The last Tu Lan

Sunny weather

My last Tu Lan four day tour, after this I have just three Son Doong tours to do.

Tree skirt

The day was fine as we walked to Rat Cave and then on towards Gibbon Cave. Although there were some clouds on the horizon and I thought it would rain, our local (assistant) guide said there would be no rain.

Gibbon Cave

On the way to Gibbon Cave we always pass by this weird tree which almost has a skirt of roots, this time I thought I'd better take a picture as it would be my last chance.

Jungle tomato? No

While we were in Gibbon Cave it rained, so much for local knowledge!

Odd fruit

Continuing our walk to the Hung Dung campsite, the sky became darker and more threatening but we did see some interesting fruits, none of which were edible. By the time we reached the climb out of the La Ken valley the rain had started.

Panorama, here comes the rain again

The rain got heavier and heavier as we ascended and descended the hill but it had ceased by the time we reached our campsite, soaking wet and no need for a wash!

Sunbeams and smoke

The next morning all was fine and there were some lovely smokey sunbeams through the trees at our campsite.

Hang Hung Ton entrance

The next few days thankfully passed without incident but one customer was so tired that he couldn't walk over the hills to Tu Lan, so I took him through Hang Hung Ton and Hang Kim.

Starry sky

Another fine and clear evening, so after taking some star shots I went into the cave to get some pictures of the entrance. An enjoyable midnight swim!

Hang Ken at night

I also took the opportunity to photograph a small passage just inside the entrance, ot very exiting but nice walls.

Small passage inside Hang Ken

Just as I was going to bed, one of the customers found a weird looking bug, so I had to get up to photograph it.

Bug

On the final walk out, I passed this orchid.

Orchid