Vietnam IV, Phong Nha

In the morning I left Pho Chau to go to the Farmstay of Ben and his wife Bich.
My bike was excellent, until my clutch cable ripped off. My failed attempt to repair it failed, so I let my bike roll down the hill in neutral and slammed in the second gear. Without a clutch I drove to the next village. In this village the Ho Chi Minh Highway follows a former airstrip. This was the place from which I should call Ben, the owner of the Farmstay. I waited for twenty minutes, the mechanic needed this time to fix my bike, and then I contacted Ben. After a slight misunderstanding about where to meet, I found Ben along with his guest Tom in a bar on the edge of the highway. I followed Ben's jeep over the most scenic route (dirt roads and footpaths) to his house. The house is built in French colonial style. From the veranda or the bar depending on what you are up to, you can overlook the rice fields.
After a few hours in the hammock all the guests went along with Ben and his "employee" / long-term guest Dave to their local pub. The path leads over dirt roads and across a river, not a problem for my Minsk. At the pub, the home of a local family, cold beer and freshly roasted peanuts were supplied. At the time dusk was setting, we went back to Farmstay. In the evening I realized, that this place is special. Ben and Bich have created an excellent location and the other guests and staff were different than in most hostels in South East Asia. Since the Farm Stay's not yet in the guidebooks, its existence is passed usually from one traveler to the other. About half the guests were on motorbikes.
The next day I asked Dave for directions to the second largest cave in Vietnam. With the description I was on my way. In the two hours I spent in the spectacular illuminated cave, there was no other foreign tourist.
In the evening I got a lot of useful information from Ben. My guide has been upgraded with business cards stapled on to the pages.
I left the next morning feeling a bit sad. In the next edition of Lonely Planet (backpacker’s bible) the Phong Nha Farmstay will be added as one of the top five places in Vietnam. The crowd will change.