Showing posts with label Caves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caves. Show all posts

Friday, March 1, 2019

#Vietnam’s Kingdom of Caves launches river tour

A boat cruises along the Son River to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province

 Quang Binh taps yet another tourism strength with a river tour through its natural landscapes and traditional villages.

The tour, starting February 20, is organized by Oxalis, the only company licensed to offer adventure tours to the world famous Son Doong Cave.

The one-day tour is boat ride that explores hidden gems along the Son River and enables visitors to visit  traditional craft villages that produce rice paper and the non la (conical hat), a Vietnamese cultural symbol.

Tourists will also have a chance to ride bicycles past small villages to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a world heritage site and a major tourist attraction in the central province.
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http://www.agoda.com?cid=1739471
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  Each tour is limited to around 15 passengers, said Nguyen Chau A, general director of Oxalis.

Son Doong, part of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in central Vietnam, has hogged the international spotlight since it opened to tourists in 2013, four years after members of the British Cave Research Association finished their exploration and declared it the world’s largest.

Local resident Ho Khanh first discovered the cave in 1991, and rediscovered it almost 20 years later, opening it up for exploration.

Last year, Quang Binh welcomed a record-breaking 3.9 million tourist arrivals, up 18 percent from the previous year.

The province has over the past years proposed several developments, including a cable car system to boost tourism in the area, but these have met with strong opposition from environmentalists and the public.

Watch a video on the beautiful Tu Lan Cave in Quang Binh, known now as the Kingdom of Caves.
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Source - VN Express
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https://www.hotelscombined.com/?a_aid=145054
 
 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

James Bond Island, Phang Nga Bay


James Bond Island is a famous landmark in Phang Nga Bay.
It first found its way onto the international tourist map through its starring role in the James Bond movie ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’.
A distinctive feature of this famous bay is the number of sheer limestone cliffs that vertically jut out of the emerald-green water.


The bizarre, why-doesn’t-it-fall-over outline of James Bond Island or Koh Tapu,
lies next to the equally well known Koh Ping Ghan (sometime spell ‘Ping Gan’ or ‘Ping Gun’).
The entire area surrounding this island is indeed spectacular, but it can get crowded with tourist boats in high season.

 
Phang Nga Bay covers an area of 400sqkm and is home to some 100 islands,
many of which could feature in The Guinness Book of Records either for their beauty or for their freakish shapes.


 James Bond Island, with its signature rocky pinnacle, has been a major attraction ever since it featured in the 1974 Bond movie.


Luckily it is under national park protection and as a result no boats of any kind are allowed to go
too close to the island because of its precarious position big on the upper part and relatively slim at the bottom.
The two best ways to view James Bond Island are from boats or from the small beach on Koh Ping Ghan.


Koh Ping Ghan is another sample of how the Mother Nature works her magic.
Basically it’s a very high leaning rock that has some small caves inside.
It’s pretty amazing and fun to check them all out.
On its crowded eastern beach, there are stalls and stands selling souvenirs, mostly made from shells and woods.



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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Tham Morakot, Trang


Tham Morakot one of the fantastic attractions of the Unseen in Thailand
is located at the west of Ko Muk. The exciting journey to Morakot Cave besides
seeing the marvelous nature creation is the way to reach the cave by swimming
one by one into the entrance of the cave.


This can allow only a small boat to pass through during low tide along
the channel of 80 metres long. After passing the entrance to the other side,
one will stand at the large hall roofed by the sky looking like standing
inside the very large funnel. The sand beach will be seen in the middle to the hall
surrounded by high cliffs. Some species of plant are found either on the beach


The sunlight during midday will be straight through the mouth of the funnel.
The reflection of the sea creates the emerald color
as the name “Morakot Cave” which means ”Emerald Cave”.


Tham Morakot is visited by swimming or by small inflatable boats.
Starting from a ship, the swimmer has to enter the cave
until he reaches a water filled chamber,
which is lit by sunlight through a hole in the ceiling.
The entrance passage is rather small and low,
and it is passable only during low tide.


The name of the cave means Emerald Cave.
It describes the emerald colour produced by sunlight filtered through sea water.
Inside the cave is a secluded beach of white sand.


To get to Ko Muk and Morakot Cave, boat service leaves Kuan Tung Ku Pier
at 08.00 hr everyday charging 40 baht per person.
One trip by the rented boat will charge 400 baht and takes 30 minutes to Ko Muk.


Upon arrival at Sapanyao Pier in front of the island,
one have to rent a long-tailed boat to Morakot Cave rested
at the other side of the island (100 baht each).
Another way is to rent the boat from Pak Meng Pier
straight to Morakot Cave at Ko Muk.
The rate is 1,800 baht/day taking about 40 minutes.


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