TRAVEL

By REVATHI MURUGAPPAN

Nature lovers looking for their outdoor adventure fix should head to Dalat, a town that is considered the jewel of Vietnam’s central highlands.

Are you kidding? You guys must be on crack!” exclaimed my dear cousin Sumi when we told her we had signed her up for an advanced canyoning adventure.

You see, it would require us to hike, abseil, jump off cliffs, swim and slide down rocks to get into the canyons.

A brochure from Phat Tire Ventures, our adventure operator in Vietnam, read, “The advanced route is for those in moderately good physical condition, looking for a more extreme challenge. The rappels are more technical and are wet drops as opposed to dry. This means you are in the waterfall and not next to it.”

That got me excited.

Our group of four was visiting Dalat, a town considered the jewel of Vietnam’s central highlands and home to many hill-tribe minority groups, when we decided to be adventurous. Renowned for its cool climate, scenic mountains and innumerable streams, Dalat is a favourite among adventure buffs and honeymooners. The canyoning here is highly recommended by most travel guidebooks.

“A bit of exercise won’t kill you,” I retorted, as our fellow buddies Kumaran and Megan nodded in agreement. Sumi, whose daily exercise consists of crossing a 25m pedestrian bridge to hail a cab to work, scowled. This was a suicide mission which she only grudgingly consented to.

Our affable guide Ro picked us up the next morning to begin our journey to Datanla Falls. When he saw Sumi’s troubled expression, he immediately put her at ease.

“It’s OK if you’re not that fit. I’ll help you along. It’s compulsory for all our guides to have good eyesight because of the dangers the activity poses, so don’t worry, I won’t lose sight of you. If need be, I’ll carry you on my back!” joked Ro.

All Phat Tire guides undergo an intensive 30-hour Wilderness First Aid course designed by the Wilderness Medicine Institute and the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). They have to go through a refresher First Aid course each year, plus every one of them has abseiling qualifications from the Singapore Mountaineering Federation. We were in safe hands.

From the highway, you can see the 350m cascading falls. We walked on a path that first passed through a forest of pines and continued steeply down the hill into a rainforest, which was our beginning point. Here we met Ro’s colleague Khaan, and two other British tourists, John and Clarissa, who were joining us on the adventure.

Khaan showed us the ropes and explained the basics of knot tying, harness wearing and proper abseiling techniques while ensuring all of us had a trial run on the practice slope. He emphasised how to take big jumps to avoid the gaping holes and crevices on the hill, and, once he was satisfied we had it down, it was all systems go.

First up was a vertical 20m dry cliff, which looked menacing from the top.

“So which one of you is going to go first?” he asked, looking around for volunteers. “We have five rappels, three body slides and a free fall so everyone gets a chance to go first.”

Sumi darted to the back of the group. John, who had done numerous rock climbing and abseiling trips, put his hand up. Despite his experience, he froze for a few minutes at the starting point and struggled to take that first step.

Khaan coaxed him on.

“Release the rope bit by bit and position your foot on the edge. Then make the first jump. Ro will guide you from the bottom.”

Beads of sweat trickled down John’s face as he hesitated. Eventually, he let go of the rope slowly and screamed triumphantly once he descended.

“It’s not that bad, folks!” he shouted. “It’s only the first step that’s nerve-racking!”

One by one, we abseiled — even Sumi managed all the jumps without scraping herself.

After that, the second rappel was a breeze. It was a 15m cliff which led to a stream. We crossed it and proceeded to the next equally easy rappel, before hiking a trail to the body slide portion. Ro removed his top and showed us how it was done. Slide down on your butt, drop into the lake and swim to the bank. There were two “slides” to explore and this was pure fun. Everyone was having a blast and had several attempts at it.

Ro then mentioned that it was time to “slide the other way”.

“Head down? No way! What if I hit my head on the rocks?” I protested.

Ro brushed my protests aside and proceeded to use me for demonstration. He held my legs while I shut my eyes tight. When my arms were positioned correctly, he let me go and I slid smoothly into the lake. The adrenaline rush felt great.

After all that activity, the Vietnamese boys made us yummy sandwiches, and a simple yet scrumptious lunch was served. We traded stories and John impressed us with his chilli eating skills. Yes, the Brit could bite into the green chillies and it seemed to have no effect on him.

Next up was the free fall, where we had to jump 6m off a cliff and into a pool. This was akin to bungee-jumping, except there was no elastic rope to pull you back up. On the count of three, you leapt off. Although a seemingly easy jump, some dawdled as fear crept in, so it took a while before this activity was completed.

We also had to wait for John who had the runs from his chilli binging.

We hiked further into the canyon where a breathtaking 26m waterfall greeted us. It was my turn to go first. It looked daunting from the top, and Khaan warned us the path was extremely slippery and there would be moments we might be gasping for air as the water trashed our faces.

I began my descent cautiously but slipped once, hitting my elbow against the rocks. I found my footing and continued, but about 5m before the bottom, the rope ran out! I was horrified that Khaan could have miscalculated the rope length.

Ro bellowed, “You’ve got to jump and swim towards me.”

And so, bleeding elbow and all, I dived in and swam. We had a few accidents on this rappel — Kumaran lost his spectacles, Megan hit her head on the rocks and Clarissa sustained cuts. Sumi was unscathed.

Finally, we came to our last rappel, known as the “washing machine”. The bottom of the cliff was not visible, and we had no idea what lurked beneath.

Khaan said, “This is probably the most challenging one although the distance to the bottom is only about 12m. Halfway through your descent, you will see a swirl of water between the boulders — like a washing machine. Make sure you go in between the boulders and let go of the rope once you’re down. You’ll be spinning for a few seconds but the current will eventually bring you out and drift you down where Ro will be waiting.”

This sounded scary, and because of the loud crashing of the water below, Khaan reminded us that we wouldn’t be able to hear anyone. Since Sumi hadn’t gone first, it was her turn.

“Ok, what’s the big deal? I conquered all the rest so this should be easy,” she chirped, putting her safety helmet on.

That’s the spirit, we chorused!

Khaan asked again, “You sure you’ve got my instructions down?”

She gave a thumbs-up and took a few steps off the cliff. Once the “washing machine” came into view, Sumi started to pale.

“I ca . . . caa . . . can’t do this. It’s too difficult. Please pull me up!” Sumi pleaded.

We all offered words of encouragement and Khaan persuaded her to go on.

“It’s not as scary as it looks and there’s no way to come up now,” Khaan continued, turning to wink at me.

“Do you want me to repeat the instructions one more time?”

“No, really, it’s too scary. I really cannot do this,” begged the poor girl, tears welling up. “I’m not even a good swimmer.”

Khaan yelled, “Come on Sumi, you can do it! Just take baby steps and everything will be fine.”

We all went silent. She followed the instructions and disappeared below. Seconds passed but no Sumi in sight. A minute passed and still no sign of her. We could see Ro’s eyes frantically scanning the area. I started to panic and my heart beat faster. I had put her through this. What if she couldn’t come out of the whirlpool? How would I tell my uncle and aunt?

Suddenly, we saw a body floating down the river. Ro deftly jumped in and pulled her to safety. Once she got her bearings, Sumi stood up and beat her chest like a crazy woman. Everyone cheered and I heaved a sigh of relief. Indeed, the last rappel wasn’t easy and anxiety kicked in. However, we successfully emerged from the “washing machine”.

“Congratulations! You all did it,” said Khaan. “Now, it’s time to navigate back to the top. It should take about 30 minutes.”

We began our ascent as Kumaran and Khaan took turns to push and pull Sumi along, promising her champagne and caviar at the hotel.

Canyoning here had been a hard day’s work but Dalat’s evergreen forests, lakes and waterfalls combined with the myriad butterflies, birds and squirrels made every moment worthwhile.

Getting there

From Ho Chi Minh City, the easiest way to reach Dalat (308km away) is via plane using Vietnam Airlines or tour buses. Though every bus company will tell you it takes only five hours, the actual journey takes around eight hours and costs RM20.

Canyoning knowledge

Canyoning is an adventure sport that became popular in the 90s. It involves exploring a canyon using a variety of techniques including walking, abseiling, swimming, hiking, scrambling and leaping.

Canyons can be very easy or extremely difficult, though emphasis in the sport is usually on aesthetics and fun, rather than pure difficulty.

However, don’t attempt to go into a canyon with just a buddy and no guide as it can pose a high risk. Pick guides who are intimately familiar with every pool slide and waterfall in a particular canyon.

In Vietnam, adventure travel company Phat Tire Ventures (www.phattireventures.com) comes highly recommended.

Run by Brian and Kim Vierra, the company emphasises safety and many of their guides have been mapping courses for programmes on Discovery channel.