Meeting the man who discovered Son Doong, the world's largest cave

One of the biggest things to happen in tourism in Vietnam over the past two decades has been the discovery of the world’s largest cave in Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. Son Doong cave, located in the central province of Quang Binh, was first noticed by a local logger, Ho Khanh, in the early 1990s. It was almost twenty years later, following a survey by the British Cave Research Association, that Son Doong was declared the world’s largest cave. Ho Khanh was helping to navigate. On my recent visit to Phong Nha Ke Bang, I had a chance meeting with Ho Khanh. I was checking out guesthouses with views across the river for Rusty Compass, when I came across Ho Khanh’s Homestay. I liked the place and decided to stay. It wasn’t until I’d spent a day there that I discovered that the unassuming owner wandering around, was responsible for one of the greatest cave discoveries of all time. What a lovely bloke he was too. In addition to owning a small guesthouse, Ho Khanh also works as a guide on tours to Son Doong. If you’d like to check out Son Doong Cave, there are limited spaces available and they sell for $3000US a pop on 4 day 3 night itineraries. A company called Oxalis has the exclusive rights to operate in the cave. If $3000 is outside your budget, don’t despair, there are many other caves to visit in Phong Nha. And this is also one of the most spectacularly beautiful natural environments in Vietnam. Make sure you include Phong Nha in your travel plans.