Vietnam's Infinite Cave Tourism
September 12, 2013 3:11 PM Subscribe
that just freaks me the hell out...no words....there is underneath as much as above almost...just makes my skin crawl...in a kinda good way but just freaks me the hell out
posted by shockingbluamp at 3:46 PM on September 12, 2013
posted by shockingbluamp at 3:46 PM on September 12, 2013
The guy giving the lecture in the first link is, uh, sort of eponysterical. Apparently, the "longest cave system" record is still held by Mammoth Cave, but Son Doong has the largest chamber, from what I can tell.
posted by LionIndex at 4:06 PM on September 12, 2013
posted by LionIndex at 4:06 PM on September 12, 2013
Meh. I find caves like this in Minecraft all the time.
posted by monospace at 4:10 PM on September 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by monospace at 4:10 PM on September 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Let the gnashing of teeth and worrying about how people will ruin it commence.
Let the people of Vietnam extract every last penny from tourists. Seriously.
I'm cool with the Vietnamese people extracting every last penny from tourists, I've been there and given them quite a few of my own pennies and I'd happily do so again.
The worry I have with cave tourism wherever it occurs is that there is not really any such thing as being in a cave in a low impact fashion. I love caves and caving but have become uncomfortable with the impact I have on them, particularly when caving in "wild" caves. It's an eye opener seeing all the signs of human impact in a cave that has only been open 50 years, in a cave that may have taken hundreds of thousands of years to form.
Because caves evolve so incredibly slowly, any trace humans leave will be there an incredible amount of time.
I still want to go caving and I think occasionally of taking it up again, but I've set myself the requirement that I'll only go wild caving as a volunteer on a scientific exploration. It seems too arrogant to me to unavoidably cause so much damage just so I can be a tourist, gawk at stalactites and feel like an intrepid explorer for a day.
posted by deadwax at 4:26 PM on September 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
Let the people of Vietnam extract every last penny from tourists. Seriously.
I'm cool with the Vietnamese people extracting every last penny from tourists, I've been there and given them quite a few of my own pennies and I'd happily do so again.
The worry I have with cave tourism wherever it occurs is that there is not really any such thing as being in a cave in a low impact fashion. I love caves and caving but have become uncomfortable with the impact I have on them, particularly when caving in "wild" caves. It's an eye opener seeing all the signs of human impact in a cave that has only been open 50 years, in a cave that may have taken hundreds of thousands of years to form.
Because caves evolve so incredibly slowly, any trace humans leave will be there an incredible amount of time.
I still want to go caving and I think occasionally of taking it up again, but I've set myself the requirement that I'll only go wild caving as a volunteer on a scientific exploration. It seems too arrogant to me to unavoidably cause so much damage just so I can be a tourist, gawk at stalactites and feel like an intrepid explorer for a day.
posted by deadwax at 4:26 PM on September 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
An exit from the cave was found in 2010. The group that scaled the 200 meter high wall found cave pearls the size of baseballs, an abnormally large size.
Who's for a game of POUSball?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:44 PM on September 12, 2013
Who's for a game of POUSball?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:44 PM on September 12, 2013
LionIndex: "The guy giving the lecture in the first link is, uh, sort of eponysterical."
Also Peter.
posted by jiawen at 8:44 PM on September 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also Peter.
posted by jiawen at 8:44 PM on September 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
I also liked the lecturer's use of sound recordings taken from the places he photographed. Such a simple technique but so evocative. Missing, in this regard, is a recording of the inside of the cave mouth in the thunderstorm.
posted by rongorongo at 4:16 AM on September 13, 2013
posted by rongorongo at 4:16 AM on September 13, 2013
This is great and I want to go there. I love caves and mines and that sort of thing.
There is no experience like being underground properly.
(Except being in space of undersea, neither of which I expect to experience).
*Drizzt mention goes here*
posted by Mezentian at 9:19 AM on September 13, 2013
There is no experience like being underground properly.
(Except being in space of undersea, neither of which I expect to experience).
*Drizzt mention goes here*
posted by Mezentian at 9:19 AM on September 13, 2013
Amazing place! It really does look like it could be another planet, as he says.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 8:06 PM on September 13, 2013
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 8:06 PM on September 13, 2013
Peter's pictures on National Geographic: Conquering an Infinite Cave
posted by homunculus at 8:46 PM on September 13, 2013
posted by homunculus at 8:46 PM on September 13, 2013
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Let the people of Vietnam extract every last penny from tourists. Seriously.
posted by Keith Talent at 3:30 PM on September 12, 2013 [1 favorite]