Dong Hoi, Vietnam (Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Cave & farm stay)

We spent two nights in Dong Hoi. The city itself was nice, many ocean side seafood restaurants filled with locals wanting to visit and drink beer with us despite the language barrier. And all very excited to get a hug and kiss goodbye from Alanna, ha ha! Our hotel staff even took off for 10 minutes and asked Alanna to watch the place while they were gone. We were just hanging out with a new friend Pete, from Boston i think, having a few and they put Alanna in charge, unceremoniously, she even had to take a room service call. Pretty sure that wouldn't happen in Canada.
The Phuong Nha Ke Bang national park about 30 km from town was something else All together. Karst limestone mountains and rice fields all situated amongst small villages and surrounded by caves. There is a huge amount of war history here with two main veins of the Ho Chi Minh trail converging in the park. This is also where the recently discovered worlds largest cave is, Son Dong ( not sure on the spelling) , a mind blowing 38 million cubic meters! The Empire State Building would fit inside it. Sadly it's currently not open to the public. We spent a day on a tour learning the war history, swimming and exploring 1km of the 33km's of Paradise cave. Paradise cave was also Incredible. Words and pictures can't explain the beauty of this place. One of the caves in this area is currently being researched by the national cave foundation as they just found 3000 year old pottery In it. I can't wait for the history on these artifacts. We also went to a pagoda called the Eight Lady cave. These eight ladies were in charge of feeding, mending clothes and doing first aide on the men working on the Ho Chi Minh trail. One day the ladies were out in the woods and the area was bombed. 13 people sought refuge in the cave mostly 18-20 years old whom were manning anti aircraft guns in the area, but it collapsed trapping them inside. The rescue attempt was thwarted by the size of the stones and lack of equipment. People on the outside of the cave heard calls for help for nine days, and then silence. News of this story spread through Vietnam and the people were invigorated to fight on. Now this is a site of great meaning for the Vietnamese, both Christians and Buddhists come here pray and bless the lost souls. People who died during the war had to be buried in special govt. chosen war cemeteries. This can be controversial as some families wanted their lost loved ones to be buried together on their own family plots, the government won't allow this.
We were served lunch in huts above the creek bed and then went for a swim in some aqua water running straight out of a mountain, with beers and lots of wonderful people to share the surrounding beauty with. We wished we could have stayed at the Phong Nha Farm stay, http://phong-nha-cave.com/ , but it was full. It's highly recommended! We did join them for dinner, drinks and a rooftop sunset though. For any fellow travellers this has been a highlight of our trip. We recommend staying at least three nights at the farm stay and booking it in advance as its always full. It's well worth it. The price is a bit higher, but we don't think anyone could regret seeing this place. Their National Park tour was great as well.