ôi chao ôi!!!

Ulrik getting pounded by the water
With an unhealthy disregard for life and limbs (and a strong recommendation from our constantly-bumping-into travel buddies, Kelly and Angela), Lee and I joined Hardy Dalat for a day of canyoning and abseiling through waterfalls! We met up with Van (our guide), his young assistant, and Sam (an American guy) at 8:30am and, after a brief stop at a local bakery to pick up some 'supplies,' were on our way to the river.

A short drive later and we stopped amidst a horde of Vietnamese tourists at a local (and obviously very popular) park. Ignoring the masses Van led us from the carpark to a small trail, which we followed for about 20min until we came to a small rock wall (about eight metres). This is where we would learn to abseil. After being kitted up in our harnesses, we were ready to throw ourselves over the ledge ... in a controlled fashion, of course. Under Van's instruction we went down the wall slowly; we jumped down and jumped side-to-side; we even practiced hanging head-down, feet-up! We were already having a ton of fun, and this was just the practice wall!

After ensuring that we weren't going to kill ourselves, Van guided us to a much higher rock wall (about 20 meters) that overlooked a beautiful valley. We all abseiled down it in fine style. One more abseil, and a welcomed lunch by the river, and Van informed us -- by taking us into the river and splashing us! -- that from here on it was going to get very, very wet.

And wet we got! Swimming, walking, and floating through the river (including a chute down a small waterfall), we found our little group stopped by a large (25 metre) waterfall. This was our big 'test,' ... we not only had to abseil down it, we were also going down the centre were the water gushed the strongest. Is this guy on crazy pills? Before setting up the ropes, Van sent his assistant to the bottom to wait for us (and, I assume, help pull us to safety after we made it to the bottom). He accomplished this by getting his assistant to lie down in the middle of the waterfall and then let him go. He shot down the falls like it was a giant, all-natural waterslide. I don't know what health insurance costs in this country, but with these guys' attitude towards the prospect of getting old, I bet it's expensive.

Lee slowly and carefully making her way down
After all the ropes were in place, and his assistant safely at the bottom waiting for us, Van guided us down one by one. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. Just standing in the middle (horizontally AND vertically) of the falls, surrounded by rushing water, was worth every penny we paid. Talk about a power shower.

Wet, but feeling pretty exhilirated, we walked a couple of hundred meters to our next stop, a 15 metre wall with a tranquil pool below. This looked a little too easy so we weren't surprised when Van, with a little gleam in his eyes, told us that we weren't abseiling this wall but instead jumping off it! My problem is not so much with heights (which don't really bother me), but more with the jumping off them bit. There's something unnatural about leaping off perfectly good terra-firma. After Van, Sam, and Lee had jumped (I should mention that Lee took a bit of encouraging and ultimately let herself fall more than actually jumped), and taking a few moments to consider what the after-life might be like, I finally took the plunge. With a second or so of free fall, I landed with a painful crotch and a bigger ego. (I don't have to tell anybody how close I was to shitting my pants.)

Our next, and last, test was a combination of abseiling, jumping, and being shot through a waterfall chute. Crazy stuff, but loads of fun.

Thoroughly soaked, tired, a bit bruised, and hungry we went back to town. It was one of the best, and most challenging, experiences of our trip. We would so do it again, and would highly recommend it. Thanks Van, and thanks Angela and Kelly for the recommendation!

One final note ... safety-conscious readers might be asking, "Where are the helmets?" Well, I can report that, in Vietnam, putting a hand on top of your head counts as the same thing.

(Oh ... and "ôi chao ôi" is Vietnamese for "Oh my God!")

For more photos, see our Canyoning in Dalat photo album.