Firstly, apologies to any avid followers of SmeeLog for the recent radio silence. Along with a virus that knocked David and I for six -- bed bound for two days, and another three before being back to attempting normal meals -- and my second concussion of the year (read on for more details... mum, you might want to stop reading now, lol), I haven't really felt able to stare at a computer screen long enough to keep you all updated.

Oh, plus, David has had to do a bit of computer hacking to navigate me around the Vietnamese Facebook block, so I can share my posts!

So Canyoning and concussions...

Dalat is up in the Vietnamese central highlands so the weather is spring-like cool instead of tropical hot. The cool climate and mountainous surroundings mean this is a great area for all kinds of outdoor activities. It's like the Queenstown of NewZealand, but without the quick fix adrenaline junkies. Here you actually have to work for your thrills. We chose canyoning:

We started our day with two dry abseils. The first, an easy 18m decent within arms reach of a rather elegant waterfall; your final jump ending by releasing your rope, to fall the last meter into the pools below. Oh, yes, the team from Groovy Gecko Adventure Tours encourages you to JUMP down the cliff face, rather than walking yourself, wherever possible -- the bigger the jumps the better. The second was a steeper 15m abseil, where you lower yourself into the rapids, before crossing the river using a guide rope. The morning also included two waterslides -- a fun side distraction, and a reason to get wet, but not the main reasons to do this trip -- where you lie back on a smooth path of rocks through a small section of the rapids, one arm behind your head, one holding your nose, and are bushed down backwards.

After a rather impressive packed lunch, the real fun began! Starting with an advanced abseil right through the centre of a 25m waterfall. Treading extremely carefully (strictly no jumping), you lower yourself one step at a time through the raging torrent (pausing, to curl up into a little ball in order to redo the Velcro on your shoe, if you are me... Lol, David thought I was having a mini breakdown) and about 5m from the bottom, release your rope and propel yourself backwards. David did this effortlessly; more than making up for his earlier fumble, where is legs ended up above his head. My subconscious, however, obviously thought that is was a foolish thing to be doing, so that when I jumped backwards and let go of my rope, I realised that my hands just hadn't let go. I found myself slammed against the cliff face, back underneath the waterfall. Slightly baffled as to what happened, I righted myself and managed to complete the jump... Seriously though, I still swear I let go of that rope!

Oh, and no, that's not how I was concussed...there is more...

After that exhilarating abseil you then pump yourself up for an 11m cliff jump. Feeling a little tiered and wobbly, and knowing myself not to be the best jumper in the world (I'm talking about simple jumps on safe flat land) I abstained... To being with. The other guys in our group were complete nutters -- launching themselves of the cliff, and even doing backflips off the lower 7m ledge -- but they just made it look so easy. And I am hate missing out. Then this wave of calm suddenly overlook me, and I found myself hurling myself into the air.

See, now, if you feel completely confident about this sort of thing I would highly recommend it. It was after all an amazing jump. I, however, should have trusted my instincts and stayed on solid ground; moments before the edge I slowed my run-up, finding myself falling a little too close to the cliff for my liking. Seeing the danger I leant forward in the air slightly too far, so that my head hit the water hard. Error!

I just about managed to put on a brave face -- not wanting to dampen the exctersy of the group -- to take on the grand finale: the Dead Watch (better known as the 'Washing Machine') a 15m dead hang decent into the jaws of another waterfall -- you are buffeted about, sucked in into the fray at the bottom, spun around a few times before being spat back out, soaking but satisfied.

Conclusion: amazing, exhilarating, experience. I'd highly recommend it. We are so glad be spent the money to do this (670,000D ea). Even if I now feel like I have been in a car crash (possibly slightly melodramatic; probably made worse by the virus/bug I picked up a day later). No more dangerous activities for Caroline (well...until next time).