Three Emirati sisters joined a select group of explorers on an adventure in the world’s largest cave, Son Doong, in Vietnam.
The cave, in the heart of Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park – a Unesco heritage site – has been open to the public since 2013 but licences to enter are few and far between so the women were lucky to get to join the trip, which they took in May.
The expedition is physically demanding and takes adventurers deep into the heart of the national park in Quang Binh Province.
The three trekking sisters had to ensure that their health was suitable for miles of jungle and mountain trekking, elevation changes, caving that included rope climbs, rocky terrain and scrambling. They also had to deal with long descents with rope and harnesses and crossed underground rivers.
“Anyone who is unable to complete the first stage of the trip comfortably was going to be turned around to Phong Nha and not be permitted to continue the expedition, so we started training at Mushrif Park for a few weeks before the trip to prepare us for the bouldering and elevation,” said Emirati college student Mahra Al Mulla.
Mahra, 21, went on the trip with her sisters Reem, 27, a recent graduate of the George Mason MBA programme in the US, and Noora, 26, who is working as a sales manager with Etihad in Milan.
They went with Oxalis travel, the only operator allowed to run tours of the cave, and had a team of more than 25 porters, safety experts and guides beside them as they took in the breathtaking landscape and impressive stalagmites and stalactites in the cave.
It was a journey that was both highly rewarding and highly challenging.
During their seven-day sojourn the women used buckets for toilets and shared their facilities with rats and other wildlife.
“There was an insectivore that others referred to as a ‘hairy scary Mary’,” said Mahra.
“It was a little bit frightening to share sleeping quarters with that multi-legged centipede and having to go to the bathroom with rats around.
“You learn to work around such drawbacks.”
The cave was discovered in 1991 by a resident and, in 2009, scientists from the British Cave Research Association prepared it for limited public access.
It is roughly nine kilometres long, 200 metres wide and at least 150 metres high. One of its many chambers is 250 metres high and it could accommodate a 40-storey skyscraper.
“The experience over there is otherworldly,” said Noora.
“It’s a jungle within a cave.
“Misty clouds encircle the scenery and demonstrate evidence of the cave’s own weather system. Other staggering features were the fossil passageways that give proof of the cave’s ancient existence.”
It is an adventure all three sisters enjoyed, and bonded over, and one Reem would encourage others to undertake. “When I think of the whole experience I get a sense of pride and achievement that I was capable of going on such an adventure,” she said.
“To be able to do something you didn’t think you would be able to is exceptionally empowering.
“I think more Emirati girls should embark on such adventures. It can change your perspective of yourself and the world.”
nalremeithi@thenational.ae
