Hang Lanh

Coffee and Cream

Hang Lanh is planned to be part of a new tour including this cave and Hang En, this trip was undertaken to check out the suitability of the tour. Normally, when tours go to either Hang Son Doong or Hang En, the drop off point is at kilometre 35 and passes through the Ban Doong village, the plan is to use a different path starting at kilometre 37 so this was the route we took.

Fossils

We were told that the route had no ascent but soon enough we were climbing! That said the route seemed mostly flat so we were puzzled when we arrived at the main river just below the village, it was a pleasant walk and will make a good path with just a little improvement.

Chert beds in the main stream

From here the walk is the same as the walk to Hang En until you get to the helicopter landing point about twenty minutes walk from the entrance. At this point we cut through the jungle for about twenty five minutes to reach the stream at the entrance. This was not such a good path as it was a complete and utter leech fest (the plan would be to cut a shorter, more direct route from the main path to the cave).

Sand dollar fossil

We had a leech competition here, who could find the most leeches on them, I was third with nine, Adam second with eleven but Deb a clear winner with twelve, and she found three more (that had fed) later in the day.

Hang Lanh entrance

The cave itself starts off with a small entrance and a swim, Hanh Lanh translates as Cold Cave and it certainly lives up to its name! Fortunately the swims are comparatively short lived so at least you are not in the water all the time, even though there is also a constant cold draft. The tour goes into the cave for about one kilometre, it's fantastic caving, big impressive passage rather similar to the streamway of Hang Va, only bigger.

Stormy weather approaching, spot the rainbow

The tour ends after a swim though a boulder choke at a section named Coffee and Cream, although the cave continues beyond this point, it gets rather muddier and this would probably be enough for most customers (who would most likely be starting to get cold by now).

Village house in the rain

After we left the cave, we walked out to the main river by following the stream, fifteen minutes of wading, cool and leech free, before walking to the road via the normal route. There was a heavy thunderstorm from the point where we leave the main river to about half way up the hill, followed by a nice sunset.

Ahhh, sunset over the National Park

Hang Dinh

Tuesday 26th July

Hang Dinh Mot exit two

We went on a day trip to visit Hang Dinh Hai, to see if it would be suitable for tourism. Deb, Watto. Adam, Chau and myself went, with us came Mr Dinh who the cave is named after. We also wanted to see if we could locate or manufacture an exit at the furthest point in the cave, daylight is seen here, and there is a strong draft.

Hang Dinh Mot

It's a pleasant half hour walk (after a short drive) from the Oxalis Tan Hoa centre, two short hills get you to the entrance to Hang Dinh Mot, then it's two hundred metres of easy caving to Hang Dinh Hai.

Hang Dinh Mot

Hang Dinh Hai starts easy enough but then it degenerates to muddy climbs over boulders, I'd totally forgotten this part as it's easy enough and not memorable for a caver but not really suitable for day trippers who would just want a bit of easy fun. So that was that decision made, no tours here! Still, we pressed on to the end to see if we could find an exit, no joy here either, lots of drafting holes but either too tight or too loose. In a few days time we are going to look at Hang Lanh (?) which is going to be part of a new, improved/extended Hang En tour.

Hang Dinh Hai Survey

Hang Son Doong tour 42

Green beetle on blue plastic

Another week another tour, always fun, always different!

Hang Son Doong entrance passage

Weather has been good and when we met the group coming out we were told that the lake had finally gone.

Collection buckets

No dramas with this tour until we got to the entrance to Hang Son Doong, where the heavens opened. We had a massive thunderstorm with heavy rain, every bucket available was set to rain collection as this saves carrying the water up the entrance climbs, no easy task.

Where's the lake gone?

The rain does seem to help with visibility in the cave, so when we finally got to the entrance we could see clearly into the cave, quite a rare sight as there is normally some mist present.

Hope and vision

When we got to the end of the cave, there was no lake (as expected), so it was walking in the muddy trenches, surprisingly always appreciated by the customers!

Quite big passage here as well

We had missed some photo opportunities on the way in, but we managed to take some pictures on the way out, including the one below of the second river crossing.

The second river crossing

Tu Lan 24

The end of Gibbon Cave

Another day, another tour, this time the Tu Lan four day, making ten days in a row. Now I have two days off before my next Hang Son Doong tour.

Cave Pearls in Gibbon Cave

The weather has turned really hot here now, not a cloud in the sky. Hot for trekking and hot for sleeping.

Bat Cave, can't see Batman

Good for swimming though.

Exit to Bat Cave

It also seems to be ideal conditions for mosquitos, we need more spiders and bats.

One for the spider lovers (actual size)

The picture below is of one of the customers from the tour, just after she got through the squeeze, that's why she looks so happy!

Araan (I think that's the correct spelling) in Secret Cave squeeze

Once we had left Secret Cave and got back to the track, Vu (the guide) had organised a surprise for us, a lift back to the Tan Hoa office (saving twenty minutes of walking on the final track. Much appreciated.

Secret Cave

Hang Tien Extension and exploration

Hang Tien Exit

On our last trip to Hang Tien we spotted a new passage, the main aim of our next visit was to explore this passage and to install a suitable belay for the ladder that was being installed at the same time.

Ladder adjustments

While our porters carried in the 80 Kg generator and the nine metre ladder (in two sections) we shot ahead to the cave so we could start to survey the new passage.

The start of the new passage

This turned out to be approximately 300m long before it ended at a stall blockage.

Trevor, with the entrance passage behind him

It started out as quite a small passage, just two metres by three metres, but this soon enlarged to a much bigger passage.

Looking good, stomping passage

The going was easy, with mostly flat floor but there were some fine formations and generally a nice bit of passage.

The final 'chamber'

After a bit of photography on the way out we made our way back to the ladder construction site where the team were busy putting the final touches to the new ladder, a fine construction and infinitely better than the previous dodgy wooden ladder.

The new ladder, and the old

Hang Son Doong 39, the nature tour

Doline One Sunbeams and cloud

It started as we drove up to the drop off point, someone had left a metre and a half long branch on the road, then it moved! Turned out to be a cobra, easily the biggest snake I've seen in Vietnam and I was glad we were still in the bus.

It's a lizard

Next up was a lizard right on the path which stood very still and didn't seem to mind being photographed.

Snake

As we moved on from photographing that, within two hundred metres we saw a green snake, this wasn't so cooperative and kept moving!

Golf ball?

Normal service was resumed and there was nothing of particular interest until Hang En, though we did pass some nice looking mushrooms. Not edible though.

Wet Swift

In Hang En, the Swiftlets are starting to leave the nest, some are not so good at flying and land in the water, they can swim to shore but need time to dry out before we can throw them into the air for take off.

Hang En Exit

The weather was good for the entire tour, cloudy when we were outside the cave but sunny at the right time i.e. in doline one for the sunbeams.

What it says on the sign

The toilets in Hang En and Camp one have been removed and replaced with new toilet tents, very smart.

The Garden of Edam

On the way  up into the Garden of Edam, one of the customers spotted this (leaf?) bug. Dead good spot I say.

Good camouflage

Back at the entrance to Hang Son Doong I spotted this 'little' shield bug, about an inch big but it wouldn't stand still for the picture.

Blurry bug

There seemed to be a few less butterflies on the way back along the river to Hang En, caterpillars aplenty though.

Needs a haircut

At least two anyway!

Tasty looking leaf that

Hang Tien setup, trip one

Walking to Hang Tien (in the distance)

Oxalis are going to start running tours to Hang Tien again, Initially just a one day and a two day tour, but eventually the four day tour will also go here.

Snake in the 'grass'

The point of our trip was to mark a route (for conservation purposes) into the high level passages of Tien One, and the route in Tien Two, deciding where to stop the customers.

Rickety ladder, soon to be replaced

We had a seven thirty start from Phong Nha and then had breakfast at Tan Hoa, a bad move really as this meant we wasted quite a bit of time over breakfast, however we set off just after ten and drove down the track towards our drop off point.

High level in Hang Tien 1, note the hole in the floor

After about an hour of pleasant walking, initially up hill and then a descent we arrived at Hang Tien, still as impressive as ever! Just before the entrance Phuong spotted a snake, very thin but over a metre long and probably poisonous. It didn't seem to bothered by us and was quite happy to pose for photographs.

The main passage in Tien 2

Once at Hang Tien we went straight to the exit and the route to the high level passage. The rickety ladder has been improved since my last visit but it is still not good and this is going to be improved before the tour starts. I think we have another setup trip the day after I come out of Hang Son Doong (I go in tomorrow so this will be on Tuesday 19th July) if all goes to plan.

Hang Tien 2 entrance

Having marked the high level passage we had lunch at the exit before cutting a route through to Hang Tien Two, again we marked a route and then set off out, back to the camp site used on last years tour where the porter team were busy building tables and constructing the campsite.

Hang Tien entrance

Strangely it was then decided that we would walk out on the old route to the road (where we are not supposed to go), cross the pontoon bridge and pick up our lift back to Tan Hoa, for more noodles and then back to Phong Nha.

The resurgence pool, brings back old memories of cool swims