Good Morning America

After a couple of Months of planning, the ABC News show "Good Morning America" has finally aired a section about Hang Son Doong.

The Eagle has landed?

Our (mine and Ruth's) involvement was limited but we were on a Son Doong tour while they were filming for the show so we can tell you what we saw.

Loading the beast

This meant we shared our Hang En campsite with them for the two nights at the start and end of the tour (good thing Hang En is so large), as well as bumping into the film crew at Doline One.

Gaffa Tape? Is this safe to fly?

Because of all the equipment they had to carry, the crew had a helicopter flown down from Hanoi so they could fly from Phong Nha to near the Hang En entrance. Even though there were three helicopter flights to carry equipment and people into the cave, there was much that was carried in by hand and all the Son Doong porters were used, at one time I believe there were one hundred and twenty porters employed.

Exited crowds gather to watch

We were in Phong Nha on the day when the first helicopter landed (after that we were in Son Doong) so we cycled down to Oxalis so we could be told when it had taken off from Dong Hoi. When the message came through, we jumped on the back of a motorbike (both of us on the same bike, Vietnamese style) for a lift down to the local football pitch to watch the show.

President Watto waves to an adoring crowd?

By the time we got to the field the helicopter had landed and there were already a crowd of curious locals, porters and policemen.

First night in Hang En

It took some time but eventually all the equipment was loaded and the passengers could board. The two local police then somehow managed to get the crowd far enough back, still very close by UK standards, so that the thing could take off.

The next day we were on a Son Doong tour so we saw no more helicopters but met most of the film crew at Hang En. There were a number of advantages to having the film crew with us, firstly, they had a supply of ice cold beer which they shared with us and later in the evening they lit up part of the entrance with powerful lights, a spectacular sight.

Generator on, get ready

Our tour passed without incident, except we had to turn one person around on the next day. A difficult decision but one we both agreed on as the person was very unstable on their feet. When we got back to Hang En, it was the night before the live show, we were given cold beers on arrival, more beers with our evening meal and red wine afterwards. All bribery so that no one complained about the restrictions during the broadcast, but no one had any complaints!

Lights, Camera, Action!

The restrictions were minimal and so we were able to take photo's of some of the action, including the "talent", Ginger Zee, being filmed.

The star of the show

Note the man standing behind the cameraman ready to catch him should he fall. This was Anh, who is normally one of the assistant guides. He did such a good job at this, and carrying the camera that he wasn't allowed out for a rest day as the cameraman said he couldn't do without him.

Anh, the real star!

We walked out the next day so we don't know how the broadcast went, but I believe everything ran smoothly and the ABC team left the cave the next day. Last night (Thursday) we all went for a meal and drinks at the Phong Nha Farmstay on the ABC account.

After show party