May 8, 2023

Da Lat is the kind of city I could easily get stuck in. It's so adventure focused with the activities and the town itself is small enough to feel authentic while still having things to keep busy. Today I got up early ro go canyoning. This was something suggested to me by multiple friends I've met along my journey and they were completely accurate on how incredible it was. The day started with a safety demonstration on how the gear would work and we practiced absailing down a cement wall. With my background with rock climbing I picked up the usage of the gear pretty quick. On my second attempt down the practice wall the guide told me to come back tomorrow and take his job. So I took that as a good sign on my abilities. Our first repel we did was down a dry cliff face beside a waterfall. It was about 13 meters and one of the only walls we could do big jump repels on. I was the last in the group at this site so I got to watch everyone else before I got after it. Our second site was a waterfall zip line where we lowered ourselves about 8 meters until we ran out of rope and the zip line pulled us away across the river. It was such a neat experience to go from abseiling to zipping through the air. After this, we got to a natural water slide where we'd rush through the waterfall and slide down into the lake below. The first time we did feet first and the second time we went head first. I ended up being the tester for the water slide as the first one in the group which was a little nervous making but ultimately a blast. After this we had about a 20 minute trek to the top of a big waterfall where we'd have out lunch break. We loaded up on Bahn mi's and fresh fruit until the rain started pouring down on us. It was insane to be out there in a torrential downpour and thunder storm but we powered through. The next abseil was a 25 meter water fall. We had to do this one in just our socks as it was slippery and not good for shoes. When you got about half way down the water was just fully pouring onto your face. You had to speed up the repel through this part to get the water away from directly pouring on you. The last 5 meters are too slippery to climb down. So instead we let go of all the ropes and had a free fall into the water. It was absolutely hysterical seeing everyone's reaction when we realized the distance we had to drop but the whole team did it and got through. Next we were sent to a 7 meter free jump. Only about 6 of us in the group were brave enough to make the leap but I believe it was fully worth it. Terrifying to jump from that height but invigorating. We had one final abseil through what they call the washing machine. I once again ended up being the first one in line so I had to go in blind. For this you climb about 4 meters down then fully release from the rock and do a free repel. I was getting fully beat and tossed around by the water fall as I lowered myself down this section until you drop into a hole at the bottom where you're tossed around and spit out the base of the waterfall. I loved it. Many people in my group did not. We then had a hike back to the car and called it a day. We were all drained after this and I ended up just getting some food and waiting for my bus to mui ne. I have a 5 hour trek to this little beach town that's known for its sand dunes. I'll spend a day here before heading to ho chi Minh ans calling my trip to its end.