On Friday morning the medical team took time out to tour the Phong Nha Cave northwest of Dong Hoi. These caves are reached by boat up the river. Part of the tour is a guided walk through very colorful caves much like Carlsbad Caverns in the United States. This area is where the famed Ho Chi Minh Trail started during the Vietnam War. As we walked up the side of the mountains to the cave we could look out onto the valley below and see many bomb craters left there by the Vietnam War as American planes tried to intercept the supply route from North Vietnam to South Vietnam.

We then boarded the boat again and entered the underground river portion, which goes into the mountain for a few miles. The boat operator is not allowed to use his motor on this part and must use oars. It is dark and very quiet as he carries us into the mountain on the underground river. We then return to the cave’s visitor center via the river. The pretty countryside and the river culture impress the medical team. We see people diving to the bottom of the shallow river. They are pulling river grass and plants from the bottom of the river to use as fertilizer and compost for their crop fields. Nothing is wasted in Vietnam.

Back on the road again we head for Quang Trach Hospital located northeast of the cave. In the countryside we come upon an old man washing his cow in the river and everyone wants to stop to take a picture. I talk with the old man who is still working at age 83. I have my picture taken with him and his cow. He asks who we are and request us to send him the pictures we took. I take his address.

We soon arrive at Quang Trach Hospital which is a regional hospital and modest in its provisions. We meet in their conference room and their medical director welcomes the medical team. There is a question-answer session about the health conditions of the region and statistics of the patients they see in a year. The conference room has an impressive photo display of the hospital’s history—especially the days during the Vietnam War.

After this session we tour the hospital facilities and Project Vietnam medical team discusses medical cases with the hospital staff. The medical equipment of the hospital is old and sparse. The patient rooms are very simple and not air-conditioned. It must make their already uncomfortable condition even more miserable. At the conclusion the team gives some much-needed equipment to their hospital staff. They are very happy to get it and it almost resembles children opening their gifts on Christmas morning.

We finish the goals at the Quang Trach Hospital and drive back to Dong Hoi to take the overnight train back to Hanoi. This time we travel on the express train—soft beds with mattress, clean sheets and blanket, four beds per cabin, air conditioning, and it is quiet. It is as good as any sleeper car train you find elsewhere in the world.

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