The Red Bulletin April 2020

More documents

Recommendations

Info

VENTURE Travel There are plant species here that went extinct on the surface hundreds of thousands of years ago Scratch the surface More than just Hang So’n Ðoòng, Phong Nha-Ke Bàng National Park is a caver’s paradise For now at least, Hang So’n Ðoòng remains an unspoilt wonder, reached only by those fit enough to undertake a gruelling hike in extreme humidity, and who are prepared for what awaits at the end: the 90m-high calcite barrier known as the ‘Great Wall of Vietnam’. Traversed both by ladder and by rope, it forced back the first survey team in 2009 when they encountered it unprepared. As an adventure travel writer living in Vietnam, I’ve cultivated a healthy addiction to caves, and the gargantuan chambers of Hang So’n Ðoòng are a great fix. But, for me, it’s the giant dolines – there are two – that are most awe-inspiring, even more so at night. At 280m wide – more than twice the length of a professional football pitch – the largest offers a teardrop-shaped window to an inky-black sky with a splattering of twinkling stars. Where else on the planet can you stargaze from a campsite hundreds of metres beneath the surface? Deep impact: inside Vietnam’s awe-inspiring Hang So’n Ðoòng Sizing up Hang So’n Ðoòng The cave’s tallest chambers (200m high) would tower over the Great Pyramid of Giza (146m). Some of its stalagmites (80m high) would dwarf Paris’ Arc de Triomphe (50m), and the world’s biggest church, St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican (220m wide), could pass through the hole in the cave’s collapsed ceiling (280m). 200m Stalagmites Great Pyramid of Giza St Peter’s Basilica Arc de Triomphe 146m 50m 175m 150m 125m 100m 75m 50m 25m HANG PYGMY Hang So’n Ðoòng in miniature, although size is a relative concept. The expedition involves a steamy jungle trek, a gigantic cave entrance with an underground garden, and hair-raising, rope-assisted climbs. HANG VA Just a few kilometres from Hang So’n Ðoòng and possibly connected to it. Photographers descend on Hang Va to snap symmetrical cone-shaped stalagmites emerging from the green-watered rock pools. THIEN ÐOÒNG A beginner’s introduction to the region’s subterranean dominions, ‘Paradise Cave’ offers a wooden walkway and professional lighting systems, and, incredibly, you can almost drive right up to the entrance. Packing list What to take with you EAR PLUGS You may have escaped humanity, but not the crowds. The campsite is home to thousands of chirping swifts. Avoid being woken up at 5am when they exit the cave to hunt. BUG SPRAY Never pull off a leech once it has started sucking your blood – its teeth will get stuck in your skin and the wound will bleed like crazy. Apply bug spray and the leech will roll right off. TALCUM POWDER The only way to avoid foot rot is to dry out your feet at least once a day. Don’t bother with a damp towel – do the sensible thing instead and pack some talc. RYAN DEBOODT GETTY IMAGES, KEVIN GOLL 72 THE RED BULLETIN
This is Wales. Check in. Stwlan Dam, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Snowdonia #FindYourEpic visitwales.com
Page 1 and 2:
UK EDITION APRIL 2020, £3.50 BEYON
Page 3 and 4:
Habit NEO Press play. We took our m
Page 5 and 6:
This award- winner has the critics
Page 7 and 8:
CONTENTS April 2020 28 Smoking hot:
Page 9 and 10:
09
Page 11 and 12:
SABANETA, COLOMBIA Slippery ride Sk
Page 13 and 14:
13
Page 15 and 16:
ALICIA KEYS New York skate of mind
Page 17 and 18:
JOIN US ON THE INFINITE HIKE DISCOV
Page 19 and 20:
Burst of colour: an installation fr
Page 21 and 22: FOR us #explorers STEREO HYBRID 140
Page 23 and 24: ”Someone suggested to me that I s
Page 25 and 26: ”Now I want to go to Australia an
Page 27 and 28: ”For the first time in my career,
Page 29 and 30: Words FLORIAN OBKIRCHER Photography
Page 31 and 32: Afrobeats “When I lived in Americ
Page 33 and 34: “I’ve never consciously tried t
Page 35 and 36: Afrobeats Brown, have experimented
Page 37 and 38: “My daughter is growing up in a w
Page 39 and 40: Afrobeats “[Drinking and smoking]
Page 41 and 42: Gattlin Griffith, 21, is keeping tr
Page 43 and 44: “Every single stride, for an inst
Page 45 and 46: Trick riders energy. As riders, we
Page 47 and 48: Trick riders father died in 1984, a
Page 49 and 50: The disaster ARTISTS TEAM RUBICON W
Page 51 and 52: Torn apart: the 2010 earthquake in
Page 53 and 54: TEAM RUBICON (3), GETTY IMAGES (1)
Page 55 and 56: Team Rubicon TEAM RUBICON “ALL TH
Page 57 and 58: TEAM XX RUBICON EDITOR ILLUSTRATOR
Page 59 and 60: SMALL STEPS, GIANT STRIDES The huma
Page 61 and 62: Wings for Life “I just want to su
Page 63 and 64: “It would be naive to think every
Page 65 and 66: ED JACKSON dislocated his C6-C7 ver
Page 67 and 68: Wings for Life “We’re just tell
Page 69 and 70: VENTURE Enhance, equip, and experie
Page 71: The 90m-high ‘Great Wall of Vietn
Page 75 and 76: VENTURE Equipment XX EDITOR ILLUSTR
Page 77 and 78: THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION Albert V
Page 79 and 80: VENTURE Equipment DRIVE Tough love
Page 81 and 82: VENTURE Equipment 1 4 3 The many fa
Page 83 and 84: 1 YEAR getredbulletin.com £20 BEYO
Page 85 and 86: VENTURE Equipment INSULATE Central
Page 87 and 88: VENTURE Gaming HONE The art of driv
Page 89 and 90: THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION DIVE INT
Page 91 and 92: THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION The mine
Page 93 and 94: THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION ISLANDS
Page 95 and 96: CALENDAR March/April 20 to 29 March
Page 97 and 98: THE RED BULLETIN PROMOTION FREEDOM
Page 99 and 100: GIVES YOU WIIINGS. ALSO WITH THE TA
show all

The Red Bulletin April 2020

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?