balls that can only be eaten beyond that cave.

1. The Vietnam Reunification Express where I couldn't sleep a wink

The train crawled slowly over the wetlands, as if it were being pulled by an old, dilapidated steam locomotive. The reddish-purple night sky had disappeared somewhere before I knew it, and a golden sunrise was covering the train windows.

Ah, so I didn't sleep at all.

It was 10:00 PM the previous night when I boarded the Reunification Express sleeper train from Da Nang, a central hub in Vietnam.
It was a ticket I had struggled to book a month in advance while translating the Vietnam Railways website. A local Vietnamese line, and a night train at that—just thinking about it made me excited. Under the foreign night sky, inside the swaying train, I would read books, gaze at the scenery outside the window, and spend time in such an elegant way. I had simulated that scenario in my head over and over again.

And yet...
The reality was completely different.

When I opened the curtain to the private cabin I had reserved, what caught my eye was the sight of a stranger, a Vietnamese woman, sleeping there on her own. She lay sprawled across the bed I had reserved, her posture seeming to assert that it was her territory.

Mercilessly, the mineral water that should have been provided in the cabin had already been drunk, and the snack bag had been opened. I checked my ticket and the cabin number, but it was definitely the bed I had reserved.

What should I do?

I tried to look for a conductor, but I had no idea where they were in this long train formation. Not being good with languages, I didn't have the confidence to properly explain this situation. Moreover, it was the middle of the night. All the surrounding cabins were closed, and there was no one in sight.

If it came to this, I had no choice but to get this woman to move. I steeled myself and tapped her on the shoulder.

“Please wake up.”
“Please move.”
I spoke almost entirely in Japanese. Then, the woman opened her eyes slightly.

“This is my seat.”

This woman knew exactly what she was doing. Without looking the least bit guilty, she got up sluggishly, looking annoyed, and left the cabin just like that. She probably had been planning to sleep there until the person who actually held the ticket arrived.

A midnight train in a foreign land.
Even though I am about to go in search of a legendary rice ball that cannot be eaten in Japan, I feel completely discouraged right from the start.

I plan to head to the caves early the next morning, so I must recover at least some of my strength. I lay down after spreading a new blanket over the messed-up bed. I have to fall asleep soon.

However, people always find it hard to sleep at times like these. In the end, six hours passed while I just stared blankly out the window.

The wetlands spread out beyond the window.
The dawn light dyes the horizon like a golden carpet. When I close my eyes, that scene is burned into the back of my eyelids and won't leave. All I can hear is the rhythmic sound of the train. Feeling as though that sound were summoning the spirit of sleep, I still ended up greeting the morning without having slept.

2. The Morning of a Liberated Dong Hoi

Vietnam Railways, which connects the entire length of the long, narrow country of Vietnam at once. Since it is operated by a company 100% funded by the Vietnamese government, it can effectively be called the national railway. Compared to Japanese trains, the stations, trains, and station staff all seem laid-back, with no sense of being in a rush. The atmosphere, where the passage of time feels slow, is as if I had wandered into a different world.

In a word, the train is retro. Not a stylish retro, but an old-fashioned retro that evokes nostalgia. To be frank, the ride is not comfortable. I don't know if it's the age of the train body or an issue with the track joints, but it shakes and rattles from time to time. This rattling sound would definitely wake up anyone who is a light sleeper.

Even more troublesome are the speakers installed inside the train. Because they are aged, I can barely hear the conductor's announcements before arriving at a station. No matter how many times I listen, it's just garbled noise, and I can't tell at all if it's English or the local language.

I was on a sleeper train, but it sometimes stops at intermediate stations even in the middle of the night. It is also strange that the stop times vary. Sometimes it departs in about 10 minutes, and other times it stops for nearly an hour. Thinking they might be loading or unloading luggage, I peeked out the window at the platform, but I couldn't see anyone moving. It was as if the train itself had stopped time for a moment.

Originally, it was scheduled to depart from Da Nang Station at 9:00 PM, but the train's arrival was delayed by about an hour, so it departed after 10:00 PM. Anxiety grows over whether it will arrive at the destination, Dong Hoi Station, on schedule or if it will arrive late. According to the schedule, it should arrive before 5:00 AM the next morning, but since it departed an hour late, there is a possibility it will arrive at 6:00 AM. Even if I wanted to ask the conductor, I never saw them once.

A midnight train with no one around. The operating times are inaccurate, and there are no station names to be found on the platforms of the stations where it occasionally stops. I can't hear the train announcements at all. It's quite a difficult situation.

Around 4:00 AM, I used the pocket WiFi I had rented to open a map app on my smartphone. The signal was intermittent, but I was able to figure out the train's approximate location. It reminds me of when I traveled through Southeast Asia as a student, longing for Kotaro Sawaki's 'Midnight Express.' At that time, I relied on a single copy of 'Chikyu no Arukikata' (Earth Walker), but times have certainly progressed.

It was just past 6:00 AM.
The speakers started making that garbled noise again. Looking at the map app on my smartphone, it seemed I was approaching my destination, Dong Hoi. It looks like I'm finally arriving at Dong Hoi Station. The one-hour delay from Da Nang did not shrink and continued as it was. I hurriedly packed my luggage and prepared to get off.

The platform at Dong Hoi Station is surprisingly low, almost at the same height as the train tracks. I jumped down from the train's steps onto that place that was neither a platform nor the ground.

The humid air, unique to the tropics, filled my nostrils. My lungs seemed surprised, as if they were confused about how to breathe.

I took a conscious, deep breath. The outside air is indeed pleasant. It was a morning where I felt the joy of being liberated for the first time in eight hours, freed from the stuffy, oily smell and the garbled noise of the speakers.

3. The World's Greatest Cave District: Phong Nha-Ke Bang

In recent years, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in Vietnam, has been attracting attention from all over the world. Said to be the oldest karst region in Asia, formed over 400 million years ago, it is about the size of Sado Island in Japan. Some 300 caves of various sizes have been discovered, and that number continues to grow every year. It is truly the world's greatest cave district.

Some of the caves have been developed for tourism, making it a spot visited by many people from around the globe. However, access is not very convenient. The standard route is to take a national train from a major city like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi to Dong Hoi, then transfer to a bus heading toward the Laotian border.
The bus travels from bustling city streets to rural landscapes, and then climbs up steep mountain roads.
This shifting scenery seemed to tickle my sense of adventure.

At the entrance to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a large sign bearing its name is displayed. It reminds me of the giant Hollywood sign I saw in America a while back.

The contrast between the blue sky and the green mountains is beautiful, and it exudes a strong presence even from a distance.

The moment I arrived after a long journey, a sense of relief and anticipation for the adventure about to begin filled my chest.
Every time I step into unknown territory, new discoveries and surprises await. That is why travel is so interesting.

👉Part 1

👉Part 2

👉Part 3

*This travelogue is based on articles written between August and September 2019 for 'The Man Who Eats 1000 Rice Balls in 1000 Days,' which have been edited, updated, and restructured. Everything described is based on actual experiences.

*I post daily reviews of rice balls, so please feel free to read them. ↓

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