Seeing the worlds biggest cave - and the future of tourism
Phong Na
Phong Nha is home to the world’s largest cave, Hang Son Doong (Mountain River Cave). It is 200m high (up to 503m in parts), 175m wide and 9.4km long. It even has its own rainforest inside.
It is an ecological wonder, home to endangered tigers and rare langurs. It is strictly protected; only 1000 people are permitted inside a year.
We didn’t go there.
What we experienced instead feels like a glimpse into a future of tourism where climate breakdown limits the lives of ordinary people while the wealthy continue as usual.
With furious locals, rising sea levels and a constantly connected world it feels like traditional tourism may fall out of fashion.
It’s well reported in Barcelona that leftist groups are sick of foreign tourists pricing people out of secure accommodation. “Refugees welcome, tourists go home” was one of the prominent slogans shouted and scrawled across the streets of Europe this summer - not for the first time.
The Mayor of Santorini in Greece has also warned his town is threatened by consequences of over-tourism.
In a somewhat positive bid to combat climate breakdown the EU will increase the price airlines have to pay when they emit carbon dioxide.
Previously, permits from the EU's carbon market to cover were mostly free but this year 25% more will be charge then a further 50% in 2025 and completely phased out in 2026. This will increase the price of flights for ordinary people.
Critics have said this is unjust since private flights emit up to 14 times more CO2 per passenger than a commercial flight on average and they will not be dissuaded by this. There were 500,000 private flights in Europe in 2022.
The island nation of Tuvalu is desperate to see serious action on climate change immediately as rising sea levels threaten its very existence. The country has plans to move online – yes, the entire nation, online. Its creating a digital replica of itself for people to visit when the physical land is engulfed. It’s also seeking to move it’s government functions online such as elections, referendums and registering births, deaths and marriages.
While nations with rich history and and unique cultures are threatened, the fatuous, parasitic sea scabies of the rich - private islands - aren’t going digital despite facing the same issues. Broker Farhad Vladi, owner of Vladi Private Islands Ltd., in Germany told NBC anyone who can afford a private island is ‘not overly concerned’ about climate breakdown since they can afford the infrastructure to protect it. In fact, during the Covid-19 pandemic they sought to buy islands in record numbers to protect themselves from another externality of climate change: pandemics.
We got a glimpse into this somewhat beneficial, yet unfair barrier to entry in the name of conservation, which still allows access to those who can afford it.
A tour of the world’s largest cave costs $3000 and lasts four days. Making it only accessible for those who can afford it under the guise of conservation. Of course it should be conserved but there are attractions, such as those on the US site Recreation.gov, where a small non-refundable fee is charged and permits are granted to winners of a raffle.
We did get to explore the world’s largest cave in a short VR experience near our hotel. It was short but really interesting. The video was taken by drone and gave us a 360° bird’s eye view.
We promptly left the office when they tried to sell us the actual experience. It sounds like I’m complaining but I enjoyed the experience and appreciated the chance to see the cave in an interesting way.
The cave was discovered by local man Ho Khanh - twice! While out hunting in 1990 he stumbled upon the site.
He told the British Vietnam Caving Expedition Team, Howard and Deb Limbert who were based in Phong Na at the time about his discovery. However, he forgot its exact whereabouts. After repeated failed attempts to find it the trio began to accept it would remain lost to them forever.
A total of 18 years later, Ho Khanh accidentally rediscovered the cave again while searching for food. He led Howard, Deb and their first expedition into Son Doong.
The UNESCO area of Outstanding Universal Value is home to more than 2700 species plants and over 800 animal species including several new species to science. A total of 400 of these plants are endemic [native] to Vietnam while 38 are endemic to the Annamite range (a mountain range extending through Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.)
You can have a 360 digital expedition yourself here on National Geographic.
Longest Cave
In the real world we did get to visit the longest dry cave in Asia: Paradise Cave (Thien Duong Cave). It is a spectacular experience, if not as awesome as Son Doong.
There is a 1km walk along a wooden path on stilts through the stalactites that hang like icicles made from rock, stalagmites in their image reach up for them like the Creation of Adam. This walkable area barely scratches the surface of the limestone cave’s full length, which reaches 31 kilometres in total.
It really is like another world in the 72m-high, 150m-wide cave. The stalagmites trick you into seeing faces, appearing like of alien idols. The creaky path and bright lights give it the feeling of an abandoned outpost in some other galaxy’s Eden in a Ridley Scott film.
You can buy a tour that takes you a further 6km into the cave with a professional guide but we opted for the free option.
Since 2012, three species of scorpion new to science were discovered here.
Da Nang
We walked through Da Nang City, it's buildings protruding and uneven like crooked teeth, distinctive and beautiful.
People sit for a drink and a chat on tiny plastic stools so short they're basically squatting. Another stool is used as a table. We’re told they use the light stools because they're easy to pack away quickly - they're technically illegal to have out on the street.
It's nice walking for the sake of it. Your surroundings and passers by aren't merely obstacles on your way from A to B, you have a clear head and can appreciate them.
You see a lot of football tops here, more than in Ireland. Countries in Southeast Asia seem to divide along English Premier League team lines. Vietnam seems to be a Chelsea country, Laos is Liverpool and Thailand was Manchester United.
We didn't do much in Da Nang, in a good way. It’s nice to slow down, especially in this heat.