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Being picked up from our hostel as opposed to trekking to our tour office in the morning is always welcome, and Sinh Tourist group in fairness always deliver a great service!
We were the first people to be collected for our canyoning tour and the bus zig zagged for another half hour collecting people before we set off for our destination.
The two Vietnamese brothers with identical smiles were very welcoming to everyone while the driver beeped and shouted loudly at opposing traffic. One of the brothers spoke good English and explained what we would be doing as our bus began to bump down a dirt track into a dense pine forest.
After being clipped into my harness by our hosts (those buckles around the groin are always awkward) and ensuring that my fluorescent orange helmet was secure we set off towards the base of the valley.
We had an initial practice of abseiling on a slight decline where we were encouraged to attempt jumping down rather than walking. The amount of people that forgot to release the rope and simply jumped up and down in one spot was ridiculous, the confused stares they threw at our instructor were extremely entertaining.
The tour started with a huge abseil decent down a waterfall, thirty metres of slippery rock and cascading water that set an ominous/adrenaline fuelled tone for the rest of the excursion.
The next part of the trip involved climbing (with no safety rope) up a very steep rock face in order to get to our next abseil. Chelsea, god love her, fell from the first rock and landed firmly on her bottom upon an upsettingly rounded stone. Although her pain was clear my sympathy lay with the poor Asian family on the other side of the gorge as the after tremors caused them to topple into the river and be swept down the river and out of sight.
Balling up her gumption Chelsea soldiered on, I expected more of a fiasco but she did very well! The next abseil was particularly high and sported a big overhang which Chelsea wasn't at all keen to do. She did it though and was very pleased with herself when she reached the bottom, that girl has more grit than she gives herself credit for.
Unfortunately, we had one of those over enthusiastic and slightly vacuous Americans on our trip. Who insisted on running everywhere and jumping from rock to rock in his sandals rather rather than staying with his struggling girlfriend to help her and follow our guides. Throughout the trip I was willing him to trip on his sandal strap and tumble out of sight so that I could nonchalantly turn away and forget his presence.
This didn't happen, but the trip was still hugely enjoyable despite the cold air and belligerent glares towards the cumbersome American. The huge cliff jump of ten metres at the end was a highlight but pales in comparison to Chelsea's final abseil! After a 32 metre decent towards a waterfall's plunge pool the rope ran out 5 metres before you reached the bottom, meaning that you had to completely release the rope and fall into the water - something that feels woefully unnatural and strange. Chelsea evidently felt the same. As I was staring down at her worried face she let go of her rope and fell backwards, almost in slow motion, with her arms extend outwards like a crucifix and her legs pointed gracefully like a gymnasts. As she dropped to the water she gradual became completely parallel with the water and made a glorious slapping sound as she hit the water at a 180 degree angle. Hilariously, her eyes were on stalks and appeared huge as they were the last things to submerge under the cold water as she stared skywards. Myself and our guide were beside ourselves with laughter as chelsea emerged, like a mermaid, from the water unscathed and swam to the shore.
To top off the picnic we had a twenty minute hike back to the top of the valley and our waiting bus. All the swimming, jumping and relinquishing of life sustaining ropes made us all ravenous and a picnic of pork rolls, coriander and pineapple was quickly devoured and washed down with a Saigon Green beer.
- comments
John I love it !!!