Hello Hiver!!
Hello the first days of 2022, with new things looks. Have a week full of energy. Today, I will introduce to you a very interesting place, especially for backpackers. It is the Easternmost landmark of Viet Nam, the place where the first sunrise on land is welcomed, and the first milestone that I conquered in the 4 landmarks East, West, South, and North of Vietnam. And this is also the most arduous trekking milestone in the journey to conquer this S-shaped piece of Vietnam. Today, let's conquer this place with me.
The East Pole of Mui Doi - Hon Dau belongs to Hon Gom peninsula, located in Van Phong Bay, Dam Mon fishing village, Van Thanh commune, Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province, about 80 km from Nha Trang city along National Highway 1A in the direction North, be state. When coming to Dam Mon, you have to park your motorbike and trek by road with a distance of about 12km. And with the hot weather, the long-distance, the first road is on the sand, then the forest road, and finally, moving on the big rocks, this is not a small challenge for anyone for those who want to conquer this place.
Our team's trip was quite crowded, with 25 people. All depart from Da Nang city by motorbike, along National Road 1A, then go to the sea route along the South Central Coast, with a pretty road along the coast. We started at 5:00 PM and stopped overnight camping at 10:00 PM so that the next morning we could leave early to reach Dam Mon, Van Thanh commune, Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province to start trekking the Pole East Mui Doi. The second day, after a long journey, around 4:00 PM, we reached the place. After parking the motorbike, we began to prepare necessary items such as drinking water and food for along the way.
Around 4:30 PM we started to leave. And we have hired a guide before, so we are very confident about the way without fear of losing direction, not afraid of getting lost. In Dam Mon, there is an asphalt road with 2 yellow lines in the middle of the road, which is but all over Viet Nam, only here can you see it, it makes a difference for this place. When you post a picture with this road, we as backpackers know it's this Dam Mon road without any further captions. We left at 4:30 PM, it was still very sunny because it was the end of April. The sun is quite intense, leading to a loss of strength at this first distance. The surroundings were all sand, like the deserts we've seen in movies. With this weather, and having to move on the sand is not an easy thing, so it took us a lot of time on this road.
When it was almost the end of the road surrounded by sand, the sun had already begun to set, and it was getting darker. The next part of the road is the forest and mountains, this part takes up half of the road that we have to overcome to conquer this milestone. By this time it was getting dark and the temperature was starting to drop so it was a blessing for all of us. But with the distance being quite long, and it is a mountain road, we cross consecutive mountain ranges, from downhill, then uphill, from slope to slope, so before this trip, you must be very carefully prepared, from flashlight to insect repellent. Without a flashlight, it will be very difficult for you to move because you cannot see the way, other people on the team have to support you, and that may take more time to reach the destination.
After a long and hard journey of climbing the mountain, fueled by drinking water and food brought, we reached Bai Rang - where we will camp for the night to wake up early in the morning to conquer the East Pole milestone. The trekking time for this distance is about 5 hours, which is about 10 pm before we reach this campsite. The feeling when you're trekking without knowing exactly when you'll arrive, like going without knowing where to stop is really tiring. And when you climb to the top of the hill, see the lights and fire burning at the foot of the mountain near the sea, it feels great, all the fatigue seems to disappear, the whole team cheers together, and knows for sure that we are about to rest.
Bai Rang is a beach located at the waist of Hon Gam peninsula, with clear blue seawater, along with coral reefs close to the coast. The coral here is partly dead and lying on the sea surface, but there are many corals that still have beautiful colors. There is a family of 1 uncle living here, both working as a seafarer, and welcoming guests like us to conquer this Mui Doi, and this place seems to be lacking fresh water and drinking water, everything like food, drinking water must be brought in from Dam Mon, by land or by ship by sea. We were able to have dinner with the dinner that was pre-ordered by the group leader. After that, we talked for a bit, because in our group there were quite a lot of people, so we didn't know everyone. Then take a rest so that the next morning, leave early to check the East Pole of Mui Doi and catch the first sunrise on the Vietnamese mainland.
The next morning, we got up at 3:45 AM and departed for Mui Doi. It was still very dark at this time, we followed the instructions of the group leader and the guide. Since there were many teams checking in at the same time with us that day, and departing at the same time at Bai Rang, we were not afraid of getting lost, each group following along the way, with flashlights shining. This distance is very difficult to go because you have to move on different big and small rocks. The rocks were washed and worn by the waves, so it was so smooth and smooth, I had to take off my shoes and walk barefoot to avoid slipping. After about an hour of traveling, about 4:45 AM, we reached our destination.
Mui Doi Peak is fitted with a stainless steel spire, on which is engraved Mui Doi - coordinates 12°38'39.78” N 109°27'50.03” E, and it is placed on the highest rock that protrudes into the sea. To get here, we had to climb by ropes that were tied to iron rods on the rock face by the people who discovered this place first. We supported each other to climb the cliff, and finally set foot here, touching the stainless steel tip marking the East Pole of this country, we are feeling very happy and proud. It was about 5:00 AM, at this time the sky was still dim. We were sitting on the rock and waiting for the sunrise.
The sky began to lighten, far away from the sea horizon, the red sun slowly rose out of the water, the whole sky was red in front of our eyes. So, we finally checked in to the easternmost landmark of the country, welcoming the first sunrise on the Vietnamese mainland. The feeling that I am one of the people here who can see the first rays of the day, this meaningful landmark place, I am extremely happy, along with the beautiful sunrise on the sea that makes my heart flutter many people are here. So I have fulfilled a part of my dream, and this is complete the 2nd goal, after conquering the top of Fansipan mountain, in the dream of conquering 4 milestones East, West, South, and North of Viet Nam.
We welcomed the sun up and took advantage of taking pictures to preserve the memories of this journey before leaving here. When the sun began to rise, we started to leave this place and continued to move back on the road full of rocks, to return to Bai Rang where we rested for the evening because our belongings were left there. And the leader of the delegation hired a to take us back to Dam Mon so that we wouldn't have to lose our strength to go back by the road we took yesterday, to keep strength to continue the journey with other places.
Our trip to conquer the East Pole - Mui Doi of the country, where we welcome the sunrise on the mainland of Viet Nam, has been very smooth and good. Despite the hardships of the trekking road, when we reached the destination, it was really worth what we had to go through. I feel like I'm the winner of nature, the winner of difficulties, and the winner of myself.
Thank you for reading!
See you next post and have a nice day! 💜