Cuc Dong - The Journey to the East (PART 2)

After the hot desert, comes the jungle ! The word “jungle” here sounded a little bit like an exaggeration because there were only small trees and shrubs; however, without their existence, we would get drown in sand and rocks till our legs worn out. It was also amazing to see how life could thrive in such harsh condition. A scientific mind told me to stop to think about it but the fact that I was in middle of nowhere urged me to move on.

A group photo

Walk into the forest where the greeness of trees domintated

Resting while climbing up a steep slope

A lot of times amidst the rest, we talked about a young girl who died years ago on the way to conquer Cuc Dong. Many hikers brought up the rumour that the spirit of that ill-fated girl is still wandering around to haunt people. Two girls of group, Thuy and Thom, even wanted to worship me to her so that she would leave them alone. I myself didn’t think that was a bad idea at all. At least, I might have a girlfriend for myself.

Physically ill, poorly equipped and being dehydrated by the sun lead to tragic death of the poor girl

Time was surely flying as we moved on. I didn’t notice from when the sun had set and the sky turned dark. It was also the time when we were all quite exhausted after a long day walking. Darkness and tiredness could be a deadly combination that would cause panic. However, as experienced hikers, we had prepared to face it with courage and humour. As night fell, there also came ghost stories that people told for fun, a weird way to drive away fears and tiredness.

 Another break, look how cheerful we were !

Taking a group photo before the sun set

The ladies :)

Smiling faces shining in the dark

After numerous times going up and down slopes and climbing rocks in the dark with our head lamp turned on, we were finally so close to the camping site. We firstly arrived at Rang Beach, a beautiful beach with fine-grained sand. We thought it was where we would rest but our tour guide insisted on taking us elsewhere. Most of us wanted to set camp Rang Beach so we felt quite annoyed by that decision. Nevertheless, after a short time of reluctance, we finally agreed to move on, hoping that we were coming to a better place.

 After about 30 minutes of walking, we were finally at our camping site. It turned out to be an ugly beach with slight slope, grass and medium-sized rocks. I nearly went mad with the tour guide but didn’t dare to utter a word because we had already paid for his service. This might be an essential part of hiking trips. There must be unpredictable or undesirable things that we have to deal with. So, on bitterly accepting the truth, we began to set up tents and prepare for dinner. It was a hot and windless night with so most of us found it hard to sleep. The eerie silence of the night created a perfect atmosphere for ghost stories to be told and from when I didn’t know, we all went to sleep.

Menu for dinner includes octopuses and shrimps

Cuc Dong - The Journey to the East (Part 1)

Many people said in order to be a real hiker in Vietnam, you must know about Cuc Dong. It’s simply considered by normal people a point on map that marks the easternmost part of Vietnam’s inland territory. Hikers, on the other hand, see it as the place where they must come once in their lives to witness the beauty of the location where they can catch the earliest rays of daylight. So we, the young hearts with great passion of travelling and exploring, from different parts of Vietnam, decided to gather around and together we journeyed to the East to fulfil our dream despite of many dangers awaiting us.

A week before the trip, we had a meeting to discuss our plan for the last time. I remember it was a rainy day so we were all soaked to the skin. After a long discussion, we found out that our plan was not as smooth as we had expected and a few members decided not to attend owing to physical problems. Our group, after that, shrank to only 6 members including me. Most of team members decided to travel by train because it is faster and safer. I want to join them but there was no seat left so I and Mr. Giang had to go by bus. I was quite upset by the feeling that I would be alone on the bus but the fact that it might save up to 300.000 VND really gave me a relief. It is mostly because I’m always in favor of cheap means of transportation and the idea of spending approximately 600.000 VND for a seat with air-conditioner on train sounds unaffordable to me.

I arrived at Tuy Hoa city after 12 hours on the bus from Ho Chi Minh city. After waiting about half an hour for Mr. Giang, who boarded different bus, we walked to the gathering point, which was a hotel located 2km from the bus station. When we arrived, everybody was all prepared. They looked exhilarated as if there was nothing to worry about. However, it didn’t surprise me much because I knew all of them were experienced hikers. After a short converstation and having a bread for breakfast, Thuy, who was in charge of financial matters, called the 2 taxis to take us to Mon Bay, the place where our hiking journey began. The distance from Tuy Hoa city to Mon Bay was about 60 km but it took us about 1 hour although the taxi drivers drove like crazy.

A group photo at the “entrance” to hell

After taking pictures of the whole group, we marched into the desert, the first obstacle on the way to conquer Cuc Dong. The weather of July was extremely hot and it nearly killed us. It was not only the sun above but also the sand below that fried us. Sand, after a long time of exposing directly to the Sun, became heated and it made us feel like walking on burning coal in our every step. I made a mistake myself by wearing a pair of sandals which had no protection against the sand.Therefore, after a few minutes of walking on the sand, my body showed the symptoms of being over-heated. However, thanks to my endurance which I had obtained through Marathon training, I could barely tolerate the heat and passed the desert. On the way, I saw many other hikers like us use bike service for carrying backpacks and other equipment. Not a single member of our group, nevertheless, used that service; maybe because we were too couragous to accept the support.

Walking in the desert under the Sun

The sky was blue and clear so the weather was hot, as a result

Two girls of our group, Lun Nam on the left and Vo Ly on the right

Hiding in bushes to shelter from the Sun

Using self-made map, compass and GPS watch for navigation

After nearly one and half hours wandering in the desert under the Sun, we finally got to Uncle Hai’s house where we could rest and had lunch. Welcoming us was a middle-aged man with tanned skin and scars of time on his face. He treated us with lemonade that we had to pay for and offered a lunch with a fair price. We also agreed to pay for the tour by Uncle Hai to avoid the risk of being lost in the jungle. Joining with us were 3 other groups, among of those was a group that caught my attention because of their style  and equipment. They looked like people who spend all day behind the desk and they carried very little equipment. The most noticeable thing they brought with them was a big tent, which I thought, can shelter up to 10 man. A boy of our group who was so young, rapidly fell in love with a girl of that group. She was a teenage girl wearing pink shirt and her appearance here was literally like the rose that grew on desert.

The panel marks the location of Uncle Hai’s house

Having lunch

After a noon break, we were back to our journey at around 3 P.M. The Sun was not as hot as in the morning, making it much easier for us. However, there were still jungle with steep slopes awaiting us ahead. A few member from other groups got lost at this part because they couldn’t catch up with our moving pace. A lot of times, we had to stay to wait for them, fearing that they might take another route.

Back to the road, the landscape was much greener now, bringing with them tremendous  comfort.

Get through the a valley, destination was still far ahead

Waiting for lost members to show up

 (To be continued)