Canyoning

I survived! It was a blast! And today I'm very sore!  :)

The only pics I have of the day are the ones shared on Facebook due to not being allowed to carry a camera, so as I describe the day, look back at the pics.

The day began with a bumpy ride up into the mountains near Dalat.  There were five of us total from our hostel (me, Luke, Bill, Greg, and Izzy) but combined with another hostel group, there were 12 of us.  The guide explained some basic techniques and had us do some practice abseilling before trekking to our first of four walls.  I went first (because why not?), listened closely to the guides instructions "Jump!" "Lean back" etc, safely made it down the wall, and then gave a big thumbs up to the group waiting at the top.  There was a beautiful waterfall near the bottom, so we enjoyed some swimming and a picnic lunch after the 2nd dry wall run.

Lunch was followed by some all natural watersliding. One slide was solo and the 2nd was with a partner which the guides called the "sexy slide"....hahaha!

Watersliding led us to the first wet wall.  The wet walls proved to be significantly more difficult (as one would imagine) but definitely more thrilling!  You can see the picture on Facebook of me abseiling down that one.  The rope wasn't long enough so at one point we were told to "STOP" and then "JUMP BACK" and "LET GO"!  It was probably a 5 meter fall from there into the water.

But that was nothing compared to the cliff jumping part of the day!  We trekked to the cliff where we had two options, a 7 meter jump and an 11 meter jump.  Everyone immediately feels nervous, I think, even the tough guys because while everyone mentally wanted to do the 11 meter jump, the issue was getting enough of a running start to clear the rock and jungle plants jutting out of side.  I did the 7 meter jump (no clearance issues there) with hesitation but then knew I needed to do the 11 meter.  I'd be so mad at myself if I didn't, right?  I trekked back to the top with Izzy who was also determined to do the big jump.  Of course once we got back to the top, we were freaking out again.  After letting a handful of people go before me, I finally just took the running start and JUMPED!  It was terrifying and awesome!

After the cliff jumping, the last abseiling wall called the "Washing Machine" was a piece of cake.  It's called the washing machine because you abseil for only a few meters then hang as you lower youself into a waterfall (there's a pic of this on Facebook also).  The waterfall pushes and spins you around until you hit the stream of water and are pushed to an area to climb out.  Refreshing!

The trek back to the van was a bit brutal, especially since it started raining but BEAUTIFUL. Couldn't have asked for a better adventure!

Now I'm proper sore, so instead of a cycling tour today, I think I'm going to opt for some motorbiking and a short trek.

Until next time....cheers!

Kelly

Week 1

Oh hello there!

As obvious from the pictures on Facebook, I've arrived safely to Ho Chi Minh.  Woo! Despite the many connections (Moline-Detriot-Tokyo-Manila-HCM), all my flights went smoothly. The sweet Filipino woman sitting next to me on the long flight to Tokyo quickly became my new best friend when I told her I'd be teaching in the Philippines come October. Chatting made the flight go by rather fast, as fast as a 12 hour flight can feel, I guess.  She has invited me to her home when I return to Manila, which I really hope actually happens cuz she's da cutest airplane friend yet!

I arrived just past midnight on the 2nd and apparently missed a pretty spectacular scene. Why? Because September 2nd is Vietnam's National Day--the 70th in fact!  Crowds upon crowds of people gathered in Ho Chi Minh Square to watch a fireworks show, according to Luke and others that were able to witness it.  Flags were everywhere the whole week as people and business are required to hang them from the 2nd to the 7th.

I missed the fireworks, but I did see a pretty good show of street animal butchering not long after arrival! Turned out our Airbnb place was along a major meat market in the city, so around 3:30 from our balcony we watched as the trucks rolled up, slaughtered animals were pulled out, and a team of about 20 people began chopping away. It was quite a sight! And by quite a sight I mean...so eww! 

Our few days in HCM were full and informative thanks to Cuong (Luke's dad's cousin's cousin--haha) and Seamus (a Korea connection through Kayla). I don't have a picture with Cuong but here's my official shoutout to both---you guys are gems! We got the Vietnamese scoop from Cuong and the expat scoop from Seamus, resulting in well-balanced advice about everything from crossing streets to food to bus tickets.

HCM is pretty much like any other big city around the world, so...meh.  We walked around for a day and hit the highlights such as the Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, War Remants Museum (I'll save that for another blog from the Philippines) and Ben Thanh market.  I filled my belly with Vietnamese peach milk tea, coffee, banh mi, noodles, lots of tofu varities, and broken rice. There is definitely no shortage of delicious food in HCM; we didn't even dabble in the foreign or Western food options!

On the third day (or fourth day?  Keeping track of days is of little importance on vacation), Luke and I decided to take a cheesy Mekong Delta tour.  It was your typical tour with lots of stops that mainly lead to pushing products but nonetheless informative and fairly relaxing.

Rice paper

Ho Chi Minh Square

I must say, the time spent in HCM was plenty for me, so I was really excited to hop on the bus for an 8 hour trek to Dalat.  The ride was surprisingly pleasant as the roads were smooth for most of the journey, and I had 3G the whole time. Sidenote:  Get it together, America!  I have far better cell and 3G service in the middle of Vietnam than I did in Iowa!  Plus, I was only airborne out of my seat twice!  

Bus ride to Dalat

So now I sit in Dalat, a beautiful, mountainous Vietnamese honeymoon city in a perfectly cute (and clean!), $3 a night hostel typing you this blog update.  Yes, $3, friends.  I mean, really?!  And we are not staying in dirtholes by any means.  So far the hostel experiences have been great: cheap, cozy, clean, and full of interesting fellow travelers from Hong Kong, Germany, Northern Ireland, France, Singapore, and Canada.  Today will be a "day of rest" of sorts with maybe some simple sightseeing around Dalat.  Tomorrow will be the real fun...canyoning in the mountains!  If I survive, I'll surely tell you all about it!

Peace and love,

Kelly