Living Dangerously in Vietnam

For the last several weeks, I’ve been traveling through the South and Central regions of Vietnam. And boy, do I like this country!

The landscape is varied – mountains, beaches, ancient cities, temples. And magnificent to look at. It’s also been a blast to explore – especially for an adrenaline junkie like me. Here are two active escapades that were particularly enjoyable!

Mountain Biking in Dalat

Although I used to live in Northern California, I’ve never really tried mountain biking, but Vietnam’s central highlands surrounding the city of Dalat seemed the perfect place to start.

We started off that morning on a 35 kilometer (20+ miles) ride to the highland village of the Tat people. I was tired before we even left the blacktop and we’d only gone 2 kilometers at that point. I knew then that it was going to be a long day.

As soon as we hit the dirt path everything improved. I had figured out my gears and was sailing along over the ruts in the road, mostly avoiding puddles of muddy water. The dirt path then thinned out into a bona fide mountain trail and soon we were scampering over roots and rocks.

And then it started – the hills. There were some major ones and I’m not too proud to say that I had to get off and walk my bike on a few of them. Ok, almost all of them. This was hard work! My legs were talking to me already – and they were not saying kind things.

And then the down hills started and to say I was in control would be a wild exaggeration. I was just hoping I wouldn’t hit a bit of gravel and plunge headfirst down the mountain. And then my arms (which were taking the brunt of the impact of the downhill) started in on me too. My appendages were starting to rebel.

So it was the perfect time for a break and a picnic lunch of banh mi: tasty Vietnamese sandwiches of crusty French bread filled with pork slices and vegetables. Yum! Thankfully, our guide Chung, had hauled it all up, prepared the fixings and spread it out on a plastic blue tarp. What more could you ask for?

In the end, we made it to the Tat village and were rewarded with a visit to a community rhong house, an exhibition by traditional weavers, and some ginger tea and laughs with a drunk old lady. A good time was had by all! Mercifully, the rode back was paved.

Abseiling Hoi An’s Marble Mountain

I love mountain climbing – and better yet descending! So when I saw the poster to rappel down Hoi An’s famous Marble Mountain, I signed up on the spot!

At first I was a bit concerned about the knowledge of our guides, since you don’t want an amateur in charge when you’re hanging off a cliff. But both Theo and Than knew what they were doing (and were downright cheery too).

We did a couple of practice rappels on a low wall, then headed to the caves. First up was Heaven’s Gate, an easy 15 meter drop into a sun-splashed cavern. A couple of goes and we were on to bigger and better rock faces.

Next up was Ocean View, a 22 meter sheer wall over the side of the mountain. The rock face was so steep that we couldn’t see the bottom from our vantage up top. Oh well – up and over! The rock wall here was not only steeper, but smoother, allowing for more “jumps” as we hopped down the rock face. The view out to sea? Spectacular! And so we did it again!

Last up was a 55 meter drop into Hell’s Gate. This one was a little trickier, not only because it was dark inside the narrow cave, but also wet. About halfway down, I lost my footing and hit the rock sideways a few times (causing some minor bruising). I was finally able to right myself and continue my jumps to the end. Success – I had reached the ends of Hell!

Fun All Around!

These two downhill sports are great fun anywhere. But put the mountain biking riding and abseiling in an exotic and beautiful setting like the highlands of Vietnam and you’re in for a real treat!

Go to Vietnam and explore the highlands. Living dangerously in Vietnam will live up to your expectations!

Erin Michelson is a social entrepreneur and world traveler. A self-styled Adventure Philanthropist, Erin is embarking on a 2-year global giving adventure called Erin Goes Global. Starting in Fiji on New Year’s Day 2011, Erin Michelson will travel to more than 70 counties on 7 continents during 2011-2012. Along the way, Erin will be volunteering with global non-profit organizations, including building wells in Uganda and tutoring young girls in Bangladeshi boat villages. She’s donated $25,000 and is holding monthly polls to see which worthy nonprofits receive the grants!