Son Doong (Vietnam): 9 Tips for a Great Trip

Since I got back from SD, I have received many similar questions. Hence, I’m putting together a list of tips that hopefully will answer you. (If not, comment below or on my fb page). Many of these I learned from Lam Phong or was advised by Luke & Jamie. Several of these I didn’t know in advance (and thus made a fool out of myself -___-). So learn from my mistakes and be a better prepared trekker!

TIP #1: DO YOUR RESEARCH, INCLUDING READING THIS BLOG SERIES.

No kidding.

One of my co-workers started to dream about conquerring Mt. Everest 3 months ago (because our school name is Everest Education and one of our slogans that we usually use to teach the kids is “Dare to Dream High” – I think that’s how the idea got in her head). Since I’ve done a couple of treks on Annapurna (another mountain on Himalaya), she asked me to help her prepare (Err… I’ve never done Everest tho). But at least, I’ve read “Into Thin Air” lol so yeah, I tried to help:

- How much time will you have?

- Including the National Holidays, I’ll have 2 weeks

- Well, that won’t be enough for sure, you’ll need to take many more days off. How much money do you budget for this?

- A few thousands.

- Uhm… JUST the permit for a solo traveler is $11,000 already. And unless you’re super experienced that you can go by yourself, you’ll need to pay five times more than that for the support for a porter team. How long have you been working out?

- Lately, I’ve been taking the stairs instead of the elevator in our school building.

… This is where I gave up. Our school building has only 6 floors!

I respect dreams. But I don’t respect ill-preparedness. Read. Ask. Google. Do your research. Son Doong has been open for almost one full year already. That means there are 224 people who have done it. TripAdvisor alone has a dozen of reviews. I will also try my best to answer all of your questions as well as post pictures & the detailed itinerary.

TIP #2: WORK OUT!!!

Let’s just start off by saying that: If I (Lê Nguyễn Thiên Hương) can do it, YOU can do it!

I-AM-WEAK-SAUCE. That’ no secret. PE was always my worst subject in school. All of my classmates know that. But since the summer of 2011, when I took that hike in the Arch National Park in Utah with Thảo & Tuyên, it really strike me to realize how weak I was. And I’ve been working really hard to change that.

Sadly, I haven’t made much progress yet T_T Let’s just say a normal person’s health is rated 0, Superman is +10, and a snail is -10. Then, 3 years ago, I was a friggin -11. Now, I improved to… a -7, perhaps. My teammates though, they’re all +6, +7, or +8. I was pretty embarrased when Mike could easily step over the rocks without using his hands and I at the same time was using all of my 4 limbs, plus my butt and sometimes my belly to hold, grab, lean, slide, crawl etc. on things. Watch this video to see what I mean by +8.

Life is so unfair that I have to compete with those “monsters” *sobbing*

Nah, jk. There’s no competition. Watto always emphasizes that this is not a race. Go at your own pace. Being safe is more important than arriving first. 

One small tip about working out though: Do lots of cardio, obviously. But also don’t forget to work out your triceps & biceps. The rapelling down into the 80-meter steep entrance of Son Doong will require 2 strong arms. The wall is almost straight up, so you will have to lean back as far as possible. Your feet simply walk down while your arms have to hold the rope & support your body weight. I, however, took a lot of Step & RPM classes, but neglected my upper body. My arms were too weak. Plus, I was scared so I kept holding onto the rope.  As a result, I slammed my hip to the right and scratched my knees to the left. Not a pretty scene. Howard couldn’t stand watching.

I wish I had listened to Mai & taken that Pole Dancing class with her, then my arms would have been much more reliable. -___-

TIP #3: YOUR MIND IS STRONGER THAN YOUR BODY.

Given how weak I am, I think what got me through the expedition was thanks to how badly I wanted to do it. Also, I’ve done a number of multi-day treks before. So I knew ahead what I was getting into. One of Lam Phong’s great tip was that you should do Tú Làn before singing up for Sơn Đoòng. 

In the Health form that you have to submit to Oxalis before they put you in the list, there’s a question about your trekking/ caving experience. Howard laughed when one Vietnamese girl put “Riding a motorbike around the North of Vietnam” (“đi phượt”). Seriously, riding and hiking are very different.  

Sometimes, being mentally prepared is even more critical than being physically fit.

~~~

So that’s about it for your long-term preparation. About what to pack, follow Oxalis suggested list, it’s pretty comprehensive. But there are several things I would like to stress:

TIP #4: BRING YOUR TRIPOD IF YOU PLAN TO TAKE PICTURES.

The cave is too dark to take pictures hand-held. So a tripod would save you from blurry photos. I didn’t bring mine but Toàn Bamboo was nice enough to lend me his. Extra memory cards & batteries are also essential.

TIP #5: BRING A BACKPACK.

I love my Crumpler camera bag. I can wear it on my waist or over my sholder and that helps to speed up the access to my camera, in case I need to quickly snap a shot. I always use it on my other treks. But Son Doong is not a normal trek, it will require you to use your hands quite a lot (at least, for me). So having my Crumpler buddy swinging in the front turned out to be quite inconvenient. Anh Kỳ was very sweet to hold it for me.

Photo taken by Jason. [Click here to visit his website for more stunning shots]

That purple thing in Anh Kỳ’s hand is my dear Crumpler.

And that pink “thing” struggling below is… me T_T

TIP #6: BRING WET TISSUE. LOTS OF THEM.

You WILL get dirty. And depending on the season, the water level in the cave can vary significantly. So those wet tissue, no-rinse bath gel, dry shampoo, etc. will come in handy.

I love my long relaxing baths. All of my housemates know that (and get mad at me because of that lol). But I learned to adapt to the environment. When I did the Wilderness Camp in South Africa, I showered only 3 times during those 10 days because it was too cold. Or when I worked at the orphanage in Nepal where water is a luxury and my children could only afford one shower per week, I couldn’t bathe everyday either (though the host made exception for foreign volunteers, you would just feel bad for being too different from the custom). Hence, train yourselves to be ok with dirtiness. 

The campsite in Hang Én is pretty convenient though. You’ll have 2 “swimming pools”: 1 cool (the blue side) and 1 warm (the brown side). How fantastic is that.

But that’s not always the case. The second campsite in Sơn Đoòng has no water source at all.

TIP #7: WEAR SPORT BRAS, MY LADY FRIENDS!

This is not in Oxalis list; but as mentioned above in the tip about backpack, you don’t want anything swinging, bouncing, getting in the way. So flatten ‘em up! Keep ‘em in place, ladies! Leave your lacy friend at home. You’re not trying to impress anyone down there in the cave!

Also mentioned above, not all campsites have water. Sometimes, you’ll have to bathe on the way when you cross a random river. Picture below is an example. As you can see, Olivia (far left) has her swimsuit on. She told me she always wears it during this trek. What a smart idea! I wasn’t as well-prepared, so I missed my chance of bathing twice. It’s so easy for the guys, they can just take off their shirts. It’s more sensitive for us, girls!!! 

TIP #8: WEAR BRIGHT COLORS!

Learn from Mike & Toàn Bamboo. If you want to show up on the pictures, wear neon colors – the kinds that if you rock them at night, drivers can see you from miles away without street lights. Don’t wear black, or you’ll just blend in the darkness of the cave.

TIP #9: BRING EXTRA PAIR OF HIKING BOOTS!

Most people just brought one pair (One is pretty heavy already). But Howard, Bamboo, & I brought two, since footwear is just so important. Below is Wayne & his “beloved” shoes, which betrayed him right in the first day. You can’t afford having that happen to you. (I’ll blog about some tips to choose a good pair of hiking boots later. But for now, keep in mind one thing: NO GORETEX (the waterproof layer)! You’ll have to cross rivers several times a day. Goretex will hold water in the shoes & turn them into two mobile fishing tanks.)

Same thing for socks & undergarments. Bring extra. They’re light, anyways. You can re-wear dirty clothes, but not dirty socks or panties. 

~~~

That’s pretty much it. Just follow Oxalis instruction, and you should be fine. But also remember don’t bring too much though. 7kg max. Respect the porters!