Vietnam
Phong Nha
Caves to explore, rivers to swim in, and a duck farm to visit
Phong Nha is one of the best underrated gems in Vietnam.
I stayed at Village House, which is an amazing place to stay for a while. It is right beside a small stream where you can swim and even dive.
The main thing to do here is Dark Cave. Do the zipline and the full experience — you will love it.
You basically go into a muddy cave. I know that sounds claustrophobic, but the cave is surprisingly open and is one of the main attractions in Phong Nha.
Once you're done with the cave, you're basically in a small water park. You can zipline, jump into the water, and go down a few slides. There is also a sort of obstacle course where you use ropes and try to make it as far as you can.
Paradise Cave is nice, but there isn't much to do after the first five minutes. The cave itself is huge, so if you're interested in caves, you'll probably enjoy it. But for me, walking 1–2 km through a cave that is fully lit, well constructed, and filled with people gets a little boring. It also starts to look pretty much the same after a while.
The duck farm — this was one of my favourite parts. You can basically get stampeded by baby ducks and then by a bunch of fully grown ducks.
They also have a bull called Donald Trump.
There is also a 60-minute hike you can do at the Botanical Garden. It's a nice little hike and worth doing if you have the time.