Day 3 in Hong Kong and we finally ventured across the bay to Kowloon, the chunk of city opposite Hong Kong proper. We had a big lineup for the day, and it did not disappoint. Although it was gray and cloudy to start the day, the weather was warm and it never rained.
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For our second day in Hong Kong, we decided to go for a hike. Using a website I had found during our HK research, I found a trip that looked to be a bit of a workout, but still within our realm of doability. It involved trekking up one stream, traversing over and up another stream, traversing to another trail, and then up and over the summit ridge and back down to the city.
Just wanted to give a super quick update from our first day in Hong Kong. When the trip is complete and we get back to Vietnam, I will post a full, detailed trip report, but while we are on the trip itself I will just post a few snippets to keep up with what we are doing.
(This is actually from June, but I never got around to finishing it, so here it is.) In 2015 Kelsey's long time friend and part time travel companion Michelle Dean came to visit us in Da Nang. She was at a crossroads in life, having recently come out of a job, and wanted to relax and get away from the pressures of the professional world in the US, so she came and spent six weeks with us enjoying the fun in the sun. One of the things she wanted to do was have a boat trip and beach day at Cham Island. So we rallied everyone together who wanted to go (which was pretty much everyone) and we set out for a fun day.
Cruxes and Vortexes - Tuy Loan Gorge 2015 In the middle of May last year I had some friends visit from Hawaii & NY, who had been living in Laos for some time building ropes courses. They came over and helped me put down a descent of the Lower Song Tuy Loan Gorge, and it was a great time.
Fast forward to this summer, when my brother and mother in law came to Vietnam to visit. Logan wanted some adventure, and number of my friends had also been asking to go on an adventure, so I made plans to take them down this gorge and have a good time.
With our family visiting from the states, we needed a fun activity to go do with them, so we set out to take a trip to one of our favorite swimming holes, Suoi Mo. However, from the moment we got there until the moment we left, it rained pretty steadily the whole time, with the exception of a few small breaks. As a result, we got to see not one, but two abrupt rises of the creek, providing an incredible and rare treat to see a flash flood up close.
After living in Da Nang and exploring around for almost 4 years, there are many places that we know about and have paid a visit to. However, once in a while, something new will pop up and surprise you with just how good it is. For us, Suoi Mo turned out to be one of those new surprises!
As far as swimming holes go, we have a good amount in the hills around the city. Suoi Voi, over the hill in T.T. Hue Province, has long been a favorite of Da Nang residents. Closer to home, up the Lo Dong River, are the pools of Ngam Doi and Suoi Hoa, as well as a new one that is quickly going up between the two. Tucked underneath the southern access to the Hai Van Tunnel are Suoi Luong and Thuy Van Son. Hidden in the hills near Ba Na Hills is the gorge of the Tuy Loan River. We certainly have no lack of good mountain swimming holes. So it was with some surprise when our friend and neighbor Tatum told us about a nice swimming hole called Suoi Mo, just over the hill in Lang Co, but not all the way to Suoi Voi. Interest immediately piqued, we gathered beta from her and headed out to check it out. Most of my adventures around the Da Nang area end up being by myself, as I work in the evening and many of my friends work doing the day. However, last weekend I was able to get out and enjoy a drive and a hike with my good friends Shann, Justin, and Kathy, who were kind enough to put a hike on their schedule ahead of time and make it happen. They had seen lots of my pictures and heard a lot about my adventures and were keen to get out and enjoy one themselves, so I showed them some beta and possibilities, and we put together a plan.
Before they moved to Malaysia, my friend James Conder was kind enough to share some information about a secret corner of Vietnam he had found with me. His wife is a super fun and amazing Vietnamese woman named Dung, and she hails from the north-central province of Quang Tri, located a day's drive north of Da Nang. She and James loved to drive the back roads whenever they drove between the two places, and in doing so found some amazing places and trips. This is one of those, and after driving it I feel lucky that they chose to share it with me.
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November 2016
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