Dave's first Hang Son Doong tour

Thursday 6th to Monday 10th January

Single Cave Pearl

On Wednesday evening Howard and myself went down to the Oxalis headquarters for the pre-trip briefing with the clients. Along with Watto's wife, Christine, there were nine others, two Vietnamese, two Americans, one German, one Australian, one Indian and two Koreans (Mother and Son) at first glance they seemed a pretty good bunch. After a little talk from Howard there were some forms for them to fill in and then we all sat down to a meal provided by Oxalis, all very pleasant, sat outside and overlooking the river. We were then due to meet them the next day at nine am at Khanh's ready for the bus ride up to the drop off point (we had already sorted all the equipment required for the trip).

Crossing the river after Hang En

Thursday morning arrived and after a quick breakfast while the porters sorted all the kit we waited for the arrival of the clients, surprisingly (according to Howard) they arrived on time so we arrived at the drop off point and set off at around ten am in light rain. At the foot of the hill, we met the first tour as they returned with news that the lake at the far end of the cave had drained, this was unexpected as it had been raining for the previous two days. Because the weather was poor we stopped for lunch at the Doong village and then I led us all out for the final part of the walk in, only getting lost once en-route to Hang En where we camped for the night. The group were all getting on very well and everyone was able to go at the same pace.

Porters on a sunlit boulder by Doline One

Friday was to be one of the longer days, we were to walk to the entrance to Hang Son Doong, lifeline everyone down the entrance climbs and then move on to Camp One where we would camp for the night. Again, we made good time to the entrance (lunch stop) but after that (and for the rest of the cave), progress was much slower as we had to allow for plenty of stops for pictures. The two river crossings were slightly higher than our last visit but not so bad that they were difficult, we stopped at the first crossing for pictures and the second for a quick wash. Arrival at Camp One was at about four pm and the evening meal at five thirty, Witching hour (bed time) was the standard eight pm.

Camp One with Doline One beyond

On Saturday we made steady progress to Camp Two (no sunbeams this time as it seemed to be cloudy or raining) where we dumped our kit before heading down to the end for what we expected to be a 500m muddy walk to The Great Wall of Vietnam and the end of the cave. To our surprise and delight the lake had reappeared so after pumping up the "boats" we set off as a small flotilla of six (two per boat) to the end before returning to Camp Two for our evening meal and bed. A miserable night for me as I had contracted "Man Flu" and was unable to sleep.

Ruth and Deb in Doline One, Doline Two visible over 1k away

It had rained heavily overnight and we had a long day ahead of us as we planned to go all the way to Hang En campsite, assuming that the water levels hadn't risen too much and trapped us in the cave. We stopped for lunch at Camp One before proceeding to the river crossings, which thankfully weren't too high, and then on to the entrance for a quick snack (cancelled as the porter who had the food with him had already gone on to Hang En) before the walk to Hang En. Due to the rain this latter part was a complete mud fest and I was pleased I had packed my Inov8 Mudclaws, others were not so fortunate! Evening meal followed by Paracetamol and an early bed for me in the (vain) hope of getting better by the morning and it was also extremely cold at the camp site with a strong wind blowing through the cave.

Hang Son Doong Entrance

Monday was the final day and an early(ish) start was made so that we would make the road by about two pm. We met Ruth (on the way in for her first tour, with Deb) at the foot of the final hill, where after a quick hello (and passing her an extra warm top so she would be warm enough) and snack we set of up, reaching the road about an hour later.

The Green Gours

Overall, despite the lack of sunbeams, it was an enjoyable trip, all the group were nice and everybody seemed to get on well together.

Hang En Exit

My next tour is going to be the Tu Lan four day expedition, starting on Sunday 15th February and finishing on the Lunar New Years evening (Tet).