ROCK CLIMBING
Rock climbing in Ha Long Bay. After arriving yesterday, everyone felt great the rest of the day. The huts, each with four bunk beds, perfectly accommodate myself, Phil, the four Swedes, an Irish fella, and Dylan (the South African). Waking up after a heavy night is easy because of the laughter. Phil left straight away, puzzling us until he returned with a beer for each of us. There is no rest from it.
PHIL WAS GIVING US ALL THE GREATEST LAUGH! AT ONE POINT I THOUGHT REECE WOULD NEED TO BE RESUSCITATED
We call these guys holiday w*nkers because they are only over for two weeks and can afford to go hard at it. We need to make sure we don’t kill our budget or ourselves.
ROCK CLIMBING
As part of the infamous Halong Bay Booze cruise, we had two activities to choose from: wakeboarding and rock climbing, neither of which we had done before. Despite our heavy night last night, they collected us at 9 am and dropped us off at another deserted island for some rock climbing. Our lives were left firmly in our own hands, making us feel even more precarious! The island is where the Castaway trip used to have their accommodation. The government owns all the islands and has decided to let the current castaway island to someone else, so they have to move back here, which is a gutter as the current island couldn’t be better!
ANOTHER PRIVATE ISLAND
As far as the setting goes, it was pretty perfect. Even a man with a solid 8 hours sleep could appreciate that. If you weren’t climbing, you could just lay on the beach and admire the stunning views across the bay. After our induction, we put on a harness, hat, and shoes, none of which fit Westerners or anyone over 5ft 10. There are two routes to choose from, each of us taking the easy choice, assessing our options, and then possibly going for the more difficult one after. Much to everyone’s dismay, it turned out to be a team sport, with one person climbing while someone controls the safety rope. You couldn’t trust yourself, let alone trust someone else to hold the catch rope, but that’s how it is.
IT’S NO EL CAPITAN
Rock climbing was hard work, and as you get higher, you become more aware of the risk. Naturally, you grip harder and harder. At times, the cliff felt like climbing glass, offering no places for rest, but none of us wanted to extend the risk of depending on our friend below, so we all kept going. Rock climbing isn’t ideal when you’re drunk, but credit to Phil for making us laugh. I don’t think that fella could climb into bed without some help! Every time he panicked, he just let go and started rolling against the rock. Reece and I were in pieces laughing and recorded him the whole time. There were two climbs, but he wasn’t game for the harder one. Bless him.
HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE
Like many of these places, the guide has been doing this every day for years and could almost skip up the wall without any aid. It’s certainly no mean feat. I’ve seen many climbing walls made for climbing, but these cliffs are not.
NEXT UP
The infamous boat cruise and what we have all been waiting for! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x 27/229
This post is part of the Vietnam Series, click to explore
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
