June 9
I was so excited for this morning. I am writing this a week later. I got up for breakfast with Robyn, Courtney, Mars, Leanne, and Matt at 7:30am. Our guides for the morning arrived promptly at 8am. And we were not prompt... Still finishing up breakfast and we had to leave our valuables at the front desk. Vietnam is so annoying. Like I really can't lock my shit in my own hotel room without your employees stealing it? That really sucks. Having to lock and unlock my bag anytime I wanted or needed something was also obnoxious. Like really? But whatever.
Trying to leave our stuff at the desk was such a chore it was stupid. The guy wanted us to count all our money. I had a little shy of 2 million dong, and then I also had USD, baht, and riel. Honestly, their money is so hard to count. My brain doesn't process the big numbers very well. Anyway, we had to count it and write down exactly how much we had on the envelope. I counted it like 2 or 3 times, he counted it twice, I wrote it down wrong... Matt counted it and he counted it again. Jeezus.
While all this was going on, everyone else was already in the van. Good news!!! Today was the hottest day of the week and we were told we were setting records with the temperature. AWESOME! I think he said it was 37 or 39 or something. Basically, it was hot.
We drove the 20 minutes from the hotel out to Marble Mountain. I wasn't sure if we would need sunscreen or not, so I lathered it on that morning and boy am I glad I did! For abseiling they told us not to take any bags or anything so the only thing I had on me was the receipt reception gave me for my valuables. Marble Mountain is a range made up of 5 marble and limestone mountains. They are named after the 5 elements: water, fire, earth, wood, metal. Each of them have cave entrances and tunnels. There are also many Buddhist sanctuaries here. It's pretty popular for tourists... Bad news for us. We were pretty much on display for everyone to watch so that was fun... Not.
When we first arrived, they gave us each a big bottle of water. Very good since most of us literally had no money or water on us. I had my receipt in my sports bra. Surprisingly enough, it didn't really even get sweaty or wet in my bra. That's when you know you have great clothes haha.
We climbed up a ton of stairs. Like maybe 10 minutes of steep stairs. Similar to Nepal trekking style, minus the breaks on level ground. Once we made it to the top, the first order of business was to make sure that we knew how to abseil. This was obviously after we had geared up with our harnesses, helmets and gloves. Practice time!
We literally practiced on the smallest hill that existed. We watched him do it a few times. And then it was our turn. We each did it twice. You have to take the rope in your right hand and put it behind your back so it runs near your hip and then you hold on to your harness with your left hand. You lean back as far as you can and then release some of the rope and take a few steps down. It's really strange to get used to at first but it ends up being awesome once you get used to it. The first time I practiced I fell because I stepped on a wrong part where the rock kind of dropped off. We also had to practice jumping off the rock as well. I didn't let out enough rope and came really close to slamming into the rock face first haha. Thank god for practicing!
Once we all felt comfortable, we headed for the first cave. Caves are what we are abseiling down. More stairs! When they were setting up the equipment, we were able to climb up to the top which had a really nice view. It wasn't very far, but it was all marble and it was really slippery and large pieces so it took a while to get up and down. The view was beautiful. There were beaches and houses and towns and mountains.
Finally, it was time to go. Mars went first. We all took turns going first and last so we could get photos of people at all the different stages. To start off, you have to climb over a little fence and stand on a very small ledge while they hook you up to the ropes. I think that was one of the scariest parts. You couldn't really look down even if you wanted to because your back is to the abyss and you are facing the wall of the cave. Once I was all hooked up I started to lean back and let rope out and walk down. It was scary for the first few leans and then I felt okay. As you go down, the guides are yelling directions at you of where to put your foot and what to do. "A little more to the left!" "Lean back further!" "Jump!" Yes, jump. We had to jump into a hole where we had no idea where it was or how far the inside part was to then repel off it and jump again. I pretty much failed the first time. I got one jump in and then when I tried again I didn't make it to the wall and basically just ended up falling down the rest of it. It was a controlled fall obviously because of the rope. Kinda like CIA spy style into a room.
We then got to climb up the marble mountain and try again. The second time I got a few more jumps in but still wasn't able to do it all the way down.
When you get to the bottom the metal part of your clip is really hot. A lot of us got burnt at one point or another. After the first time abseiling I sat down and it touched the skin near my ankle and it burnt me. Courtney and Mars got burnt on their chests because when they pull you in the metal clip goes higher up. Mars got a really bad burn on her chest from it.
After we all abseiled the first cave twice, it was 14m, we went to the second one. It was really close to the first one so the walk wasn't very far. It was actually not in a cave this time, but on the side of the mountain. It was to the outside so everyone could see us.
When people were going down this one, a bunch of Asian people kept pushing over to watch us go down the cliff. It was annoying. There was a point when Courtney was abseiling that I was surrounded by asians on all sides and they were practically climbing up my body to try to see Courtney... Which past a certain point you can't really see them. They were also pulling on the safety ropes and stuff so that wasn't cool. I had to ask them to move so I could get over the fence and start my descent. This second one was 25m and we all got to do it twice again. Leanne broke her camera trying to take photos of other people abseiling and she tripped and landed on it. Luckily she had 2, but not with her. This one was the easiest. It was pretty much just straight down. We were able to jump down it after a certain point which was pretty cool. Once you got further down though it was really difficult to jump and come back to the same spot. It was completely straight so there wasn't too much area to jump to. You end up free falling for the last bit on this one as well. Your glove gets really hot because of the rope going through it so fast.
I wasn't really sure what the best grip was for the rope. I kept trying to change grips and see what was the best. I still have no idea. I felt like even when I was gripping it tightly to stop it that the rope was still sliding out of my hand. I got to the point though where I could let it loose and walk down kind of at the same time so it wasn't really a big deal.
Before heading to some caves and our last mountain for abseiling, we had a lunch break. The food was so good. We each got a baguette and we could fill it with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and steamed pork. The steamed pork tasted amazing. It is steamed in banana leaves to give it a great flavor. I don't usually like pork because it is tougher and stringier but this was really soft and not stringy at all. There was also laughing cow cheese for us to spread on our baguette. Then, we had bananas, pineapple, and watermelon. The pineapple was amazing tasting. Best pineapple I've ever had. Even the middle part that is normally really hard at home was very sweet and soft. It was so sweet. We devoured it.
Then, we headed to 2 caves. The first one had a beautiful and very large lady statue in it. Then you continued on and went into another cave. The first one was more open to the sunlight but this next one was more enclosed. The first one is the most beautiful cave apparently. It was pretty but I don't remember thinking it was anything super special. There was a staircase you had to descend to get to the bottom. There were temples here for people to pray as well. Lining the staircase were colorful man statues.
After these caves, we headed to our final abseiling point. This one was 57m and it is called -----------------. I stepped up and went first. This one we could only do one time. But I volunteered to go first and take photos of everyone coming down. That meant I didn't have a photo of me coming down but oh well I guess. I didn't think about that one.
This cave was by far the best one that we did abseiling wise. It was so cool. I wish we could have done it again. When you started there was a big tree branch right by your head that you had to navigate around. Then you started going down down down. After a few steps he yelled "jump!" And I started jumping down. Then I had to stop and start walking again because the cave splits into 2 different parts and you have to spread your feet apart to walk along those parts. It was difficult because it got to the point where my legs were spread apart as far as they would go. Just when I didn't think I would be able to spread them apart any more he told me to start jumping again. First i had to bring my feet back to the middle though. Then, I got to jump the rest of the way down the cave. I did it really well this time and I made pretty large jumps.
At the bottom there is a large Buddha statue thing that is lit up. It's pretty cool. I got some really great photos of Leanne abseiling down but in the background of the big Buddha thing. The cave was really strange. We got to walk through it. There are a lot of steps and there were weird demon things and monsters eating people and stuff. It was really strange but also kind of comical. There is a bridge to get out of the cave and it is the bridge between hell and the earth. Once we got off the bridge the van was right there and we went back.
We got back a few minutes before 1pm. And we had to be at the cooking class by 2pm AND still go for our refitting. Today was obviously going to be a long day. We have ourselves 10 minutes to shower and get back downstairs before we went to the tailors.
When we got there, 3 of the 4 things I had ordered were ready. I was really nervous about how they would look. I told Courtney, Robyn, and Leanne to tell me if they didn't look good. I put the skirt on and it looked great. It fit well too. Then the 2 shirts were next. Once I got them on they were both great. The colors looked good and the fit and style were wonderful. I can definitely wear all the pieces I got to work so I was excited about that. Putting on a piece of clothing that fits you perfectly is literally one of the strangest, coolest feelings in the world. You don't have to think about how you wish your boobs were larger or smaller or your hips wider or thinner or your limbs shorter or longer or anything. It just fits. Perfectly. It's such a cool feeling.
They said to wait 10 minutes for the dress but then it got to be 10 to 2pm and we needed to leave. We told them we would come back after the cooking class.
The cooking class was really cool. A lot of us did it so it was a little hard to see and watch everything. The food was all really amazing tasting though. He sent us an email with the recipes but I don't even know if ill be able to reproduce it because they didn't seem very detailed. We actually used a whole banana flower to cook some dishes. This is what we made -------. I was a little sad we didn't do the original cooking class. As I mentioned, Matt found a different class because some people weren't happy with the menu. The lady who did that cooking class though was supposed to be amazing. And you got to go to the market and shop with her so that would have been a really cool experience as well.
During the class I got to slice mango. It had to be really thin and as mom and ads know, I always slice my stuff thinly so I was the perfect person for the job. It was weird when you cut into the middle though and the seed was there. I basically shave off all 4 sides, stopping at the seed. I also got to stick long toothpicks into the shrimp (through their mouth) to make them straight so we could cook them and then easily roll them in the spring rolls. I also got to roll and cut my own spring rolls. It was pretty cool. After the class (3.5 hours) we got to sit down and feast on our food. So tasty! I loves mango sticky rice.
I went back to the tailor at 6:30 and my dress was there. It was okay but I had wanted a square neckline specifically and it didn't have that. It was also a little big in the bust. They marked the changes and said it would be ready soon. They kept saying ten minutes but it wasn't haha. Leanne and I decided to walk around at 7:30 and come back. I ended up buying some bracelets and a cover up dress for the beach. It needs a belt though if I'm going to wear it at other times. Leanne really wanted these coconut bowls that had cool designs in the inside of them. We searched everywhere for cheap ones. Finally we got a lady to do them for 50,000 dong instead of 80,000 dong and I think she went really low because when w went to find other ones at a shop that closed, we went to a few other places and they laughed at the price the lady had sold it to her for.
We headed back to the tailors. Leanne's second dress was done but mine wasn't. It was already 8:30pm. We say around for a while and around 9:10 the dress finally came from the tailor on a motorbike over the woman's arm with a few other items for people from our group. I was really happy with the dress as well so I'm glad that was a good experience. It would have been nice if they would have been honest with us about the time though instead of making us wait for forever when we were told 10 minutes.
In retrospect, I kind of wish I would have gotten a peewee coat or suit or nice jacket or something because it would be much cheaper and fit perfectly. But I had no idea. Next time I guess!
I think G adventures should find a few different tailor shops and split the group into 2 or 3 groups so that the tailor isn't overwhelmed with so many things. A lot of girls who got more complicated styles, not simple, were disappointed in their dresses. I don't know if that's the tailor or if they just didn't have time to do the complicated designs but a lot of people were unhappy. I'm just glad I loved my stuff.
I literally have a bunch of bruises all over my body from abseiling. One on the back of my arm where I crushed into the wall backward, a few on my legs. Some scrapes. Essentially I look pretty good!
One thing I have noticed is that my eczema looks like it is coming back but it never actually breaks out. It happened a lot at the beginning of the trip and still every once in a while now. I brought my cream but I haven't had to use it yet. I don't know if its the heat or the change in diet. Maybe stress but that doesn't make sense. I'm glad it hasn't broken out yet though because that wouldn't be fun to keep clean.
If I haven't already said, the exchange rate is 1USD to 20,000 dong.
Today was a great day. Abseiling is for sure one of my favorite things so far.
I was so excited for this morning. I am writing this a week later. I got up for breakfast with Robyn, Courtney, Mars, Leanne, and Matt at 7:30am. Our guides for the morning arrived promptly at 8am. And we were not prompt... Still finishing up breakfast and we had to leave our valuables at the front desk. Vietnam is so annoying. Like I really can't lock my shit in my own hotel room without your employees stealing it? That really sucks. Having to lock and unlock my bag anytime I wanted or needed something was also obnoxious. Like really? But whatever.
Trying to leave our stuff at the desk was such a chore it was stupid. The guy wanted us to count all our money. I had a little shy of 2 million dong, and then I also had USD, baht, and riel. Honestly, their money is so hard to count. My brain doesn't process the big numbers very well. Anyway, we had to count it and write down exactly how much we had on the envelope. I counted it like 2 or 3 times, he counted it twice, I wrote it down wrong... Matt counted it and he counted it again. Jeezus.
While all this was going on, everyone else was already in the van. Good news!!! Today was the hottest day of the week and we were told we were setting records with the temperature. AWESOME! I think he said it was 37 or 39 or something. Basically, it was hot.
We drove the 20 minutes from the hotel out to Marble Mountain. I wasn't sure if we would need sunscreen or not, so I lathered it on that morning and boy am I glad I did! For abseiling they told us not to take any bags or anything so the only thing I had on me was the receipt reception gave me for my valuables. Marble Mountain is a range made up of 5 marble and limestone mountains. They are named after the 5 elements: water, fire, earth, wood, metal. Each of them have cave entrances and tunnels. There are also many Buddhist sanctuaries here. It's pretty popular for tourists... Bad news for us. We were pretty much on display for everyone to watch so that was fun... Not.
When we first arrived, they gave us each a big bottle of water. Very good since most of us literally had no money or water on us. I had my receipt in my sports bra. Surprisingly enough, it didn't really even get sweaty or wet in my bra. That's when you know you have great clothes haha.
We climbed up a ton of stairs. Like maybe 10 minutes of steep stairs. Similar to Nepal trekking style, minus the breaks on level ground. Once we made it to the top, the first order of business was to make sure that we knew how to abseil. This was obviously after we had geared up with our harnesses, helmets and gloves. Practice time!
We literally practiced on the smallest hill that existed. We watched him do it a few times. And then it was our turn. We each did it twice. You have to take the rope in your right hand and put it behind your back so it runs near your hip and then you hold on to your harness with your left hand. You lean back as far as you can and then release some of the rope and take a few steps down. It's really strange to get used to at first but it ends up being awesome once you get used to it. The first time I practiced I fell because I stepped on a wrong part where the rock kind of dropped off. We also had to practice jumping off the rock as well. I didn't let out enough rope and came really close to slamming into the rock face first haha. Thank god for practicing!
Once we all felt comfortable, we headed for the first cave. Caves are what we are abseiling down. More stairs! When they were setting up the equipment, we were able to climb up to the top which had a really nice view. It wasn't very far, but it was all marble and it was really slippery and large pieces so it took a while to get up and down. The view was beautiful. There were beaches and houses and towns and mountains.
Finally, it was time to go. Mars went first. We all took turns going first and last so we could get photos of people at all the different stages. To start off, you have to climb over a little fence and stand on a very small ledge while they hook you up to the ropes. I think that was one of the scariest parts. You couldn't really look down even if you wanted to because your back is to the abyss and you are facing the wall of the cave. Once I was all hooked up I started to lean back and let rope out and walk down. It was scary for the first few leans and then I felt okay. As you go down, the guides are yelling directions at you of where to put your foot and what to do. "A little more to the left!" "Lean back further!" "Jump!" Yes, jump. We had to jump into a hole where we had no idea where it was or how far the inside part was to then repel off it and jump again. I pretty much failed the first time. I got one jump in and then when I tried again I didn't make it to the wall and basically just ended up falling down the rest of it. It was a controlled fall obviously because of the rope. Kinda like CIA spy style into a room.
We then got to climb up the marble mountain and try again. The second time I got a few more jumps in but still wasn't able to do it all the way down.
When you get to the bottom the metal part of your clip is really hot. A lot of us got burnt at one point or another. After the first time abseiling I sat down and it touched the skin near my ankle and it burnt me. Courtney and Mars got burnt on their chests because when they pull you in the metal clip goes higher up. Mars got a really bad burn on her chest from it.
After we all abseiled the first cave twice, it was 14m, we went to the second one. It was really close to the first one so the walk wasn't very far. It was actually not in a cave this time, but on the side of the mountain. It was to the outside so everyone could see us.
When people were going down this one, a bunch of Asian people kept pushing over to watch us go down the cliff. It was annoying. There was a point when Courtney was abseiling that I was surrounded by asians on all sides and they were practically climbing up my body to try to see Courtney... Which past a certain point you can't really see them. They were also pulling on the safety ropes and stuff so that wasn't cool. I had to ask them to move so I could get over the fence and start my descent. This second one was 25m and we all got to do it twice again. Leanne broke her camera trying to take photos of other people abseiling and she tripped and landed on it. Luckily she had 2, but not with her. This one was the easiest. It was pretty much just straight down. We were able to jump down it after a certain point which was pretty cool. Once you got further down though it was really difficult to jump and come back to the same spot. It was completely straight so there wasn't too much area to jump to. You end up free falling for the last bit on this one as well. Your glove gets really hot because of the rope going through it so fast.
I wasn't really sure what the best grip was for the rope. I kept trying to change grips and see what was the best. I still have no idea. I felt like even when I was gripping it tightly to stop it that the rope was still sliding out of my hand. I got to the point though where I could let it loose and walk down kind of at the same time so it wasn't really a big deal.
Before heading to some caves and our last mountain for abseiling, we had a lunch break. The food was so good. We each got a baguette and we could fill it with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and steamed pork. The steamed pork tasted amazing. It is steamed in banana leaves to give it a great flavor. I don't usually like pork because it is tougher and stringier but this was really soft and not stringy at all. There was also laughing cow cheese for us to spread on our baguette. Then, we had bananas, pineapple, and watermelon. The pineapple was amazing tasting. Best pineapple I've ever had. Even the middle part that is normally really hard at home was very sweet and soft. It was so sweet. We devoured it.
Then, we headed to 2 caves. The first one had a beautiful and very large lady statue in it. Then you continued on and went into another cave. The first one was more open to the sunlight but this next one was more enclosed. The first one is the most beautiful cave apparently. It was pretty but I don't remember thinking it was anything super special. There was a staircase you had to descend to get to the bottom. There were temples here for people to pray as well. Lining the staircase were colorful man statues.
After these caves, we headed to our final abseiling point. This one was 57m and it is called -----------------. I stepped up and went first. This one we could only do one time. But I volunteered to go first and take photos of everyone coming down. That meant I didn't have a photo of me coming down but oh well I guess. I didn't think about that one.
This cave was by far the best one that we did abseiling wise. It was so cool. I wish we could have done it again. When you started there was a big tree branch right by your head that you had to navigate around. Then you started going down down down. After a few steps he yelled "jump!" And I started jumping down. Then I had to stop and start walking again because the cave splits into 2 different parts and you have to spread your feet apart to walk along those parts. It was difficult because it got to the point where my legs were spread apart as far as they would go. Just when I didn't think I would be able to spread them apart any more he told me to start jumping again. First i had to bring my feet back to the middle though. Then, I got to jump the rest of the way down the cave. I did it really well this time and I made pretty large jumps.
At the bottom there is a large Buddha statue thing that is lit up. It's pretty cool. I got some really great photos of Leanne abseiling down but in the background of the big Buddha thing. The cave was really strange. We got to walk through it. There are a lot of steps and there were weird demon things and monsters eating people and stuff. It was really strange but also kind of comical. There is a bridge to get out of the cave and it is the bridge between hell and the earth. Once we got off the bridge the van was right there and we went back.
We got back a few minutes before 1pm. And we had to be at the cooking class by 2pm AND still go for our refitting. Today was obviously going to be a long day. We have ourselves 10 minutes to shower and get back downstairs before we went to the tailors.
When we got there, 3 of the 4 things I had ordered were ready. I was really nervous about how they would look. I told Courtney, Robyn, and Leanne to tell me if they didn't look good. I put the skirt on and it looked great. It fit well too. Then the 2 shirts were next. Once I got them on they were both great. The colors looked good and the fit and style were wonderful. I can definitely wear all the pieces I got to work so I was excited about that. Putting on a piece of clothing that fits you perfectly is literally one of the strangest, coolest feelings in the world. You don't have to think about how you wish your boobs were larger or smaller or your hips wider or thinner or your limbs shorter or longer or anything. It just fits. Perfectly. It's such a cool feeling.
They said to wait 10 minutes for the dress but then it got to be 10 to 2pm and we needed to leave. We told them we would come back after the cooking class.
The cooking class was really cool. A lot of us did it so it was a little hard to see and watch everything. The food was all really amazing tasting though. He sent us an email with the recipes but I don't even know if ill be able to reproduce it because they didn't seem very detailed. We actually used a whole banana flower to cook some dishes. This is what we made -------. I was a little sad we didn't do the original cooking class. As I mentioned, Matt found a different class because some people weren't happy with the menu. The lady who did that cooking class though was supposed to be amazing. And you got to go to the market and shop with her so that would have been a really cool experience as well.
During the class I got to slice mango. It had to be really thin and as mom and ads know, I always slice my stuff thinly so I was the perfect person for the job. It was weird when you cut into the middle though and the seed was there. I basically shave off all 4 sides, stopping at the seed. I also got to stick long toothpicks into the shrimp (through their mouth) to make them straight so we could cook them and then easily roll them in the spring rolls. I also got to roll and cut my own spring rolls. It was pretty cool. After the class (3.5 hours) we got to sit down and feast on our food. So tasty! I loves mango sticky rice.
I went back to the tailor at 6:30 and my dress was there. It was okay but I had wanted a square neckline specifically and it didn't have that. It was also a little big in the bust. They marked the changes and said it would be ready soon. They kept saying ten minutes but it wasn't haha. Leanne and I decided to walk around at 7:30 and come back. I ended up buying some bracelets and a cover up dress for the beach. It needs a belt though if I'm going to wear it at other times. Leanne really wanted these coconut bowls that had cool designs in the inside of them. We searched everywhere for cheap ones. Finally we got a lady to do them for 50,000 dong instead of 80,000 dong and I think she went really low because when w went to find other ones at a shop that closed, we went to a few other places and they laughed at the price the lady had sold it to her for.
We headed back to the tailors. Leanne's second dress was done but mine wasn't. It was already 8:30pm. We say around for a while and around 9:10 the dress finally came from the tailor on a motorbike over the woman's arm with a few other items for people from our group. I was really happy with the dress as well so I'm glad that was a good experience. It would have been nice if they would have been honest with us about the time though instead of making us wait for forever when we were told 10 minutes.
In retrospect, I kind of wish I would have gotten a peewee coat or suit or nice jacket or something because it would be much cheaper and fit perfectly. But I had no idea. Next time I guess!
I think G adventures should find a few different tailor shops and split the group into 2 or 3 groups so that the tailor isn't overwhelmed with so many things. A lot of girls who got more complicated styles, not simple, were disappointed in their dresses. I don't know if that's the tailor or if they just didn't have time to do the complicated designs but a lot of people were unhappy. I'm just glad I loved my stuff.
I literally have a bunch of bruises all over my body from abseiling. One on the back of my arm where I crushed into the wall backward, a few on my legs. Some scrapes. Essentially I look pretty good!
One thing I have noticed is that my eczema looks like it is coming back but it never actually breaks out. It happened a lot at the beginning of the trip and still every once in a while now. I brought my cream but I haven't had to use it yet. I don't know if its the heat or the change in diet. Maybe stress but that doesn't make sense. I'm glad it hasn't broken out yet though because that wouldn't be fun to keep clean.
If I haven't already said, the exchange rate is 1USD to 20,000 dong.
Today was a great day. Abseiling is for sure one of my favorite things so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment