Filmmaker/photographer Pete McBride and writer Kevin Fedarko set out on…
A Crack in the Mountain
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Deep in the jungle of Central Vietnam, lies a magnificent underground kingdom. Hang Son Ðoòng which translates as “mountain river cave”, is located in the Phong Nha-Ke Bàng National Park in Quang Bình Province. It is the largest cave passage in the world and a place of spectacular beauty; the national park is also a UNESCO world heritage site.
In 2014, Son Doong’s future was thrown into doubt when plans were announced to build a cable car into the cave to attract tourism. With many arguing that this would destroy its delicate eco-system and the local community divided over the benefits this development would bring, A Crack in the Mountain follows those caught up in the unfolding events.
Beautifully shot and scored, the film uses this narrative as a lens through which to investigate related themes such as the challenges of modern day exploration, environmental conservation and sustainability, and the perils of operating as an activist in a country such as Vietnam—where freedom of speech is severely curtailed.
"The film is breathtaking, as Alastair Evans captures Hang Son Doong's beauty incredibly. The imagery alone nails down the importance of keeping these caves untouched by anything resembling corporate greed." Alan Ng, Film Threat
"Showcasing the spectacular beauty and sublime mystery of Hang Son Doong cave, A Crack in the Mountain exposes the complex trade-offs between environmental conservation and economic development at the heart of ongoing debates over the future of tourist access to this little-known natural wonder. Drawing on a diverse cast of voices, including those of local residents and business owners, expatriate tour operators, foreign visitors, scholars, and a passionate Vietnamese activist, the film effectively conveys the challenges facing environmental politics in Vietnam today and explores the prospects for sustainable tourism in a rapidly developing country. An excellent choice for classroom use, this film is sure to capture the attention of students and spark lively debate on these challenging yet important issues." Jacob Weger, Lecturer of Environmental Studies, Seton Hall University
"If you were to step into the world's largest cave - backpack strapped, flashlight on - just what would you find? A Crack in the Mountain tells the story of a mega-ecological site at the acme of globalization. Featuring diverse perspectives of an uncertain future in Vietnam, this film is sure to strike at the heartstrings. Students of global studies and environmental humanities will be eager to listen to the international voices of the explorers, business owners, visitors, and environmental activists." Hieu Phung, Assistant Professor of Global Studies-Asia, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
"A Crack In The Mountain focuses on management priorities at Hang Son Doong, the world's largest cave inside Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam. Government officials, private businesses, and environmentalists share differing opinions on whether it should be a 'must-see' or 'must-save' destination. Instead, this documentary presents a 'must-sustain' solution that relies on a mix of social, environmental, and economic benefits for balancing public enjoyment with resource preservation." Mark Morgan, Associate Professor of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, University of Missouri
"Visually stunning, A Crack in the Mountain captures the natural wonder of the Hang Son Doong cave in the shadow of debates about economic and infrastructural development and environmental impact. This film depicts the perspectives of local environmental activists, foreign tourists, and local (foreign and Vietnamese) business owners to trace what rapid change looks like in contemporary Vietnam and introduce questions of value from multiple viewpoints. The film is highly recommended for courses that seek to unpack the politics of development, local livelihood, and who can and should make decisions about environmental conservation." Sarah Grant, Associate Professor of Anthropology, California State University-Fullerton
"A Crack in the Mountain offers a well-rounded examination of the tensions between development, environmental conservation, and environmental commodification. We see many perspectives offering insights into how they understand nature and its role in society as an artifact, an opportunity, and an organism. Beautifully shot, this film is a must-see for those interested in environmental controversies, development and the environment, and a clear example of the social construction of nature." Robert Krueger, Professor of Social Science and Policy Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Author, Adventures in Sustainable Urbanism
"Magical, remarkable, dramatic, indescribable, otherworldly... A Crack In the Mountain is a portal to understanding the balances to be negotiated in a dynamic and ever-changing world. It is an experience that enables the viewer to become a fellow-traveler to an edenic world, all the while appreciating what is at risk and what obligations we have to protect, preserve and sustain it." Herbert Paine, Broadway World
"Thought- provoking, stimulating, powerful...4 green thumbs up." Carol Kahn, Green Living Magazine
"Beautifully captures the tension between the preservation of Earth's natural wonders and the exploitation of nature to satisfy human greed." Al Nigrin, New Jersey Stage
Citation
Main credits
Evans, Alastair (film director)
Evans, Alastair (film producer)
Evans, Alastair (editor of moving image work)
Evans, Alastair (director of photography)
Other credits
Music, Musicbed.
Distributor subjects
Activism,Anthropology,Asian Studies,Conservation,Developing World,Economics,Environment,Geography,Geology,Global Issues,Globalization,Local Economies,Poverty,Recreation,Sociology,Sustainable Development,VietnamKeywords
00:00:07.150 --> 00:00:12.150
(eerie music)
00:00:30.240 --> 00:00:31.800
- [Interviewer] Adam Spillane
is just back
00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.170
from an experience
that's out of this world.
00:00:34.170 --> 00:00:36.390
Well, Adam, maybe, I guess,
it's under this world.
00:00:36.390 --> 00:00:37.620
Would that be more accurate?
00:00:37.620 --> 00:00:39.210
- [Adam] Yes, that would
be more accurate.
00:00:39.210 --> 00:00:40.260
- [Interviewer] Where were you?
00:00:40.260 --> 00:00:42.690
- [Adam] I was in a cave in Vietnam,
00:00:42.690 --> 00:00:45.870
currently the largest
cave passage in the world.
00:00:45.870 --> 00:00:49.860
The cave is Hang Son Doong,
which means mountain river cave.
00:00:49.860 --> 00:00:53.250
It's in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang
National Park in Vietnam,
00:00:53.250 --> 00:00:55.143
which is also a World Heritage Site.
00:00:59.940 --> 00:01:02.280
- [Interviewer] This is a huge
cave, like four miles long.
00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:03.840
- [Adam] Yeah, about four miles long.
00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:07.380
But the major thing about it
was the passage dimensions,
00:01:07.380 --> 00:01:12.300
which are over 600 feet
high and over 450 feet wide.
00:01:12.300 --> 00:01:13.410
- [Interviewer] So you
didn't need to duck?
00:01:13.410 --> 00:01:14.520
- [Adam] Ah, no.
00:01:14.520 --> 00:01:18.030
- [Interviewer] And it has
these enormous vaulted ceilings
00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:19.453
like a cathedral.
00:01:20.370 --> 00:01:21.270
- [Adam] Yes, it does,
00:01:21.270 --> 00:01:23.690
but a little bigger
than most cathedrals.
00:01:27.750 --> 00:01:30.300
- [Interviewer] What did it
feel like being in there?
00:01:30.300 --> 00:01:33.393
Did it feel, to you, like
you were in a sacred space?
00:01:34.260 --> 00:01:36.630
- [Adam] Could I just pass
you over to my colleague here,
00:01:36.630 --> 00:01:39.723
Helen Brooke, who was the
youngest member of the expedition.
00:01:40.590 --> 00:01:41.850
- [Helen] It felt really humbling
00:01:41.850 --> 00:01:43.620
and you felt just really tiny.
00:01:43.620 --> 00:01:45.060
- [Interviewer] Do you
have plans to go back?
00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:48.718
- [Adam] Yes. At the moment we're
planning to go back in 2011.
00:01:51.957 --> 00:01:54.540
(gentle music)
00:02:01.096 --> 00:02:03.120
- [Adam] It is currently the
biggest cave in the world,
00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:05.700
which is a big deal for lots of people.
00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:07.680
And as a result of that,
00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.480
there's been an awful lot of tourism
00:02:09.480 --> 00:02:11.505
to this part of the world.
00:02:11.505 --> 00:02:14.713
(speaking in Vietnamese)
00:02:23.670 --> 00:02:25.470
- [President Obama] If we're gonna
ensure the health of our people
00:02:25.470 --> 00:02:26.640
and the beauty of our planet,
00:02:26.640 --> 00:02:29.280
then development has to be sustainable.
00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:32.580
Natural wonders like Ha
Long Bay and Son Doong Cave
00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:35.580
have to be preserved for our
children and our grandchildren.
00:02:39.404 --> 00:02:42.321
(gentle music)
00:03:15.668 --> 00:03:18.418
(water swishing)
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(birds chirping)
(owl hooting)
00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:35.400
(water sloshing)
00:03:49.246 --> 00:03:51.996
(fire whooshing)
00:03:58.788 --> 00:04:01.538
(birds chirping)
00:04:04.123 --> 00:04:07.123
(people chattering)
00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:13.193
(gentle mandolin music)
00:04:25.030 --> 00:04:27.947
(utensil thudding)
00:04:37.955 --> 00:04:40.622
(knife banging)
00:04:47.917 --> 00:04:50.417
(air hissing)
00:05:14.599 --> 00:05:17.599
(people chattering)
00:05:26.919 --> 00:05:29.070
- [Adam] On the original
exploration we did,
00:05:29.070 --> 00:05:34.070
I had a torch which had
four AA batteries
00:05:34.080 --> 00:05:36.570
and it was not very bright.
00:05:36.570 --> 00:05:38.760
I could see, well,
all the way to my feet
00:05:38.760 --> 00:05:40.740
most of the time. (laughs)
00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:43.110
- [Man] What's with the way
your batteries worked back then,
00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:44.283
no wonder your lights were dim.
00:05:44.283 --> 00:05:46.360
- [Adam] I do remember
walking up the river and
00:05:47.670 --> 00:05:51.030
at one point I'm finding a
snake floating down towards us,
00:05:51.030 --> 00:05:53.674
or swimming down towards us.
00:05:53.674 --> 00:05:54.507
- [Man] In the dark?
00:05:54.507 --> 00:05:56.880
- [Adam] In the dark, yeah.
00:05:56.880 --> 00:06:00.224
Yeah, going through the jungle
in the dark is a bad idea.
00:06:00.224 --> 00:06:05.224
(people chattering)
00:06:33.574 --> 00:06:34.574
- Yeah. (chuckles)
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- [Woman] You always sorta think that
these things are gonna be there forever.
00:06:48.570 --> 00:06:50.973
- [Man] This is a very
temporary situation.
00:06:53.670 --> 00:06:56.913
If you look at what they're
doing, you wouldn't be hopeful.
00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:02.407
I'm glad I got to see it when I did.
00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:07.380
- [Woman] It feels good
knowing that we got to see it
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in its most natural
state, before it changes.
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(pulleys clinking)
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- [Howard] Anybody ready?
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Okay then, queue up.
00:07:22.380 --> 00:07:23.213
You're gonna need...
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No, no, that's no good.
00:07:24.660 --> 00:07:27.930
You need the black ones for Chad.
00:07:27.930 --> 00:07:30.543
So it's the same as
going down the entrance.
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Everybody will be in a full body harness.
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Now I don't know how high
this water's going to be,
00:07:36.960 --> 00:07:38.670
or even if you've got to swim,
00:07:38.670 --> 00:07:42.390
but we will find out and I'll
pass that information back.
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The ladder's easy, easy, easy.
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Look, it's simple.
00:07:44.940 --> 00:07:46.050
But when you're on there,
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we've got one of the lads called Tuan,
00:07:48.990 --> 00:07:50.400
and he speaks some good English,
00:07:50.400 --> 00:07:53.910
and he'll come up with you
and he'll pull and push.
00:07:53.910 --> 00:07:55.463
- [Woman] Wherever he
needs to put his hands.
00:07:55.463 --> 00:07:58.380
- [Howard] Okay, all right. As
long as you're OK with that.
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He's a bit shy about that so
I said, "Just do as you need."
00:08:01.305 --> 00:08:02.492
- [Woman] Tell him this is life and death.
00:08:02.492 --> 00:08:04.710
(Howard laughs)
00:08:04.710 --> 00:08:05.543
Anything goes. (laughs)
00:08:05.543 --> 00:08:06.993
- Okay, okay.
00:08:08.460 --> 00:08:09.807
That's it, they dress you.
00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:12.693
I can't even tie my own shoes.
00:08:15.030 --> 00:08:18.546
Oh, God, this is a complex
procedure, isn't it?
00:08:18.546 --> 00:08:19.800
I'm trusting that this is going to work
00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.890
and I don't lose my pair
of shoes in the mud.
00:08:22.890 --> 00:08:24.067
- Is that good?
00:08:24.067 --> 00:08:25.170
(helpers laughing)
00:08:25.170 --> 00:08:26.070
Is that all we do?
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Oh no, don't tie them together.
You're a cheeky bugger, you.
00:08:34.140 --> 00:08:37.408
Thank you, Mr. Nui. Thank you.
00:08:37.408 --> 00:08:39.660
That's it. Fashion.
00:08:39.660 --> 00:08:40.980
That's good now?
00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:41.813
That will work?
00:08:42.668 --> 00:08:45.168
(tense music)
00:08:48.053 --> 00:08:51.053
(people chattering)
00:08:53.561 --> 00:08:56.228
(tense music)
00:09:10.422 --> 00:09:13.339
(orchestral music)
00:10:06.741 --> 00:10:10.491
(orchestral music continues)
00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:32.640
- [Man] I mean, it's a cliched phrase,
00:10:32.640 --> 00:10:33.990
but it took my breath away.
00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:42.993
It confounded every
expectation of being in a cave.
00:10:44.556 --> 00:10:48.056
(gentle orchestral music)
00:10:59.520 --> 00:11:01.650
When I was in that cave,
00:11:01.650 --> 00:11:04.133
I saw things...
00:11:04.133 --> 00:11:08.533
That I would not believe
if I saw pictures of.
00:11:17.520 --> 00:11:22.121
It really elicits a
sense of wonder in you,
00:11:22.121 --> 00:11:26.070
which is the closest
feeling that I have had
00:11:26.070 --> 00:11:29.190
to a belief in magic,
00:11:29.190 --> 00:11:31.090
since I was a child.
00:11:43.972 --> 00:11:46.800
(peaceful music)
00:11:46.800 --> 00:11:49.650
You're walking through
an underground world.
00:11:49.650 --> 00:11:51.570
You go through these caverns
00:11:51.570 --> 00:11:54.483
and it doesn't even seem
like you're in a cavern.
00:11:55.410 --> 00:11:58.140
It's pitch black, all's
you got is your headlamps,
00:11:58.140 --> 00:11:59.460
and then you see these dolines
00:11:59.460 --> 00:12:01.830
where you see a rainforest ahead of you,
00:12:01.830 --> 00:12:04.230
or you hear a waterfall beside you,
00:12:04.230 --> 00:12:06.843
and it doesn't even seem
like you're in a cave.
00:12:08.790 --> 00:12:10.530
- I think that's what
was so exceptional to us
00:12:10.530 --> 00:12:14.190
is that you walk into this
giant cave, you look up,
00:12:14.190 --> 00:12:16.293
it's the size of a skyscraper,
00:12:17.460 --> 00:12:20.370
and you're wondering how everybody
hadn't been there before.
00:12:20.370 --> 00:12:21.930
- [Meredith] And I think
part of the reason for that
00:12:21.930 --> 00:12:23.880
is that other places
in the world you go,
00:12:23.880 --> 00:12:26.190
you can sort of start
to see similarities.
00:12:26.190 --> 00:12:29.220
Like you're in Jordan,
00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:31.920
and it actually parts of
it, like the Wadi Rum,
00:12:31.920 --> 00:12:34.020
look like parts of Zion National Park.
00:12:34.020 --> 00:12:36.240
Like there's things that you're
like, "Oh, I haven't been here,
00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.400
but it looks like something
I might have seen before.
00:12:38.400 --> 00:12:39.690
It looks somewhat familiar."
00:12:39.690 --> 00:12:41.760
And Son Doong feels like something
that you've never seen before.
00:12:41.760 --> 00:12:46.380
Like it's just, it's so
unique and spectacular.
00:12:46.380 --> 00:12:47.680
And I think the only way
that we've described it
00:12:47.680 --> 00:12:50.040
is it just doesn't feel like
you're on Planet Earth anymore
00:12:50.040 --> 00:12:51.990
'cause it doesn't feel like
anything else that you've seen.
00:12:51.990 --> 00:12:53.700
- [David] There was
something so alien about it
00:12:53.700 --> 00:12:55.320
from, like I said, being underground
00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:57.330
and then all of a sudden
you wind your way
00:12:57.330 --> 00:13:00.510
and there's this massive doline
the size of a skyscraper.
00:13:00.510 --> 00:13:01.773
And it's jungle.
00:13:02.730 --> 00:13:05.440
So it was this play of contrasts
00:13:06.570 --> 00:13:10.350
combined with the scale and the mystery
00:13:10.350 --> 00:13:14.130
that was unequaled in anything
that I've seen before.
00:13:14.130 --> 00:13:17.970
- [Jonathan] When I went through it,
there was probably less than 1,000 people,
00:13:17.970 --> 00:13:21.270
maybe less than 2,000
people been through it,
00:13:21.270 --> 00:13:23.820
which is fewer than
gone up Mount Everest.
00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:25.560
It's of interest to cavers,
00:13:25.560 --> 00:13:28.050
but it's gonna be of
interest to everybody
00:13:28.050 --> 00:13:32.240
because it's so dramatic
and so remarkable, you know?
00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.714
You can't describe it.
00:13:34.714 --> 00:13:38.149
- [Meredith] It almost seems like
something that was created with CG
00:13:38.149 --> 00:13:39.810
'cause it doesn't feel like something
00:13:39.810 --> 00:13:42.390
that should be on Planet Earth.
00:13:42.390 --> 00:13:43.740
The whole experience is very cinematic.
00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:45.600
I mean, thinking in terms of movies now
00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:47.100
because that's just
what I do for a living.
00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:49.620
We try to build these worlds on screen
00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:51.600
that makes you wanna go there.
00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:52.890
And here I am.
00:13:52.890 --> 00:13:55.740
I feel like I've stepped
through the screen, I guess,
00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:58.860
and I'm in one of these
worlds that someone's created.
00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:00.840
- [Man] In Hollywood,
everything is about artifice.
00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:05.190
So the backdrops, granted are
meant to be larger than life
00:14:05.190 --> 00:14:07.980
and take you to a place that's unique
00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:09.780
or not even of this Earth.
00:14:09.780 --> 00:14:12.720
And so to go into a place on this Earth
00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:14.460
like the Son Doong Cave,
00:14:14.460 --> 00:14:16.620
and it's not a backdrop,
it's actually real,
00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:19.800
and there's no optical
illusion or depth perception
00:14:19.800 --> 00:14:21.270
in the painting behind you,
00:14:21.270 --> 00:14:22.773
in fact, it's real life.
00:14:23.790 --> 00:14:25.903
- [Darryl] So if you look
at a map of Hang Son Doong,
00:14:25.903 --> 00:14:30.360
one of the most obvious
features, as a geomorphologist,
00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:31.590
or as a geologist at least,
00:14:31.590 --> 00:14:33.720
is how straight the cave is.
00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.630
It doesn't have tributary
passages coming in
00:14:36.630 --> 00:14:37.530
and joining together.
00:14:37.530 --> 00:14:38.940
It doesn't have any mazes.
00:14:38.940 --> 00:14:42.000
It's just a straight line,
almost due north/south.
00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.390
And that's because the cave
formed along a fault line.
00:14:45.390 --> 00:14:48.630
So that fault slipped
and it weakened the rock
00:14:48.630 --> 00:14:49.767
and it cracked the rock there,
00:14:49.767 --> 00:14:53.227
and so that gives a path
for water to flow down.
00:14:53.227 --> 00:14:54.863
- [Adam] Son Doong's very big
00:14:54.863 --> 00:14:57.120
because the limestone is very pure,
00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:58.830
so it's very easy to dissolve.
00:14:58.830 --> 00:15:02.700
And in this part of Vietnam,
we get huge amounts of water.
00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:04.469
In order for Son Doong to form,
00:15:04.469 --> 00:15:07.980
there must have been a
considerable amount of rain falling
00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:12.270
over the 4 million years
that Son Doong has been there
00:15:12.270 --> 00:15:13.500
as a cave.
00:15:13.500 --> 00:15:15.480
We've taken water samples
00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:17.497
and there's nothing
special about the water.
00:15:17.497 --> 00:15:19.770
It is the same mineral content
00:15:19.770 --> 00:15:22.173
as you'd find in many other caves.
00:15:23.730 --> 00:15:25.650
- [Howard] The thing about limestone
00:15:25.650 --> 00:15:27.660
is that because it's everywhere,
00:15:27.660 --> 00:15:30.990
you get a lot of rain falling
or a lot streams and rivers,
00:15:30.990 --> 00:15:33.660
but they'll just disappear
into small cracks.
00:15:33.660 --> 00:15:36.090
But what this area has got,
which makes it also unique,
00:15:36.090 --> 00:15:38.970
it's got a non-limestone area
00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:41.490
which is a big catchment for water.
00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:45.630
So all small streams join
together, form a river,
00:15:45.630 --> 00:15:47.130
and hit the limestone massif.
00:15:47.130 --> 00:15:49.443
And that's when you're
going to get big caves.
00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:51.810
At some time in its life,
00:15:51.810 --> 00:15:55.470
Son Doong would've been a lot
bigger than what it is now.
00:15:55.470 --> 00:15:56.940
And there's only sections of the cave
00:15:56.940 --> 00:15:59.553
that show its immense height and width.
00:16:00.420 --> 00:16:02.370
I'll give you an example
of a sort of scale,
00:16:02.370 --> 00:16:04.080
and it's not one of the largest parts.
00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:05.970
It's just one that we've
measured quite accurately.
00:16:05.970 --> 00:16:08.310
It's a relatively small
part of Son Doong.
00:16:08.310 --> 00:16:09.630
And that's the first camp,
00:16:09.630 --> 00:16:11.580
which is on the level playing fields.
00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:13.860
This is one nice flat area of sand
00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:15.870
where we base our first camp.
00:16:15.870 --> 00:16:20.870
And we know it's over 110
meters down to the river there.
00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:24.360
So it's 110 meters from
the camp down to the river.
00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.570
And up is around 90 meters to the roof.
00:16:27.570 --> 00:16:29.490
It's just over 100 meters wide.
00:16:29.490 --> 00:16:33.270
And we know this will comfortably
fit a large city block.
00:16:33.270 --> 00:16:36.270
Again, which I say, is one of
the smaller parts of the cave.
00:16:36.270 --> 00:16:39.390
So it gives you some
idea of the dimensions.
00:16:39.390 --> 00:16:42.000
In certain sections of the
cave, such as Doline 1,
00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:43.320
it's immensely high.
00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:47.430
So from the river to the
very top is 449 meters.
00:16:47.430 --> 00:16:49.620
So that's the tallest part of the cave.
00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:52.110
The sections of the cave
that are incredibly wide,
00:16:52.110 --> 00:16:56.550
such as in Doline 2,
which is 175 meters wide.
00:16:56.550 --> 00:16:58.440
And the cliffs there
from the top of the hill
00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:00.357
that you climb up in Doline 2
00:17:00.357 --> 00:17:03.210
are 252 meters to the surface.
00:17:03.210 --> 00:17:07.380
The highest part of the dark
underground part of the cave
00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:09.150
is the Great Wall of Vietnam.
00:17:09.150 --> 00:17:12.510
And that is 199.98 meters,
00:17:12.510 --> 00:17:15.363
to which, I think it's
safe to say, is 200 meters.
00:17:15.363 --> 00:17:17.370
It's very difficult to see the roof
00:17:17.370 --> 00:17:19.500
in that part of the cave.
00:17:19.500 --> 00:17:23.130
- [Helen] Caves are one of
the last big wildernesses
00:17:23.130 --> 00:17:24.420
left in the world.
00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:27.840
And cave exploration is one
of the few big adventures
00:17:27.840 --> 00:17:29.340
left on this planet.
00:17:29.340 --> 00:17:31.470
You never know what you will find.
00:17:31.470 --> 00:17:36.090
And it can be kissing frogs
and not finding any princes,
00:17:36.090 --> 00:17:37.050
or it can be kissing a frog
00:17:37.050 --> 00:17:39.720
and then going, "Oh,
yeah, this is the one."
00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:41.970
And that's it.
00:17:41.970 --> 00:17:43.680
It's unpredictable.
00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:45.660
And that's exactly what Son Doong was
00:17:45.660 --> 00:17:46.950
and exactly what you still get now
00:17:46.950 --> 00:17:49.020
with exploring caves for the first time.
00:17:49.020 --> 00:17:52.320
- [Bill] I wanted to be an
astronaut ever since I was a kid.
00:17:52.320 --> 00:17:55.680
And that dream has
kind of frittered away
00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:58.980
with the stalling of the
government space programs.
00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:03.330
But right now, to be honest
with you, this is where it's at.
00:18:03.330 --> 00:18:06.360
This is where true exploration
is at on this planet.
00:18:06.360 --> 00:18:08.049
You know, you can say, "Oh,
it's just a hole on the ground."
00:18:08.049 --> 00:18:12.424
Well, I'll tell you what. You go try to
get down and see how far you can get.
00:18:12.424 --> 00:18:15.000
It takes some very
serious people to do it.
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:17.250
There is no place
on this planet right now
00:18:17.250 --> 00:18:19.170
that is completely unexplored,
00:18:19.170 --> 00:18:21.180
except for these places
00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:22.890
that we're talking about underground.
00:18:22.890 --> 00:18:27.210
And so where is the last
terrestrial frontier?
00:18:27.210 --> 00:18:28.873
It is that way.
00:18:28.873 --> 00:18:33.857
(comic music)
00:18:39.150 --> 00:18:42.340
- [Man] Come on Kay...Mark,
just whizz through.
00:18:44.182 --> 00:18:47.117
You'd get a lorry through there!
00:18:47.117 --> 00:18:48.597
Come on.
00:18:48.597 --> 00:18:52.225
- (grunts) I'm not...
00:18:52.225 --> 00:18:54.066
I'm not gonna get through here.
00:18:56.904 --> 00:19:00.670
(groans) Jess...you're
gonna have to pull me out.
00:19:00.670 --> 00:19:02.211
[Jess] What?!
00:19:03.810 --> 00:19:07.350
- [Howard] To most people,
caves are quite negative.
00:19:07.350 --> 00:19:09.870
People think they are very
small, they're squalid,
00:19:09.870 --> 00:19:12.180
very cold, dark, and dank.
00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:16.708
And there are some caves, quite
rarely, that are like that.
00:19:16.708 --> 00:19:18.330
Not in Vietnam, it seems.
00:19:18.330 --> 00:19:20.460
Vietnam's incredibly fortunate.
00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:23.880
The vast majority of the
caves are lovely and warm,
00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:25.980
quite bright, beautiful
formations throughout,
00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:28.110
and obviously a lot
larger than anywhere.
00:19:28.110 --> 00:19:29.223
So very popular.
00:19:30.120 --> 00:19:33.690
It's very rare where you can
find the longest, the deepest,
00:19:33.690 --> 00:19:35.177
or the biggest in your life.
00:19:35.177 --> 00:19:37.830
In the '50s, obviously the
Commonwealth and the Brits,
00:19:37.830 --> 00:19:39.630
we were still into exploration.
00:19:39.630 --> 00:19:42.330
Brits have been really
good at exploring things
00:19:42.330 --> 00:19:43.163
around the world.
00:19:43.163 --> 00:19:44.070
They seem to have that desire
00:19:44.070 --> 00:19:45.960
to go a place where nobody have been.
00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:48.690
Caves have always been
popular when there's a rescue.
00:19:48.690 --> 00:19:50.280
A cave's a cave to the press,
00:19:50.280 --> 00:19:52.890
and they're only interested
in the sensationalism
00:19:52.890 --> 00:19:56.100
of people trapped in
a dark, confined place
00:19:56.100 --> 00:19:57.900
behind a large body of water.
00:19:57.900 --> 00:19:59.220
And that's what appeals.
00:19:59.220 --> 00:20:02.310
The gory side of caving,
rather than the splendor.
00:20:02.310 --> 00:20:05.070
We're trying to change
the face of caving,
00:20:05.070 --> 00:20:08.490
in that I'd like it promoted
in a much more positive light
00:20:08.490 --> 00:20:12.090
and not just the sensational
bit when people get rescued.
00:20:12.090 --> 00:20:16.943
I doubt if there's ever going to be
another larger cave than Son Doong.
00:20:16.943 --> 00:20:19.470
Geologically,
it's just the perfect size.
00:20:19.470 --> 00:20:22.350
But I hope when people visit Son Doong,
00:20:22.350 --> 00:20:25.260
they take with them a lot
more than that little tick box
00:20:25.260 --> 00:20:27.600
of "I visited the world's biggest cave,"
00:20:27.600 --> 00:20:30.600
because it is so unique and special.
00:20:30.600 --> 00:20:33.750
- [Jonathan] It's very, very powerful.
00:20:33.750 --> 00:20:34.860
You know, it's very powerful,
00:20:34.860 --> 00:20:36.610
that cave and the experience of it.
00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:39.990
And I think you will see
it being less powerful
00:20:39.990 --> 00:20:43.110
if it becomes too easy.
00:20:43.110 --> 00:20:44.640
The world is pretty well trampled,
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:47.820
so getting to a place that
still has some essence
00:20:47.820 --> 00:20:49.023
becomes a mission.
00:20:50.850 --> 00:20:52.230
Just to get to the mouth of the cave,
00:20:52.230 --> 00:20:55.050
you're two days or a
day and a half into it.
00:20:55.050 --> 00:20:57.480
And then you're three days
from anything,
00:20:57.480 --> 00:20:59.223
any support system at all.
00:21:02.190 --> 00:21:04.560
- [Howard] In the area, which
is the whole karst region,
00:21:04.560 --> 00:21:06.390
the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park,
00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:08.700
we've covered about 30% of the area.
00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:11.583
So 70% is still unexplored.
00:21:13.815 --> 00:21:15.240
Without the local people,
00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:17.610
very few of these caves
would've been found.
00:21:17.610 --> 00:21:20.940
In fact, of the 350
caves that we've explored
00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:22.350
in Quang Binh alone,
00:21:22.350 --> 00:21:23.183
there are less than 10
00:21:23.183 --> 00:21:26.013
that we've actually
explored by ourselves.
00:21:26.910 --> 00:21:29.373
So they led us to 99% of all the caves
00:21:29.373 --> 00:21:30.870
that have been discovered here.
00:21:30.870 --> 00:21:33.960
And they did all the hard work
finding the entrances for us.
00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:35.814
And they're still doing it this day.
00:21:35.814 --> 00:21:39.689
(people chattering)
00:21:54.919 --> 00:21:57.836
(ground crunching)
00:22:01.939 --> 00:22:04.689
(water swishing)
00:22:06.249 --> 00:22:09.249
(people chattering)
00:23:06.144 --> 00:23:09.144
(people chattering)
00:24:11.527 --> 00:24:14.277
(birds chirping)
00:24:16.888 --> 00:24:19.888
(people chattering)
00:24:56.122 --> 00:25:01.122
(atmospheric rumbling)
(wind whooshing)
00:25:16.784 --> 00:25:19.284
(gentle piano music)
00:25:35.914 --> 00:25:38.831
(orchestral music)
00:26:19.721 --> 00:26:21.858
(pans sizzling)
(people chattering)
00:26:21.858 --> 00:26:24.941
(gentle piano music)
00:26:58.107 --> 00:27:02.190
(people chattering and laughing)
00:27:39.191 --> 00:27:43.274
(people chattering and laughing)
00:28:01.290 --> 00:28:05.207
(gentle piano music continues)
00:28:19.445 --> 00:28:21.401
(traffic humming)
00:28:21.401 --> 00:28:26.401
(horns tooting)
(sirens wailing)
00:28:39.185 --> 00:28:41.435
- [Huong] It was scary to...
00:28:44.760 --> 00:28:45.810
I think for me,
00:28:45.810 --> 00:28:50.810
it was both scary and
inspiring to find a cause.
00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:57.300
My whole life I had been
looking for something
00:28:57.300 --> 00:29:00.060
that could make me feel like
when I'm with Save Son Doong.
00:29:00.060 --> 00:29:03.990
Like something that make me
feel so passionate about.
00:29:03.990 --> 00:29:07.802
Something that make me feel
like I can die for this.
00:29:07.802 --> 00:29:10.803
And Save Son Doong gave me that sense.
00:29:16.061 --> 00:29:18.811
(traffic roaring)
00:29:23.228 --> 00:29:25.460
(people chattering)
00:29:25.460 --> 00:29:29.700
(gentle electronic music)
00:29:29.700 --> 00:29:31.500
I would like to ask you guys
00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:32.940
to close your eyes for a little bit
00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:34.833
and keep them closed for me, please.
00:29:36.810 --> 00:29:38.913
Now, what do you see?
00:29:40.626 --> 00:29:44.866
Darkness, emptiness, nothing?
00:29:46.050 --> 00:29:48.030
Well, please open your eyes again
00:29:48.030 --> 00:29:50.820
and let me tell you about my experience
00:29:50.820 --> 00:29:53.760
seeing what could be
considered absolute darkness.
00:29:53.760 --> 00:29:55.590
And my experience with absolute darkness
00:29:55.590 --> 00:29:59.280
happened at this beautiful
place, Son Doong cave.
00:29:59.280 --> 00:30:02.443
The world's largest underground kingdom.
00:30:02.443 --> 00:30:05.276
(magical music)
00:30:06.150 --> 00:30:09.087
As a child, I loved reading books.
00:30:09.087 --> 00:30:13.170
And some of the first books
that sparked the interest
00:30:13.170 --> 00:30:17.927
of exploring the world in
me was those by Jules Verne.
00:30:24.690 --> 00:30:25.773
I loved all of them.
00:30:26.966 --> 00:30:29.197
"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,"
00:30:29.197 --> 00:30:31.110
"Eighty Days Around the World,"
00:30:31.110 --> 00:30:34.290
and "Journey to the Center of the Earth."
00:30:34.290 --> 00:30:37.740
Now one interesting thing
about Jules Verne's books
00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:40.440
is that all of them
eventually become true.
00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:42.180
Nowadays we have the submarine.
00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:44.760
We can easily travel around the globe
00:30:44.760 --> 00:30:47.280
in way less than 80 days.
00:30:47.280 --> 00:30:51.450
But the only thing that
had not become true,
00:30:51.450 --> 00:30:52.530
before Son Doong,
00:30:52.530 --> 00:30:54.640
was "Journey to the Center of the Earth."
00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:57.390
And Son Doong, up 'til
now, is the only thing
00:30:57.390 --> 00:30:59.940
that can give us the closest sense
00:30:59.940 --> 00:31:01.293
to what the book described.
00:31:02.370 --> 00:31:04.920
In the book, you have a
completely different world
00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:09.870
that exists parallel to our
world underneath our feet.
00:31:09.870 --> 00:31:14.820
And that world has animals and plants
00:31:14.820 --> 00:31:18.060
that used to exist on Earth.
00:31:18.060 --> 00:31:21.510
But because of the change
in the environment,
00:31:21.510 --> 00:31:24.420
because of human beings, et cetera,
00:31:24.420 --> 00:31:26.837
they now only exist in a different world.
00:31:26.837 --> 00:31:29.920
And that world, to me, is Son Doong.
00:31:32.731 --> 00:31:35.981
(tense music)
00:31:39.270 --> 00:31:41.160
The place that I remember the most
00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:43.860
is a place that had
never been photographed
00:31:43.860 --> 00:31:45.720
because it's too dark.
00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:47.580
- [Howard] Do you want to
experience total darkness?
00:31:47.580 --> 00:31:50.673
- [Huong] Howard asked all of
us to turn off our headlamp.
00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:56.960
And my immediate reaction
was I felt suffocated.
00:31:57.210 --> 00:31:58.233
I couldn't breathe.
00:31:58.233 --> 00:32:00.690
I was overwhelmed with the darkness.
00:32:00.690 --> 00:32:03.930
Putting my hands in front
of me, I couldn't see them.
00:32:03.930 --> 00:32:05.160
Looking down to my feet,
00:32:05.160 --> 00:32:07.890
I couldn't see where I was standing on.
00:32:07.890 --> 00:32:09.870
And I thought to myself,
00:32:09.870 --> 00:32:13.563
this is probably what I
would feel like when I die,
00:32:14.580 --> 00:32:17.913
when my soul is still
there, but my body's gone.
00:32:20.100 --> 00:32:22.350
I imagine we all have tried to envision
00:32:22.350 --> 00:32:24.690
how it felt like when we died.
00:32:24.690 --> 00:32:27.810
When our conscience still
aware of everything,
00:32:27.810 --> 00:32:30.273
but our body just doesn't exist anymore.
00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:33.480
I was scared at first,
00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:36.570
but then, later on, I was more impressed
00:32:36.570 --> 00:32:40.290
with the idea that nature
is just so massive,
00:32:40.290 --> 00:32:43.944
its darkness can swallow
us basically anytime.
00:32:43.944 --> 00:32:48.944
(tense music)
(atmospheric rumbling)
00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:59.970
I remember, it was probably
the third day of my trip
00:32:59.970 --> 00:33:03.330
and we all just got to
our campsite at the time,
00:33:03.330 --> 00:33:06.303
and suddenly Howard called me aside.
00:33:07.260 --> 00:33:08.850
With teary eyes,
00:33:08.850 --> 00:33:12.533
he told me that he regretted
discovering Son Doong.
00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:16.110
Son Doong was fine on its own.
00:33:16.110 --> 00:33:17.670
But now that it's open to public,
00:33:17.670 --> 00:33:19.710
people want to exploit it for money.
00:33:19.710 --> 00:33:22.500
And as much as he liked
to keep the place safe
00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:25.230
by only bringing in the
most respectful people,
00:33:25.230 --> 00:33:26.250
trekking in small groups,
00:33:26.250 --> 00:33:28.470
and capped it at a few 100 a year,
00:33:28.470 --> 00:33:30.780
there's now a construction conglomerate
00:33:30.780 --> 00:33:33.240
that was trying to build a cable car
00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:36.561
which is going to bring
in 1,000 people per hour.
00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:41.670
Going from a few 100 a
year to 1,000 an hour,
00:33:42.857 --> 00:33:45.010
that would kill Son Doong.
00:33:46.093 --> 00:33:48.926
(heartfelt music)
00:34:07.020 --> 00:34:11.449
(construction banging)
(sirens wailing)
00:34:11.449 --> 00:34:14.520
- [Bill] Vietnam has a very patchy record
00:34:14.520 --> 00:34:17.460
of environmental protection.
00:34:17.460 --> 00:34:21.030
Yes, there are established national parks.
00:34:21.030 --> 00:34:25.320
Yes, there are laws and there
are environmental groups
00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:27.540
that are doing their best,
00:34:27.540 --> 00:34:30.720
but when it comes to the real competition
00:34:30.720 --> 00:34:34.170
between economic interests
and the environment,
00:34:34.170 --> 00:34:37.230
by and large, the economic interests win.
00:34:37.230 --> 00:34:39.810
And you've seen some very special places
00:34:39.810 --> 00:34:43.688
that have been ruined,
really, by overdevelopment.
00:34:43.688 --> 00:34:45.840
Ha Long Bay is the classic example.
00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:47.462
It's picture-postcard beautiful,
00:34:47.462 --> 00:34:48.960
or at least it should be,
00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:51.690
but the degree of development
00:34:51.690 --> 00:34:55.260
and the lack of concern for
the consequences of development
00:34:55.260 --> 00:34:59.430
have been shocking in terms
of pollution and destruction
00:34:59.430 --> 00:35:01.590
of the visual environment.
00:35:01.590 --> 00:35:03.997
Another example would be
the island of Phu Quoc
00:35:03.997 --> 00:35:06.300
at the other end of the country,
right down in the south.
00:35:06.300 --> 00:35:09.930
Once a prison island, remote, unspoiled.
00:35:09.930 --> 00:35:13.530
Now it's turning into the
Torremolinos of Vietnam, really.
00:35:13.530 --> 00:35:15.420
It's a massive development.
00:35:15.420 --> 00:35:18.450
Far too intensive for the
amount of space there is.
00:35:18.450 --> 00:35:21.690
Unable to process the
amount of sewage and waste
00:35:21.690 --> 00:35:22.523
and all the rest of it.
00:35:22.523 --> 00:35:25.740
It's just becoming a nightmare, really.
00:35:25.740 --> 00:35:28.440
Vietnam's economic growth
has been pretty rapid
00:35:28.440 --> 00:35:29.340
by any standards.
00:35:29.340 --> 00:35:30.930
I mean, it only looks weak
00:35:30.930 --> 00:35:33.390
when you compare it, say,
to China, for example.
00:35:33.390 --> 00:35:37.110
I think that the pressures to develop
00:35:37.110 --> 00:35:38.970
are getting ever stronger.
00:35:38.970 --> 00:35:42.450
A lot of this growth is being
driven by big conglomerates
00:35:42.450 --> 00:35:45.030
and companies like Vingroup or Sun Group,
00:35:45.030 --> 00:35:47.040
which ostensibly are private sector
00:35:47.040 --> 00:35:49.740
but with a lot of state
connection and so forth.
00:35:49.740 --> 00:35:51.810
And we're seeing these big name groups
00:35:51.810 --> 00:35:54.270
driving a lot of the
real estate developments.
00:35:54.270 --> 00:35:57.900
And in some places, the
power of these groups
00:35:57.900 --> 00:35:59.940
rivals that of the Communist Party.
00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:02.190
They have money, they have connections.
00:36:02.190 --> 00:36:04.920
They can bring jobs and influence
00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:07.230
into sometimes relatively poor provinces,
00:36:07.230 --> 00:36:10.620
and it's very hard for those officials,
00:36:10.620 --> 00:36:13.410
even if they wish to,
to resist the pressure.
00:36:13.410 --> 00:36:17.760
- [Giang] The big corporation
in Vietnam are very powerful.
00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:20.670
In my writing, I touch a number of themes,
00:36:20.670 --> 00:36:23.100
and mostly they resonate pretty well
00:36:23.100 --> 00:36:25.650
and they are well-received by the public.
00:36:25.650 --> 00:36:30.513
But the themes which
receive the most pushback,
00:36:31.350 --> 00:36:33.600
sometimes very hostile,
00:36:33.600 --> 00:36:37.620
relates to consumerism, tourism,
sustainable development,
00:36:37.620 --> 00:36:38.880
and things like that.
00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:41.730
Especially when I talk
about Son Doong Cave
00:36:41.730 --> 00:36:45.120
or the overdevelopment of
tourism in other places,
00:36:45.120 --> 00:36:47.400
and there will be a very strong fraction,
00:36:47.400 --> 00:36:48.660
very large fraction,
00:36:48.660 --> 00:36:52.470
of people pushing back and
saying we need development
00:36:52.470 --> 00:36:55.080
and this is a good thing for the country.
00:36:55.080 --> 00:36:59.760
And you can apply that to
a lot of social phenomena,
00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:01.710
social problems we see in Vietnam
00:37:01.710 --> 00:37:03.597
in other part of the world, right?
00:37:03.597 --> 00:37:07.050
The drive for profit
00:37:07.050 --> 00:37:10.710
without any consideration
of the social cost
00:37:10.710 --> 00:37:13.413
and environmental cost.
The lack of transparency,
00:37:14.280 --> 00:37:16.480
the lack of freedom of
expression right now,
00:37:17.520 --> 00:37:18.720
the corruption, you know.
00:37:18.720 --> 00:37:23.010
So here is the clash of
the two different attitudes
00:37:23.010 --> 00:37:28.010
and understanding of how
society should go forwards.
00:37:29.940 --> 00:37:33.150
- [Bill] It's very
difficult to talk openly
00:37:33.150 --> 00:37:36.150
inside the country about
the systematic problems
00:37:36.150 --> 00:37:38.010
with environmental protection.
00:37:38.010 --> 00:37:39.690
You can talk about habitat loss,
00:37:39.690 --> 00:37:41.610
you can talk about preserving species,
00:37:41.610 --> 00:37:44.940
and you can talk about trying
to stop wildlife trading
00:37:44.940 --> 00:37:46.710
and endangered species being trafficked.
00:37:46.710 --> 00:37:49.856
But to actually say that
big economic interests
00:37:49.856 --> 00:37:53.760
are conspiring with
local political interests
00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:55.080
to destroy the environment,
00:37:55.080 --> 00:37:56.790
that is very, very difficult
00:37:56.790 --> 00:37:59.100
because you're trampling
on so many people's toes.
00:37:59.100 --> 00:38:01.230
You're trampling on the
interest of the business,
00:38:01.230 --> 00:38:02.820
the reputation of the officials,
00:38:02.820 --> 00:38:04.560
and the legitimacy of the Communist Party,
00:38:04.560 --> 00:38:06.900
and that really starts
to get you into trouble.
00:38:06.900 --> 00:38:09.870
- [Huong] There were reports
from as early as 2012
00:38:09.870 --> 00:38:12.510
that the government was
exploring the possibility
00:38:12.510 --> 00:38:14.823
of building a cable car into Son Doong.
00:38:15.840 --> 00:38:20.100
Obviously, these discussions
took place behind closed doors.
00:38:20.100 --> 00:38:22.140
But a UNESCO report from around that time
00:38:22.140 --> 00:38:25.590
warned about this and the
damage it would cause.
00:38:25.590 --> 00:38:27.990
Then in October 2014,
00:38:27.990 --> 00:38:30.960
plans for the cable car
were officially unveiled.
00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:32.550
The head of Quang Binh Province
00:38:32.550 --> 00:38:35.520
announced at a press conference
that they had contracted
00:38:35.520 --> 00:38:39.300
a large real estate
developer to begin surveying.
00:38:39.300 --> 00:38:42.240
Vietnam has a track record
for building cable cars
00:38:42.240 --> 00:38:44.250
in places of natural beauty.
00:38:44.250 --> 00:38:47.460
There is a walkway in Da
Nang and another in Da Lat,
00:38:47.460 --> 00:38:49.020
but this is the first project
00:38:49.020 --> 00:38:52.560
which met with any kind
of significant opposition.
00:38:52.560 --> 00:38:55.980
A petition opposing the cable
car construction was set up,
00:38:55.980 --> 00:39:00.150
which got over 50,000
signatures in less than a week.
00:39:00.150 --> 00:39:03.210
In response to this, a second
press conference was called,
00:39:03.210 --> 00:39:07.050
which was essentially an
exercise in damage limitation.
00:39:07.050 --> 00:39:09.750
And after this, things went dark.
00:39:09.750 --> 00:39:13.230
The Vietnamese people are
usually the last to know
00:39:13.230 --> 00:39:14.730
what the government is planning.
00:39:14.730 --> 00:39:17.700
And it was clear that, despite
opposition to the project,
00:39:17.700 --> 00:39:20.850
plans were still being
drawn behind closed doors.
00:39:20.850 --> 00:39:25.793
So in November 2014, I
co-founded Save Son Doong.
00:39:28.460 --> 00:39:30.710
At the beginning, none
of us knew what to do.
00:39:32.340 --> 00:39:36.360
None of us had run a
social campaign before.
00:39:36.360 --> 00:39:38.070
So we try different things.
00:39:38.070 --> 00:39:41.220
Our main goal back then,
but also until now,
00:39:41.220 --> 00:39:42.660
was to raise awareness.
00:39:42.660 --> 00:39:45.960
If I try to make impact,
I cannot do it by myself.
00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:49.980
I need people, and social
media allows us to do that.
00:39:49.980 --> 00:39:53.310
I don't remember exactly
who came up with the idea
00:39:53.310 --> 00:39:57.000
of asking people to hold
a Save Son Doong sign
00:39:57.000 --> 00:39:59.700
and take a picture and send to us.
00:39:59.700 --> 00:40:02.010
But it was one of the very first,
00:40:02.010 --> 00:40:03.630
and probably still until now,
00:40:03.630 --> 00:40:07.410
one of the most successful
initiatives that we did.
00:40:07.410 --> 00:40:08.940
The idea is very simple.
00:40:08.940 --> 00:40:12.150
Most people stand
somewhere in natural beauty
00:40:12.150 --> 00:40:14.963
and you hold up a sign
that says Save Son Doong
00:40:14.963 --> 00:40:17.070
and you take a picture.
00:40:17.070 --> 00:40:20.340
I expected to receive a lot of photos,
00:40:20.340 --> 00:40:22.890
but I thought it would
be mainly from Vietnam.
00:40:22.890 --> 00:40:25.860
I really did not expect that
I would get so many photos
00:40:25.860 --> 00:40:28.260
from foreigners around the world.
00:40:28.260 --> 00:40:30.840
One of the very first photos we received
00:40:30.840 --> 00:40:32.940
was from a group of students.
00:40:32.940 --> 00:40:34.800
And you could see they're
standing in a class
00:40:34.800 --> 00:40:37.230
and they had a rope around their neck
00:40:37.230 --> 00:40:40.110
that looks like a cable car.
00:40:40.110 --> 00:40:42.450
That sent a very strong
message, obviously.
00:40:42.450 --> 00:40:45.150
We got some photos from places far away
00:40:45.150 --> 00:40:50.040
that I didn't expect that we could
get photos from, like Israel.
00:40:50.040 --> 00:40:53.010
Most importantly,
besides the photo itself,
00:40:53.010 --> 00:40:57.300
the messages that people
include also hit home very hard.
00:40:57.300 --> 00:41:01.740
They talked about how Son
Doong is a place so far away
00:41:01.740 --> 00:41:04.410
that they may never, ever in their life
00:41:04.410 --> 00:41:06.180
get to see by their own eyes,
00:41:06.180 --> 00:41:09.240
but it resonates with things that happen
00:41:09.240 --> 00:41:10.911
in their own countries.
00:41:12.390 --> 00:41:15.030
Receiving thousand and thousand of photos
00:41:15.030 --> 00:41:17.280
from people from around the world
00:41:17.280 --> 00:41:20.190
definitely made me feel
overwhelmed at first.
00:41:20.190 --> 00:41:21.780
But, more importantly,
00:41:21.780 --> 00:41:25.260
it reconfirmed to me that
what I'm doing is not crazy,
00:41:25.260 --> 00:41:27.150
and perhaps at the end of the day,
00:41:27.150 --> 00:41:28.500
it's the right thing to do.
00:41:34.176 --> 00:41:36.690
(siren wailing)
00:41:36.690 --> 00:41:38.910
As we were filming,
00:41:38.910 --> 00:41:41.910
one of my friends holding
up the Save Son Doong sign
00:41:41.910 --> 00:41:43.983
on the other side of the street earlier,
00:41:45.210 --> 00:41:48.090
somebody passed by and stopped
00:41:48.090 --> 00:41:50.470
and claimed to be an undercover cop
00:41:51.780 --> 00:41:54.270
and asking my friend, what was she doing?
00:41:54.270 --> 00:41:55.410
And as she was explaining
00:41:55.410 --> 00:41:58.350
that this is for environmental protection,
00:41:58.350 --> 00:42:01.470
he said that if she
continues to stand in public
00:42:01.470 --> 00:42:04.860
with her Save Son Doong
sign, she would be arrested.
00:42:04.860 --> 00:42:07.350
She would be brought
to the police station.
00:42:07.350 --> 00:42:12.350
This is indicative of
how activism in Vietnam
00:42:12.420 --> 00:42:14.130
can be oppressed.
00:42:14.130 --> 00:42:16.770
Even the smaller sign,
00:42:16.770 --> 00:42:20.580
of holding a sign of
something completely peaceful,
00:42:20.580 --> 00:42:24.480
like Save Son Doong, that
does not disturb anybody,
00:42:24.480 --> 00:42:26.372
can be considered a crime.
00:42:26.372 --> 00:42:29.205
(people shouting)
00:42:38.820 --> 00:42:43.353
- [Bill] Protest in general
in Vietnam is not welcome.
00:42:45.810 --> 00:42:49.020
The Party is paranoid
that a demonstration,
00:42:49.020 --> 00:42:51.450
even about pollution of the sea,
00:42:51.450 --> 00:42:53.460
could snowball into something else
00:42:53.460 --> 00:42:56.460
that other grievances
could be linked to it.
00:42:56.460 --> 00:42:58.290
That the fact that there
are simply large numbers
00:42:58.290 --> 00:42:59.250
of people on the streets
00:42:59.250 --> 00:43:01.470
could encourage other people
to come onto the streets
00:43:01.470 --> 00:43:03.510
and we'd end up with some kind of
00:43:03.510 --> 00:43:05.340
what they would call a color revolution,
00:43:05.340 --> 00:43:07.710
based on the idea of things
that happened in Eastern Europe
00:43:07.710 --> 00:43:08.543
a few years ago.
00:43:08.543 --> 00:43:12.003
- [Napoleon] I have made
a terrible discovery.
00:43:14.160 --> 00:43:17.100
There are traitors among us.
00:43:17.100 --> 00:43:18.870
- [Bill] The Communist
Party's number one rule
00:43:18.870 --> 00:43:20.820
is that the Communist
Party should rule Vietnam,
00:43:20.820 --> 00:43:24.030
and that anything which
threatens a Communist Party rule
00:43:24.030 --> 00:43:25.380
needs to be squashed.
00:43:25.380 --> 00:43:27.900
And that could be when
corruption gets to the point
00:43:27.900 --> 00:43:29.370
that it gets out of control.
00:43:29.370 --> 00:43:31.590
It could be dissident religious movement.
00:43:31.590 --> 00:43:33.570
It could be a local
environmental campaign.
00:43:33.570 --> 00:43:35.340
If it starts to actually undermine
00:43:35.340 --> 00:43:37.080
the principles of Communist Party rule,
00:43:37.080 --> 00:43:37.913
it's a threat.
00:43:37.913 --> 00:43:40.080
There's a fear that if the Communist Party
00:43:40.080 --> 00:43:41.730
just starts to give a little bit,
00:43:41.730 --> 00:43:44.070
then it'll start to unravel.
00:43:44.070 --> 00:43:46.020
That's certainly the view
of a part of the system,
00:43:46.020 --> 00:43:47.070
but it's the part of the system
00:43:47.070 --> 00:43:50.370
that controls the levers
of the security services.
00:43:50.370 --> 00:43:55.370
And if you start to say that
the problems that we are facing
00:43:55.440 --> 00:43:58.050
or the problems which exist somewhere
00:43:58.050 --> 00:44:00.000
are because of Communist Party rule,
00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:02.160
then you become a dissident.
00:44:02.160 --> 00:44:04.200
To be a dissident in Vietnam,
00:44:04.200 --> 00:44:06.750
you are putting yourself beyond the limit
00:44:06.750 --> 00:44:08.700
of what's acceptable
to the Communist Party
00:44:08.700 --> 00:44:09.660
and you get into trouble.
00:44:09.660 --> 00:44:11.581
And you can get into serious trouble.
00:44:11.581 --> 00:44:14.164
(dogs barking)
00:44:15.330 --> 00:44:19.200
What the party will do is not
necessarily arrest everybody
00:44:19.200 --> 00:44:20.220
who goes to a demonstration,
00:44:20.220 --> 00:44:22.920
but they will try to work
out who are the key leaders
00:44:22.920 --> 00:44:25.440
and they will try to work out
who might be having contact
00:44:25.440 --> 00:44:28.800
with groups based overseas
or just groups internally,
00:44:28.800 --> 00:44:30.720
and they will try and pick on those people
00:44:30.720 --> 00:44:33.431
and then hope that the others
will just sort of calm down.
00:44:33.431 --> 00:44:37.680
(intense music)
(dogs barking)
00:44:37.680 --> 00:44:40.680
(sounds of death)
00:44:40.680 --> 00:44:43.350
But you also have a system of surveillance
00:44:43.350 --> 00:44:45.390
which comes right down to
the neighborhood level,
00:44:45.390 --> 00:44:49.260
where the authorities can
intervene against individuals.
00:44:49.260 --> 00:44:51.750
You will be invited to the police station.
00:44:51.750 --> 00:44:54.990
You will have long working
sessions with the secret police.
00:44:54.990 --> 00:44:56.460
Your businesses may be targeted.
00:44:56.460 --> 00:44:59.577
Your friends may be told all
kinds of rumors about you.
00:44:59.577 --> 00:45:02.970
You might find that your
property is damaged,
00:45:02.970 --> 00:45:04.890
or you have people watching your house.
00:45:04.890 --> 00:45:06.450
And at the very worst extreme,
00:45:06.450 --> 00:45:08.970
you might actually find
yourself beaten up.
00:45:08.970 --> 00:45:10.500
And then if you still
don't get the message,
00:45:10.500 --> 00:45:13.383
then you might be taken
to court and jailed.
00:45:19.080 --> 00:45:20.430
- [Interviewer] So the
stakes are pretty high?
00:45:20.430 --> 00:45:23.340
- Yeah, I mean, to be a
real dissident in Vietnam
00:45:23.340 --> 00:45:26.910
takes a real degree of dedication.
00:45:26.910 --> 00:45:28.740
And I think that's why
00:45:28.740 --> 00:45:31.140
the dissidents that you find in Vietnam
00:45:31.140 --> 00:45:32.730
tend to be quite difficult people.
00:45:32.730 --> 00:45:35.700
They're the people who won't just
00:45:35.700 --> 00:45:39.030
do the sensible thing and
calm down and be quiet.
00:45:39.030 --> 00:45:42.180
They're people who are
really fired up about things.
00:45:42.180 --> 00:45:45.960
- [Huong] A lot of governmental
officers in Vietnam
00:45:45.960 --> 00:45:50.960
compare Son Doong to a sleeping
beauty hidden in the jungle,
00:45:51.720 --> 00:45:55.713
and now is the time for the
prince to come and wake her up.
00:45:56.730 --> 00:46:00.300
Well, I had always had
a very different view
00:46:00.300 --> 00:46:02.280
on that "Sleeping Beauty" story.
00:46:02.280 --> 00:46:04.740
Like if I were the princess,
I would be very pissed
00:46:04.740 --> 00:46:08.100
if somebody come and wake me
up in the middle of my dream.
00:46:08.100 --> 00:46:11.130
If I'm sleeping, I deserve
the right to sleep.
00:46:11.130 --> 00:46:13.620
So if Son Doong is being so peaceful,
00:46:13.620 --> 00:46:16.950
who are we to decide that it is now time
00:46:16.950 --> 00:46:19.140
for us to come and change this place
00:46:19.140 --> 00:46:21.663
and, quote, unquote, develop this place?
00:46:36.330 --> 00:46:38.640
The ultimate purpose of Save Son Doong
00:46:38.640 --> 00:46:41.760
is not to challenge the government.
00:46:41.760 --> 00:46:45.300
We made it very clear within
our team from the beginning
00:46:45.300 --> 00:46:50.300
that this is an environmental campaign.
00:46:50.400 --> 00:46:52.500
We don't wanna turn it
into a political campaign.
00:46:52.500 --> 00:46:56.070
And even though a lot of people
try to politicize our cause,
00:46:56.070 --> 00:46:57.420
we make it very clear
00:46:57.420 --> 00:47:00.420
that we believe the government of Vietnam
00:47:00.420 --> 00:47:03.990
as well as Vietnamese people
can make the best choice,
00:47:03.990 --> 00:47:06.300
can make the most informed decisions
00:47:06.300 --> 00:47:08.820
when they have the information.
00:47:08.820 --> 00:47:13.470
So our purpose is trying our
best to provide the evidence,
00:47:13.470 --> 00:47:15.630
the scientific proof to the government
00:47:15.630 --> 00:47:19.080
so that they can make the
best decisions for Vietnam.
00:47:19.080 --> 00:47:23.073
The cable car development
plan was an open secret.
00:47:24.180 --> 00:47:27.540
Anybody who's involved in it denied it,
00:47:27.540 --> 00:47:30.780
but we obtained clear
evidence that it was going on.
00:47:30.780 --> 00:47:33.630
On April 24th 2017,
00:47:33.630 --> 00:47:36.270
the head of the second development company
00:47:36.270 --> 00:47:38.730
who had been contracted
by Quang Binh Province
00:47:38.730 --> 00:47:40.440
to build a cable car,
00:47:40.440 --> 00:47:43.470
announced at the company's
shareholders meeting
00:47:43.470 --> 00:47:45.810
that they had decided
to take on the project
00:47:45.810 --> 00:47:47.670
and had requested Quang Binh
00:47:47.670 --> 00:47:50.220
to complete all the required paperwork.
00:47:50.220 --> 00:47:52.410
It was also announced that the cable car
00:47:52.410 --> 00:47:55.680
needed to approach directly into Son Doong
00:47:55.680 --> 00:47:58.470
in order for this
project to be successful.
00:47:58.470 --> 00:48:00.960
This was reported in the national news
00:48:00.960 --> 00:48:03.660
and we posted about this
on our Facebook page,
00:48:03.660 --> 00:48:07.020
including taking screenshots
of one of the articles
00:48:07.020 --> 00:48:09.000
which reported on this meeting.
00:48:09.000 --> 00:48:13.320
Later on, we found out that
this article had been edited
00:48:13.320 --> 00:48:16.380
and the direct quotes attributed
to the head of the company
00:48:16.380 --> 00:48:19.140
had been altered to remove the statement
00:48:19.140 --> 00:48:22.380
that they had decided
to take on the project
00:48:22.380 --> 00:48:24.600
and that now the cable car
would no longer approach
00:48:24.600 --> 00:48:26.070
directly into Son Doong,
00:48:26.070 --> 00:48:28.890
but instead would end
a few kilometers away
00:48:28.890 --> 00:48:30.570
from the cave entrance.
00:48:30.570 --> 00:48:33.540
- [Giang] We had some early
success with protecting Son Doong.
00:48:33.540 --> 00:48:35.910
The success will be never enduring
00:48:35.910 --> 00:48:39.120
because we know that the
interest of the big business
00:48:39.120 --> 00:48:40.140
is still there.
00:48:40.140 --> 00:48:43.740
It's really a big potential for them.
00:48:43.740 --> 00:48:46.170
So it's very hard for them to forgo that
00:48:46.170 --> 00:48:48.330
and say, "Hey, look,
we go somewhere else."
00:48:48.330 --> 00:48:50.880
They will come back again
and again and again,
00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:53.790
and try to convince the leadership
00:48:53.790 --> 00:48:58.710
and convince the public that
the cable car is something good
00:48:58.710 --> 00:49:01.860
for the province and
for the country to do.
00:49:01.860 --> 00:49:04.863
Of course, I appreciate
that the people in Phong Nha
00:49:04.863 --> 00:49:07.950
have the right to a better livelihood,
00:49:07.950 --> 00:49:12.210
but I don't think that mass
tourism and big scale project
00:49:12.210 --> 00:49:14.550
and the cable car will
do any good for them
00:49:14.550 --> 00:49:15.570
in the long term.
00:49:15.570 --> 00:49:17.460
I think they can have a much better,
00:49:17.460 --> 00:49:19.890
much more sustainable, small scale,
00:49:19.890 --> 00:49:22.830
much more community-based tourism.
00:49:22.830 --> 00:49:25.680
And it will be of best benefits for them,
00:49:25.680 --> 00:49:28.080
for the environment, for
the leadership as well.
00:49:35.067 --> 00:49:36.060
(people chattering)
00:49:36.060 --> 00:49:38.660
- [Howard] Let's have a chat
before we get started, shall we?
00:49:39.707 --> 00:49:41.280
You've all got helmets?
00:49:41.280 --> 00:49:43.020
You've all got helmets?
- Yep.
00:49:43.020 --> 00:49:44.040
- Everybody's happy with the helmet.
00:49:44.040 --> 00:49:44.873
That's great.
00:49:44.873 --> 00:49:46.920
- [Greg] Back in 2014, when I got there,
00:49:46.920 --> 00:49:51.000
the town was just in its infancy
and just starting to grow.
00:49:51.000 --> 00:49:52.431
There wasn't much going on.
00:49:52.431 --> 00:49:54.180
There was a lot of speculation
00:49:54.180 --> 00:49:55.650
about how things were gonna grow
00:49:55.650 --> 00:49:57.676
because the discovery of Son Doong.
00:49:57.676 --> 00:49:59.235
(roosters crowing)
00:50:25.860 --> 00:50:28.590
- [Howard] Quang Binh Province
has changed dramatically
00:50:28.590 --> 00:50:30.660
in the last few years.
00:50:30.660 --> 00:50:33.390
In 1990, we came down to Phong Nha
00:50:33.390 --> 00:50:35.730
after five days traveling from Hanoi.
00:50:35.730 --> 00:50:38.790
It was a hell of a journey,
a really rough journey.
00:50:38.790 --> 00:50:41.190
There were no sealed
roads from Hanoi to here.
00:50:41.190 --> 00:50:42.210
None at all.
00:50:42.210 --> 00:50:44.880
It took a day to get here from Dong Hoi,
00:50:44.880 --> 00:50:47.340
which now you can do in 40 minutes.
00:50:47.340 --> 00:50:49.530
And it was quite a shock to see this place
00:50:49.530 --> 00:50:51.870
because basically, there was nothing here.
00:50:51.870 --> 00:50:53.700
The people were incredibly poor.
00:50:53.700 --> 00:50:55.320
Incredibly friendly people.
00:50:55.320 --> 00:50:56.550
They all came and see us.
00:50:56.550 --> 00:50:59.733
Amazingly friendly, but amazingly poor.
00:51:01.530 --> 00:51:03.090
Quang Binh Province, without any doubt,
00:51:03.090 --> 00:51:05.463
was the poorest province in Vietnam.
00:51:06.390 --> 00:51:07.860
Most of the people lived on the river
00:51:07.860 --> 00:51:09.630
and they were fishing people.
00:51:09.630 --> 00:51:11.310
They grew a little bit of rice,
00:51:11.310 --> 00:51:14.370
but that was their only
source of food, really.
00:51:14.370 --> 00:51:16.260
We didn't really understand the poverty
00:51:16.260 --> 00:51:18.180
that they were going under at that time.
00:51:18.180 --> 00:51:20.460
Very naive when we first came out here.
00:51:20.460 --> 00:51:22.470
We wondered why we were
bringing all our own food
00:51:22.470 --> 00:51:23.340
from Hanoi.
00:51:23.340 --> 00:51:25.373
We didn't understand they
didn't have any food.
00:51:27.480 --> 00:51:30.300
The weeks that we arrived
and we worked here,
00:51:30.300 --> 00:51:32.850
there were about 1,000 people died
00:51:32.850 --> 00:51:34.773
of malnutrition and malaria.
00:51:36.840 --> 00:51:39.180
There were lots and lots of bomb craters
00:51:39.180 --> 00:51:41.820
because this was completely destroyed.
00:51:41.820 --> 00:51:44.253
And I mean completely
destroyed in the war.
00:51:45.870 --> 00:51:47.490
There was no standing building.
00:51:47.490 --> 00:51:50.730
Not one building was left after the war.
00:51:50.730 --> 00:51:54.450
So when we first came
in 1990, it was flat.
00:51:54.450 --> 00:51:57.060
The odd building were just
starting to be constructed
00:51:57.060 --> 00:51:58.140
in towns like Vinh,
00:51:58.140 --> 00:52:00.540
but it was just bomb creators and a mess.
00:52:00.540 --> 00:52:02.700
This was many, many years after the war.
00:52:02.700 --> 00:52:04.100
There's been no development.
00:52:05.610 --> 00:52:07.590
This was the area where
the Ho Chi Minh Trail,
00:52:07.590 --> 00:52:09.540
the narrowest part of Vietnam.
00:52:09.540 --> 00:52:12.990
So it's the most bombed area in the world.
00:52:12.990 --> 00:52:14.340
So more bombs were dropped here
00:52:14.340 --> 00:52:16.230
than anywhere else ever in the world,
00:52:16.230 --> 00:52:17.580
and so it just got murdered.
00:52:17.580 --> 00:52:20.656
In fact, all this area was
on fire for most of the war.
00:52:20.656 --> 00:52:24.210
(explosions)
00:52:24.210 --> 00:52:26.640
They had five major excursions
00:52:26.640 --> 00:52:28.680
to the Americans a day, I've been told,
00:52:28.680 --> 00:52:31.470
from the aircraft carriers out
in the sea and from Thailand.
00:52:31.470 --> 00:52:34.620
They came here, dropped
bombs five times a day.
00:52:34.620 --> 00:52:38.640
So the whole area used to
be called the fire mountains
00:52:38.640 --> 00:52:39.870
because they were always on fire.
00:52:39.870 --> 00:52:41.838
Everything was burning all the time.
00:52:41.838 --> 00:52:44.921
(explosions)
00:54:09.900 --> 00:54:11.490
Everything's new, yeah?
00:54:11.490 --> 00:54:15.720
It's just boom, and then
everyone just like overwhelmed.
00:54:15.720 --> 00:54:19.080
It's like Vietnam in
the past, after the war.
00:54:19.080 --> 00:54:23.160
Basically, we've been through
a very like rough time
00:54:23.160 --> 00:54:28.140
and then we have to start developing.
00:54:28.140 --> 00:54:31.650
But we don't have a lot
of good direction, yeah?
00:54:31.650 --> 00:54:34.470
So we need to go that, go that, go that,
00:54:34.470 --> 00:54:37.920
and then we find, let's
see which way is good.
00:54:37.920 --> 00:54:41.250
- [Jonathan] It reminded
me of Kathmandu in the '70s
00:54:41.250 --> 00:54:43.173
when it was very innocent.
00:54:44.970 --> 00:54:46.140
People were flowing in there
00:54:46.140 --> 00:54:47.940
and walking out into the mountains,
00:54:47.940 --> 00:54:51.090
except these were people
that were subsistence living.
00:54:51.090 --> 00:54:52.920
They don't even have
firewood half the time.
00:54:52.920 --> 00:54:55.020
And here comes a bunch of Westerners
00:54:55.020 --> 00:54:56.400
walking through their village
00:54:56.400 --> 00:54:58.563
and they didn't know, they put people up.
00:55:00.361 --> 00:55:01.980
(psychedelic music)
00:55:01.980 --> 00:55:03.480
They didn't know how to charge
00:55:03.480 --> 00:55:05.820
or how much money to take or not take.
00:55:05.820 --> 00:55:07.050
There was all these traditions
00:55:07.050 --> 00:55:09.243
about taking care of their travelers.
00:55:09.243 --> 00:55:13.350
And all of this was colliding,
but it was very innocent.
00:55:13.350 --> 00:55:15.150
And all of that's going on in Phong Nha,
00:55:15.150 --> 00:55:17.493
so it makes a really good correlation.
00:55:18.630 --> 00:55:21.840
Kathmandu was beautiful, it
was simple, it was small.
00:55:21.840 --> 00:55:23.550
And people started opening little shops
00:55:23.550 --> 00:55:25.740
that would serve apple pie to Americans,
00:55:25.740 --> 00:55:28.465
and they had sort of Westernized food
00:55:28.465 --> 00:55:31.140
and you could stay for 60 cents a night.
00:55:31.140 --> 00:55:34.503
It was very simple, but
it beautiful and fabulous.
00:55:35.550 --> 00:55:36.474
They started realizing
00:55:36.474 --> 00:55:39.270
that all these kids that were
flowing in had lots of money,
00:55:39.270 --> 00:55:40.740
even though they looked poor.
00:55:40.740 --> 00:55:43.650
They would pay you $4
for a piece of apple pie,
00:55:43.650 --> 00:55:45.150
which they were stunned.
00:55:45.150 --> 00:55:47.280
One rupee would buy you a meal,
00:55:47.280 --> 00:55:49.735
and people were paying 10
times to what it would cost.
00:55:49.735 --> 00:55:52.440
And so the culture started
to go, "Okay, well,
00:55:52.440 --> 00:55:54.240
if you guys want to come
in here and spend money,
00:55:54.240 --> 00:55:56.070
then we're gonna set up traps for that."
00:55:56.070 --> 00:55:57.720
And then it just gets commercialized.
00:55:57.720 --> 00:56:01.260
And Phong Nha is on its way to
that, but it's not there yet.
00:56:01.260 --> 00:56:03.840
And that, for me, was so exciting
00:56:03.840 --> 00:56:06.450
because I don't find anywhere like that.
00:56:06.450 --> 00:56:08.250
You can find places that are innocent,
00:56:08.250 --> 00:56:11.250
but they're very expensive
and complicated to get to.
00:56:11.250 --> 00:56:12.630
And Phong Nha is not.
00:56:12.630 --> 00:56:16.830
You can land in Cam Ranh or
whatever and drive up there.
00:56:16.830 --> 00:56:18.060
You don't even have to rent a car.
00:56:18.060 --> 00:56:21.120
You can take a car,
it'll cost you 30 bucks.
00:56:21.120 --> 00:56:24.330
So that means it's accessible
and it's still innocent.
00:56:24.330 --> 00:56:25.260
That's pretty rare.
00:56:25.260 --> 00:56:27.093
I don't see that much anymore.
00:56:28.020 --> 00:56:30.150
So then it was the Maldives,
and now they're trampled,
00:56:30.150 --> 00:56:32.010
so now it's some Marshall Islands,
00:56:32.010 --> 00:56:33.330
but they're always trying to figure out
00:56:33.330 --> 00:56:35.100
how to stay a few steps ahead.
00:56:35.100 --> 00:56:37.563
Well, right now, Phong
Nha is a few steps ahead.
00:56:38.910 --> 00:56:42.360
- [Multi] There's a whole
bunch of positive stuff
00:56:42.360 --> 00:56:44.133
that happened to start with.
00:56:45.630 --> 00:56:49.533
We'd just had the great big 2010 flood.
00:56:50.460 --> 00:56:55.460
So I got here and all of this
was covered in a foot of mud.
00:56:57.330 --> 00:57:01.530
The people had a despondent look.
00:57:01.530 --> 00:57:06.530
The Westerners turning up has
changed things dramatically.
00:57:06.780 --> 00:57:09.420
Phong Nha has exploded with tourism.
00:57:09.420 --> 00:57:11.468
Everyone is aspirational
00:57:11.468 --> 00:57:14.040
and they all think
they're going to the top.
00:57:14.040 --> 00:57:17.730
So everyone on a bicycle
wants to be on a motorbike,
00:57:17.730 --> 00:57:20.700
everyone on a motorbike
wants to be in a car,
00:57:20.700 --> 00:57:24.030
and everyone in a car wants
to be in a helicopter.
00:57:24.030 --> 00:57:27.513
So off we go to the future.
00:57:29.730 --> 00:57:31.110
- [Howard] As everybody's noticing now,
00:57:31.110 --> 00:57:33.990
there's massive changes in Phong Nha.
00:57:33.990 --> 00:57:35.313
It's mainly local development.
00:57:35.313 --> 00:57:39.210
It's not been big business
from outside coming in.
00:57:39.210 --> 00:57:41.310
Most of the buildings
that have been constructed
00:57:41.310 --> 00:57:44.250
in the last two or three
years are fairly small
00:57:44.250 --> 00:57:45.720
and they've not had the money to build
00:57:45.720 --> 00:57:48.570
very high skyscraper accommodation.
00:57:48.570 --> 00:57:49.920
It's all low level.
00:57:49.920 --> 00:57:52.080
So things are developing.
00:57:52.080 --> 00:57:55.713
The downside of any development
is what happens to the town.
00:57:56.910 --> 00:58:01.890
- [Hai] I think the decision now,
as you said, is very important.
00:58:01.890 --> 00:58:05.670
For example, the plan of Phong
Nha in the next 50 years.
00:58:05.670 --> 00:58:08.130
For example, the building construction.
00:58:08.130 --> 00:58:10.533
That will make Phong Nha
look beautiful or shit.
00:58:11.430 --> 00:58:13.590
If the local people understood that,
00:58:13.590 --> 00:58:15.630
Phong Nha will keep its value.
00:58:15.630 --> 00:58:18.450
It's developed, but in a beautiful way.
00:58:18.450 --> 00:58:20.730
What is fitting to Phong Nha.
00:58:20.730 --> 00:58:23.820
Keep it original, keep it
something very Phong Nha,
00:58:23.820 --> 00:58:25.890
very unique in Vietnam.
00:58:25.890 --> 00:58:29.130
If we create that value,
in the next 10 years,
00:58:29.130 --> 00:58:31.353
Phong Nha gonna becoming
paradise to people.
00:58:33.240 --> 00:58:34.680
The ideas of this place,
00:58:34.680 --> 00:58:39.480
it's trying to build an
eco-friendly villa or resort.
00:58:39.480 --> 00:58:41.310
So as you see here,
00:58:41.310 --> 00:58:45.840
we use the material which is
very unique in Quang Binh.
00:58:45.840 --> 00:58:48.870
We use a bamboo cross, bamboo bar.
00:58:48.870 --> 00:58:50.190
It's all eco-friendly.
00:58:50.190 --> 00:58:53.550
So we try to get a little bit
of this, a little bit that,
00:58:53.550 --> 00:58:55.020
and make this unique.
00:58:55.020 --> 00:58:57.210
Phong Nha used to be a lot of backpackers,
00:58:57.210 --> 00:58:59.340
but now it's getting like a middle class.
00:58:59.340 --> 00:59:03.630
And if you could create
different value and it's good,
00:59:03.630 --> 00:59:06.030
I think it will be successful.
00:59:06.030 --> 00:59:09.720
And you see Phong Nha
now, it's so original.
00:59:09.720 --> 00:59:14.160
And a few places like this
doesn't affect all the landscape.
00:59:14.160 --> 00:59:15.150
It's next to the mountain.
00:59:15.150 --> 00:59:17.610
You can hear all the sound of the birds,
00:59:17.610 --> 00:59:19.500
maybe the monkeys jumping out.
00:59:19.500 --> 00:59:20.730
I'm very confident.
00:59:20.730 --> 00:59:22.230
It will take some time,
00:59:22.230 --> 00:59:24.247
but it will be the future of Phong Nha.
00:59:25.740 --> 00:59:29.310
- [Howard] Phong Nha area, there's
more people visit caves here,
00:59:29.310 --> 00:59:31.320
both as an adventure tourism,
00:59:31.320 --> 00:59:32.610
than anywhere else in the world.
00:59:32.610 --> 00:59:35.190
More people are doing
adventure tours in caves
00:59:35.190 --> 00:59:37.230
here than anywhere else comfortably.
00:59:37.230 --> 00:59:39.870
These are not tourist caves
with lights and paths.
00:59:39.870 --> 00:59:42.600
These are proper multi-day adventures.
00:59:42.600 --> 00:59:46.680
- [Man] If we develop
it properly, naturally,
00:59:46.680 --> 00:59:48.960
it will attract a lot of people
00:59:48.960 --> 00:59:52.350
who really want to see the natural beauty.
00:59:52.350 --> 00:59:53.490
- [Howard] It seems to be working.
00:59:53.490 --> 00:59:56.760
The idea of setting up
these adventure tours
00:59:56.760 --> 00:59:58.290
to only limited people,
00:59:58.290 --> 01:00:00.870
preserve the cave, and
yet promote the cave.
01:00:00.870 --> 01:00:03.120
That's what's been a
very successful model,
01:00:03.120 --> 01:00:05.463
and it's growing incredibly well.
01:00:05.463 --> 01:00:07.650
You've only got to walk
the streets of Phong Nha,
01:00:07.650 --> 01:00:09.843
which is full of foreign
tourists at the moment.
01:00:09.843 --> 01:00:11.190
It's really, really busy.
01:00:11.190 --> 01:00:15.990
- [Tourist] We have just arrived
in the small town of Phong Nha.
01:00:15.990 --> 01:00:17.610
It's kind of a cute little town, huh?
01:00:17.610 --> 01:00:18.450
- It really is.
01:00:18.450 --> 01:00:19.980
- [JP] Hi, my name's JP.
01:00:19.980 --> 01:00:22.980
I'm in Phong Nha, Vietnam,
and I'm traveling the world.
01:00:22.980 --> 01:00:25.050
- [Tourist] It is absolutely beautiful.
01:00:25.050 --> 01:00:29.880
The people, the hats. (giggles)
01:00:29.880 --> 01:00:32.220
- [Multi] I love this place.
I love everyone that's here.
01:00:32.220 --> 01:00:34.650
I love what they've got here.
01:00:34.650 --> 01:00:36.210
- [Denise] We're very proud
01:00:36.210 --> 01:00:38.730
that everything has been locally owned.
01:00:38.730 --> 01:00:41.910
That's been a huge deal for Phong Nha.
01:00:41.910 --> 01:00:44.790
The local people saw opportunity,
01:00:44.790 --> 01:00:47.460
they joined forces as families,
01:00:47.460 --> 01:00:50.040
and they started all
of these new endeavors.
01:00:50.040 --> 01:00:53.580
And I always thought that's
one of the biggest things
01:00:53.580 --> 01:00:56.782
that made Phong Nha so
unique and so special.
01:00:56.782 --> 01:01:01.110
- [JP] I mean like, where am I? (chuckles)
01:01:01.110 --> 01:01:03.180
This is like paradise.
01:01:03.180 --> 01:01:05.309
Man, it's gorgeous.
01:01:05.309 --> 01:01:07.590
- Hello.
(woman laughs)
01:01:07.590 --> 01:01:09.772
- [Woman] You're so falling off.
01:01:09.772 --> 01:01:11.497
(orchestral music)
01:01:11.497 --> 01:01:12.815
(people laughing)
(ducks quacking)
01:01:12.815 --> 01:01:15.815
(fireworks)
01:01:17.670 --> 01:01:19.050
- [Denise] Things were going so well.
01:01:19.050 --> 01:01:21.630
Phong Nha was booming.
01:01:21.630 --> 01:01:22.890
It was busy.
01:01:22.890 --> 01:01:27.890
It was full of energy and
people and anticipation
01:01:28.170 --> 01:01:30.660
and hope and big dreams.
01:01:30.660 --> 01:01:33.835
Everyone had big dreams.
01:01:33.835 --> 01:01:36.743
(music swells)
01:01:39.004 --> 01:01:44.004
(birds chirping)
(wind rustling)
01:01:51.720 --> 01:01:52.553
- [Man] In Phong Nha town,
01:01:52.553 --> 01:01:56.463
I think at least 90% business, they close.
01:01:58.560 --> 01:01:59.943
They have no choice.
01:02:02.700 --> 01:02:04.740
So now we block the border.
01:02:04.740 --> 01:02:08.490
So no more tourists, no customers.
01:02:08.490 --> 01:02:11.883
So they have to close and find
other solution, other jobs.
01:02:14.700 --> 01:02:16.200
- [Man] It's a really difficult time.
01:02:16.200 --> 01:02:18.183
This is really tough for the locals.
01:02:19.740 --> 01:02:22.353
A lot of business owners,
they're very scared.
01:02:24.030 --> 01:02:27.660
Phong Nha people rely on tourism.
01:02:27.660 --> 01:02:29.190
And when the tourism is dead,
01:02:29.190 --> 01:02:34.190
it's obviously they
just...yeah, `very stressful.
01:02:37.110 --> 01:02:39.900
- [Man] A lot of business,
they borrow money from the bank
01:02:39.900 --> 01:02:44.490
and now COVID came for three times.
01:02:44.490 --> 01:02:46.513
So bankrupt.
01:02:46.513 --> 01:02:49.233
Some of them, they sell their business.
01:02:50.310 --> 01:02:53.160
Some they going to sell quite cheaper.
01:02:53.160 --> 01:02:54.573
They have no choice now.
01:02:55.650 --> 01:02:57.791
Too much money from the bank.
01:03:49.863 --> 01:03:51.346
- [Multi] A lot of us Westerners here
01:03:51.346 --> 01:03:54.128
are looking over our shoulder
01:03:54.128 --> 01:03:57.990
at where Phong Nha used to
be and we're going, "Well,
01:03:57.990 --> 01:04:00.990
we can't wait 'til the good times return."
01:04:00.990 --> 01:04:05.040
I don't know that we really
can be looking for stuff
01:04:05.040 --> 01:04:07.560
to go back to the way it was.
01:04:07.560 --> 01:04:11.340
If you can just turn around
and look at the future
01:04:11.340 --> 01:04:12.930
and where we're going.
01:04:12.930 --> 01:04:17.644
I think what'll come back
is different development.
01:04:17.644 --> 01:04:20.644
(crickets chirping)
01:04:23.425 --> 01:04:24.737
(glasses clinking)
01:04:24.737 --> 01:04:28.154
(speaking in Vietnamese)
01:05:56.820 --> 01:06:00.153
(singing in Vietnamese)
01:07:10.874 --> 01:07:13.624
(rain falling)
01:07:16.923 --> 01:07:19.350
- [Huong] In the middle of 2020,
01:07:19.350 --> 01:07:21.570
when people started to
talk about the new normal,
01:07:21.570 --> 01:07:22.593
the new normal.
01:07:23.580 --> 01:07:25.620
It would be very sad
01:07:25.620 --> 01:07:29.310
if the new normal is where they continue
01:07:29.310 --> 01:07:32.970
or even more so prioritize
economic benefits
01:07:32.970 --> 01:07:35.013
over environmental impacts.
01:07:36.600 --> 01:07:41.010
So (sighs)...to me, a good new normal
01:07:41.010 --> 01:07:44.130
is actually what Phong
Nha has already been doing
01:07:44.130 --> 01:07:45.990
in the last five, six years
01:07:45.990 --> 01:07:48.630
that other provinces in
Vietnam are not doing.
01:07:48.630 --> 01:07:51.600
And I hope that the people
in charge in Quang Binh
01:07:51.600 --> 01:07:55.683
can see that and can stick to that.
01:07:55.683 --> 01:07:58.380
I did and I still do sometimes have
01:07:58.380 --> 01:08:00.390
that very strong sense of guilt
01:08:00.390 --> 01:08:03.000
that inspired me to start Save
Son Doong in the beginning.
01:08:03.000 --> 01:08:04.800
Sometime came back,
01:08:04.800 --> 01:08:07.830
haunting me as a question
of what am I doing
01:08:07.830 --> 01:08:11.100
to the poor people that
could very much benefit
01:08:11.100 --> 01:08:12.510
from mass tourism.
01:08:12.510 --> 01:08:17.130
Because it is impossible for
me to ask people to starve
01:08:17.130 --> 01:08:20.030
while they know that they're
sitting on a hidden treasure.
01:08:21.000 --> 01:08:23.220
It's unfair for people.
01:08:23.220 --> 01:08:24.480
It's easy for me to say,
01:08:24.480 --> 01:08:26.970
because I grew up in a
privileged background.
01:08:26.970 --> 01:08:30.420
I don't have to worry about
my next meal every day.
01:08:30.420 --> 01:08:32.340
But for those people who do,
01:08:32.340 --> 01:08:35.700
I cannot ask them to go sit and wait
01:08:35.700 --> 01:08:38.823
for the benefits of 10 years,
a hundred years from now.
01:08:40.350 --> 01:08:42.147
- [Multi] We're building a homestay
01:08:42.147 --> 01:08:46.830
and my wife's putting steel
inside the concrete columns.
01:08:46.830 --> 01:08:48.630
And I'm like, "What's this for?"
01:08:48.630 --> 01:08:51.960
She said, "Oh, this is to make
the building last forever."
01:08:51.960 --> 01:08:53.590
I said, "But our daughter's gonna have to
01:08:53.590 --> 01:08:55.530
knock this down soon."
01:08:55.530 --> 01:08:57.510
And she went, "What for?"
01:08:57.510 --> 01:09:01.650
I said, "Maybe a shopping
center, maybe a heliport,
01:09:01.650 --> 01:09:03.810
maybe a cable car."
01:09:03.810 --> 01:09:07.560
And my wife said, "Oh, don't
be silly, that won't happen."
01:09:07.560 --> 01:09:10.950
And I said, "You're standing
here looking at villas
01:09:10.950 --> 01:09:14.280
and a swimming pool in your banana field."
01:09:14.280 --> 01:09:15.540
I said, "When you were a kid,
01:09:15.540 --> 01:09:17.240
did you think this would be here?"
01:09:18.533 --> 01:09:22.110
She went, "Oh yeah, I
can see what you mean."
01:09:22.110 --> 01:09:23.490
People say to me, "Hey, Multi,
01:09:23.490 --> 01:09:25.380
you were here when tourism started.
01:09:25.380 --> 01:09:27.900
You should take credit for this."
01:09:27.900 --> 01:09:29.850
I don't want to take credit for tourism
01:09:29.850 --> 01:09:31.980
because if I have to take the credit,
01:09:31.980 --> 01:09:33.450
then I have to take the blame
01:09:33.450 --> 01:09:36.660
for any bad stuff that happens.
01:09:36.660 --> 01:09:40.110
Phong Nha, in 10 years, there'll
be a Muong Thanh restaurant,
01:09:40.110 --> 01:09:43.440
there'll be a casino,
there'll be golf courses.
01:09:43.440 --> 01:09:46.320
The whole place will be
great and prosperous.
01:09:46.320 --> 01:09:50.340
And in the big picture,
that's a good thing.
01:09:50.340 --> 01:09:52.440
There's always gonna be the money there.
01:09:52.440 --> 01:09:54.990
But what I'm worried about is the locals
01:09:54.990 --> 01:09:56.853
that are gonna suffer from it.
01:09:58.020 --> 01:10:00.510
These people aren't gonna benefit.
01:10:00.510 --> 01:10:02.910
These people are gonna
sell their properties
01:10:02.910 --> 01:10:04.710
for twice what they're worth.
01:10:04.710 --> 01:10:06.390
And then in three years,
01:10:06.390 --> 01:10:10.122
when their properties are
worth 30 times as much,
01:10:10.122 --> 01:10:12.160
they're not gonna be that happy.
01:10:12.160 --> 01:10:16.277
(wind rustling)
01:10:21.277 --> 01:10:25.419
(unsettling orchestral music)
01:10:25.419 --> 01:10:28.260
(wind strengthens)
01:10:31.200 --> 01:10:33.630
- [Giang] As the economy change and grows,
01:10:33.630 --> 01:10:36.393
land has become the
most valuable commodity.
01:10:37.260 --> 01:10:38.703
Everybody wants to have it.
01:10:40.410 --> 01:10:42.843
So Vietnam people don't own land.
01:10:43.830 --> 01:10:46.740
The land is not the people's property.
01:10:46.740 --> 01:10:48.570
The land belongs to the government
01:10:48.570 --> 01:10:50.760
and given to the people to use,
01:10:50.760 --> 01:10:54.420
to build a house, to farm, to grow rice,
01:10:54.420 --> 01:10:55.563
or to build a factory.
01:10:56.400 --> 01:10:59.250
But at any time, the
government could take it back.
01:10:59.250 --> 01:11:01.860
If they say roads need to be built
01:11:01.860 --> 01:11:03.720
or a project need to be invested,
01:11:03.720 --> 01:11:06.780
then they will take away from the people
01:11:06.780 --> 01:11:11.040
with a certain compensation
which almost will never be fair
01:11:11.040 --> 01:11:14.193
and never match the market price.
01:11:15.270 --> 01:11:18.657
- [Huong] Land rights is not
only a hot topic in Vietnam,
01:11:18.657 --> 01:11:20.430
but a sensitive issue,
01:11:20.430 --> 01:11:24.360
that talking about it
can give people trouble.
01:11:24.360 --> 01:11:26.130
It is a sensitive topic
01:11:26.130 --> 01:11:29.370
because there have been cases in the past
01:11:29.370 --> 01:11:34.110
where certain villagers stood
up to governmental officers
01:11:34.110 --> 01:11:36.390
when their land being confiscated
01:11:36.390 --> 01:11:38.100
and they were sent to jail.
01:11:38.100 --> 01:11:40.563
Some even received death sentences.
01:11:41.670 --> 01:11:43.500
A lot of these farmers and fishermen,
01:11:43.500 --> 01:11:45.180
when you ask them about land rights,
01:11:45.180 --> 01:11:47.190
they wouldn't be able to distinguish
01:11:47.190 --> 01:11:50.160
that the certificate that
they're holding in their hand
01:11:50.160 --> 01:11:52.890
only allow them to use
the land for 50 years
01:11:52.890 --> 01:11:55.207
and not to own the land.
01:11:55.207 --> 01:11:57.090
It's just very simple to them
01:11:57.090 --> 01:11:59.460
that they were born on this land
01:11:59.460 --> 01:12:02.490
so they want their son
to be born on this land.
01:12:02.490 --> 01:12:04.710
That's how simple they see it.
01:12:04.710 --> 01:12:06.840
So when somebody knock now on their door
01:12:06.840 --> 01:12:08.400
and said, "You have to leave
01:12:08.400 --> 01:12:10.590
because we using this
for other purposes,"
01:12:10.590 --> 01:12:13.170
it just doesn't make sense to them.
01:12:13.170 --> 01:12:15.990
- [Giang] And that's where
corruption will come into play.
01:12:15.990 --> 01:12:18.450
Because when you have the power
01:12:18.450 --> 01:12:20.553
to reassign the purpose of the land,
01:12:22.320 --> 01:12:24.600
then you will potentially have the power
01:12:24.600 --> 01:12:28.950
to...to...earn the rent.
01:12:28.950 --> 01:12:31.890
To receive the profit out of that.
01:12:31.890 --> 01:12:33.540
So let's say I'm a big developer.
01:12:33.540 --> 01:12:36.600
I see a valuable location, rice fields,
01:12:36.600 --> 01:12:39.840
and I'm a crony of my
politician in that province.
01:12:39.840 --> 01:12:41.460
We could link together
01:12:41.460 --> 01:12:43.920
and say that we need
that land for our project
01:12:43.920 --> 01:12:45.480
which is good for the province,
01:12:45.480 --> 01:12:48.270
and take away the land
from the current land users
01:12:48.270 --> 01:12:50.130
with the minimal compensation
01:12:50.130 --> 01:12:52.796
and enjoy the profit out of that.
01:12:52.796 --> 01:12:54.390
(construction sounds)
01:12:54.390 --> 01:12:56.730
- [Huy] When the big
companies decided to invest
01:12:56.730 --> 01:12:58.200
into local community,
01:12:58.200 --> 01:13:02.190
the reason why the local
officials always welcome
01:13:02.190 --> 01:13:04.140
is because they see the potential
01:13:04.140 --> 01:13:07.170
for their people to be richer.
01:13:07.170 --> 01:13:10.020
As a tourist, we love to enjoy nature.
01:13:10.020 --> 01:13:13.440
But looking from the local
people point of view.
01:13:13.440 --> 01:13:17.910
If there's no industry
for them to make money,
01:13:17.910 --> 01:13:21.780
to earn a living and
for them to get richer,
01:13:21.780 --> 01:13:23.530
for their children to go to school,
01:13:24.960 --> 01:13:26.553
then it's not fair for them.
01:13:27.990 --> 01:13:32.486
So tourism's sometime is a sacrifice.
01:13:50.790 --> 01:13:53.430
- [Man] Bringing a cable
car into the national park
01:13:53.430 --> 01:13:56.220
is not a bad idea if you
know how to control that.
01:13:56.220 --> 01:13:58.680
A lot of people, they cannot
walk into the national park,
01:13:58.680 --> 01:14:00.060
or they cannot go hiking,
01:14:00.060 --> 01:14:02.880
but they still can see the
national park from the sky.
01:14:02.880 --> 01:14:04.500
Sooner or later, it's gonna happen.
01:14:04.500 --> 01:14:06.060
It's a good chance for the local people.
01:14:06.060 --> 01:14:08.370
And it's a good chance for
Quang Binh and Phong Nha
01:14:08.370 --> 01:14:10.320
to show the world that we have everything.
01:14:10.320 --> 01:14:13.920
We have the largest cave, we
have a big cave system here,
01:14:13.920 --> 01:14:15.107
and even have cable car.
01:14:15.107 --> 01:14:18.510
So we have different
options for people to come.
01:14:18.510 --> 01:14:20.760
- [Jonathan] Humankind, as
soon as they discover something
01:14:20.760 --> 01:14:22.860
on the Earth that's unique and wonderful,
01:14:22.860 --> 01:14:24.300
they will desecrate it.
01:14:24.300 --> 01:14:25.800
We have a terrible track record
01:14:25.800 --> 01:14:28.500
of acknowledging,
respecting, and preserving.
01:14:28.500 --> 01:14:31.784
It's one thing to watch the Imperial
sites of China get trampled,
01:14:31.784 --> 01:14:34.380
but it's another thing altogether
to watch a natural wonder
01:14:34.380 --> 01:14:37.440
that took millions and
millions of years to develop.
01:14:37.440 --> 01:14:39.840
And part of that is you
have to have exclusivity
01:14:39.840 --> 01:14:41.220
to have sanctuary.
01:14:41.220 --> 01:14:42.892
The cave needs to be a sanctuary.
01:14:42.892 --> 01:14:45.481
But then that means you got to limit.
01:14:45.481 --> 01:14:47.880
And the way things get limited is by cost.
01:14:47.880 --> 01:14:49.530
- [Huong] The whole idea
that I'm pushing for
01:14:49.530 --> 01:14:52.230
is Son Doong is not a
place for mass tourism.
01:14:52.230 --> 01:14:56.040
So it is a place for a limited
number of people to go to.
01:14:56.040 --> 01:14:59.520
Now who gets to go is the next question.
01:14:59.520 --> 01:15:00.450
And right now,
01:15:00.450 --> 01:15:03.360
one of the biggest filter
is financial ability.
01:15:03.360 --> 01:15:06.510
Who can pay $3,000 for a four day trip?
01:15:06.510 --> 01:15:10.170
Given that the average income
of a Vietnamese citizen
01:15:10.170 --> 01:15:15.170
is about $6,500 a year, $3,000 is a lot.
01:15:15.600 --> 01:15:18.540
- [Multi] If you're looking at it
from an environmental perspective,
01:15:18.540 --> 01:15:20.520
yeah, okay, save Son Doong.
01:15:20.520 --> 01:15:24.780
Yes, put a cage over the front
of it, don't walk in there.
01:15:24.780 --> 01:15:26.298
Save Son Doong.
01:15:26.298 --> 01:15:31.298
Limiting the people that go in
there to the rich and famous?
01:15:33.150 --> 01:15:35.200
No, that's not saving Son Doong.
01:15:35.200 --> 01:15:39.990
That's saving Son Doong for
those that can afford it.
01:15:39.990 --> 01:15:41.860
- [Huong] Not everybody going there
01:15:41.860 --> 01:15:44.280
was to go to Son Doong.
01:15:44.280 --> 01:15:48.900
Thanks to Son Doong, other caves in
this area got a lot more popularity,
01:15:48.900 --> 01:15:50.970
which I don't think
they would be able to do
01:15:50.970 --> 01:15:52.470
without the story of Son Doong.
01:15:52.470 --> 01:15:55.410
Yes, people can get rich
overnight really fast,
01:15:55.410 --> 01:15:56.910
but that's not gonna last.
01:15:56.910 --> 01:15:59.880
And we've seen this over and
over and over in Vietnam.
01:15:59.880 --> 01:16:03.076
And I don't want the same
thing to repeat with Phong Nha.
01:16:03.076 --> 01:16:04.710
Phong Nha is a small village.
01:16:04.710 --> 01:16:07.920
All these villagers are
literally brothers and cousins
01:16:07.920 --> 01:16:11.820
and uncles and aunties
and sisters to each other.
01:16:11.820 --> 01:16:14.850
If you're talking to the poorest people,
01:16:14.850 --> 01:16:18.510
it makes sense why they would
be excited for this project
01:16:18.510 --> 01:16:21.030
in which big companies are promising them
01:16:21.030 --> 01:16:23.580
lots and lots of money,
lots and lots of tourists.
01:16:23.580 --> 01:16:24.780
But for those who are luckier
01:16:24.780 --> 01:16:26.820
and have access to higher education,
01:16:26.820 --> 01:16:29.670
they understand that
when big companies come,
01:16:29.670 --> 01:16:31.830
majority of the profit
would go to the pocket
01:16:31.830 --> 01:16:33.150
of these big companies
01:16:33.150 --> 01:16:35.610
and they, in turn, will just become
01:16:35.610 --> 01:16:37.890
construction workers, et cetera.
01:16:37.890 --> 01:16:41.400
But if we support small local businesses,
01:16:41.400 --> 01:16:45.030
then we can actually create
permanent employment.
01:16:45.030 --> 01:16:48.660
Local businesses founded
and run by local people
01:16:48.660 --> 01:16:51.480
would be the best tool to empower people
01:16:51.480 --> 01:16:53.580
because these local companies
01:16:53.580 --> 01:16:56.610
have the best interest of
the community at heart.
01:16:56.610 --> 01:16:58.260
- [Jonathan] Oxalis is...
01:16:58.260 --> 01:17:01.140
The guy that owns it is
an interesting character.
01:17:01.140 --> 01:17:03.870
He didn't really get into
Oxalis and the cave and all that
01:17:03.870 --> 01:17:05.280
because he wanted to make money.
01:17:05.280 --> 01:17:06.360
He'd already made money.
01:17:06.360 --> 01:17:08.601
And now they're throwing
off revenue and profits
01:17:08.601 --> 01:17:11.820
and they're using those
profits to support schools.
01:17:11.820 --> 01:17:12.930
That's fabulous.
01:17:12.930 --> 01:17:13.950
That's very important.
01:17:13.950 --> 01:17:15.900
Now you have a full cycle.
01:17:15.900 --> 01:17:19.260
The commerciality is
returning to the community
01:17:19.260 --> 01:17:21.870
instead of going to China.
01:17:21.870 --> 01:17:23.130
That's very important.
01:17:23.130 --> 01:17:26.210
If they could keep that loop
going throughout Phong Nha.
01:17:26.210 --> 01:17:30.570
If that concept could sustain
that area, which it won't,
01:17:30.570 --> 01:17:31.551
but if it could,
01:17:31.551 --> 01:17:34.840
they'd have a chance at
really creating something
01:17:36.300 --> 01:17:38.280
that, on the human level, is remarkable,
01:17:38.280 --> 01:17:42.300
as well as associating it with
a remarkable natural wonder.
01:17:42.300 --> 01:17:45.960
- [Interviewer] You say it won't, but
why don't you think that's sustainable?
01:17:45.960 --> 01:17:50.070
- [Jonathan] Because
there's too much at stake.
01:17:50.070 --> 01:17:53.280
And there'll be people and
big players that'll step in.
01:17:53.280 --> 01:17:54.930
Just imagine if the Grand Canyon
01:17:54.930 --> 01:17:56.970
was just discovered this week
01:17:56.970 --> 01:17:58.863
and it didn't belong to anyone.
01:18:00.420 --> 01:18:02.430
And there was a government
that controlled it,
01:18:02.430 --> 01:18:05.730
but they were under the
influence of a lot of forces.
01:18:05.730 --> 01:18:07.161
And then people realized
01:18:07.161 --> 01:18:09.480
that this is gonna become, you know,
01:18:09.480 --> 01:18:12.513
it's gonna become a major
global tourist attraction.
01:18:13.560 --> 01:18:14.870
How would that go?
01:18:14.870 --> 01:18:16.200
It wouldn't go well.
01:18:16.200 --> 01:18:17.670
So I don't have much hope
01:18:17.670 --> 01:18:19.560
that they're suddenly gonna wake up
01:18:19.560 --> 01:18:21.480
and figure out how to develop Phong Nha
01:18:21.480 --> 01:18:26.480
in a way that preserves the charm.
01:18:27.090 --> 01:18:29.760
It'll just get trampled for money.
01:18:29.760 --> 01:18:31.260
And that's just the way it is.
01:18:33.125 --> 01:18:35.875
(wind whooshing)
01:18:41.724 --> 01:18:43.350
- [Explorer] This is
the new cave entrance.
01:18:43.350 --> 01:18:44.820
A phenomenal draft.
01:18:44.820 --> 01:18:46.230
And it's probably hard to make out,
01:18:46.230 --> 01:18:49.230
but there's like a cloud
layer coming up out of cave.
01:18:49.230 --> 01:18:50.550
Incredible.
01:18:50.550 --> 01:18:52.050
Look at them leaves moving.
01:18:52.050 --> 01:18:54.570
Probably bigger than Deer Cave, this one.
01:18:54.570 --> 01:18:57.690
So its claim as being the
largest underground passage,
01:18:57.690 --> 01:18:59.040
is probably gonna have to change.
01:18:59.040 --> 01:19:00.060
When you march through it,
01:19:00.060 --> 01:19:02.210
you realize you're in
a big enclosed space.
01:19:04.350 --> 01:19:05.340
- [Woman] It's quite remarkable
01:19:05.340 --> 01:19:08.673
that no one knew about Son
Doong until about 10 years ago.
01:19:11.940 --> 01:19:12.900
- [Interviewer] When you told people
01:19:12.900 --> 01:19:14.880
that you were going to
this big cave in Vietnam,
01:19:14.880 --> 01:19:16.733
how many of your friends knew about it?
01:19:17.730 --> 01:19:18.563
- [Woman] None.
01:19:18.563 --> 01:19:19.980
- [Man] Absolutely none.
- [Man] Yeah.
01:19:19.980 --> 01:19:21.757
- [Alex] I have to admit that
01:19:21.757 --> 01:19:24.750
95% of the people I told about this cave
01:19:24.750 --> 01:19:26.107
had never heard of it and were like,
01:19:26.107 --> 01:19:28.530
"Why would you wanna go
spend a week in a cave?
01:19:28.530 --> 01:19:30.720
Isn't it dark and you don't see any light?
01:19:30.720 --> 01:19:32.010
And where do you sleep?
01:19:32.010 --> 01:19:33.390
And, ugh, no, not for me."
01:19:33.390 --> 01:19:35.640
- [Greg] The only way that
I even knew about this
01:19:35.640 --> 01:19:39.150
was a friend of mine
posted a story about it
01:19:39.150 --> 01:19:41.490
that was posted on Facebook.
01:19:41.490 --> 01:19:42.840
And I was gearing up
01:19:42.840 --> 01:19:45.750
for this seven-month trip around the world
01:19:45.750 --> 01:19:47.130
and I clicked on it and read the story.
01:19:47.130 --> 01:19:49.140
And I said, "I want to go there,
01:19:49.140 --> 01:19:52.290
and I'm gonna do everything I
can to make sure I go there."
01:19:52.290 --> 01:19:54.330
I mean, that's the only
way I'd heard about it.
01:19:54.330 --> 01:19:59.310
And even after taking the
trek and telling people,
01:19:59.310 --> 01:20:01.500
people were like, "Where, what?
01:20:01.500 --> 01:20:02.333
Vietnam?
01:20:03.450 --> 01:20:04.672
Are you sure?"
01:20:04.672 --> 01:20:07.860
(tense music)
01:20:07.860 --> 01:20:09.420
- [Jonathan] The way the
expedition was organized,
01:20:09.420 --> 01:20:13.020
that particular one is that
we split into three teams
01:20:13.020 --> 01:20:14.640
and each team would have
a set of objectives.
01:20:14.640 --> 01:20:15.990
And we'd set off on Monday morning,
01:20:15.990 --> 01:20:17.610
get back on Friday afternoon,
01:20:17.610 --> 01:20:19.020
and then we'd have the weekend
01:20:19.020 --> 01:20:21.480
sort of admin, relaxing,
having a few beers,
01:20:21.480 --> 01:20:22.920
talking to each other
about what we'd done,
01:20:22.920 --> 01:20:25.020
and then planning for the next week.
01:20:25.020 --> 01:20:27.120
Our team, which comprised of Snablet
01:20:27.120 --> 01:20:28.620
as the sort of team leader,
01:20:28.620 --> 01:20:32.190
and myself, Adam, Hellie, and Trevor.
01:20:32.190 --> 01:20:34.410
We were given this set of objectives.
01:20:34.410 --> 01:20:36.180
And we were sat by the campfire that night
01:20:36.180 --> 01:20:37.710
and we were sort of laughing and joking.
01:20:37.710 --> 01:20:39.930
And Snablet said, "Well,
we're obviously the C team
01:20:39.930 --> 01:20:42.090
because Howard obviously
is leading the A team
01:20:42.090 --> 01:20:43.710
and Debs is obviously leading the B team.
01:20:43.710 --> 01:20:46.170
So that means we must be the C team."
01:20:46.170 --> 01:20:48.690
And, yeah, we were all
quite happy with that.
01:20:48.690 --> 01:20:52.173
And it was just a bit of a
joke and nothing very serious.
01:20:53.550 --> 01:20:57.170
And then, the next day,
we found Hang Son Doong.
01:20:57.170 --> 01:20:59.742
It was just really quite incredible.
01:20:59.742 --> 01:21:02.157
(eerie music)
01:21:02.157 --> 01:21:07.157
(birds cawing)
(wind rustling)
01:21:18.630 --> 01:21:20.313
- [Jonathan] It's very unassuming.
01:21:22.290 --> 01:21:24.690
It's just a pile of
rocks with a hole in it.
01:21:25.753 --> 01:21:30.753
(birds screeching)
(atmospheric rumbling)
01:21:36.870 --> 01:21:37.740
- [Woman] Any normal person
01:21:37.740 --> 01:21:40.410
would never be able to find Son Doong.
01:21:40.410 --> 01:21:45.410
It's literally in the middle
of a huge canopy of mountains.
01:21:48.060 --> 01:21:51.252
From a bird's eye view, you would
never, ever be able to see that.
01:21:52.946 --> 01:21:55.496
So it's remarkable that
it was even discovered.
01:21:56.732 --> 01:22:00.149
(Tuan speaking in Vietnamese)
01:22:12.784 --> 01:22:15.617
(thunder in the background)
01:22:19.650 --> 01:22:22.140
- [Adam] He was on his
own and it was in a storm
01:22:22.140 --> 01:22:25.590
and he sought shelter
underneath a convenient cliff,
01:22:25.590 --> 01:22:29.643
which is the entrance of what
we now call Son Doong Cave.
01:22:31.830 --> 01:22:33.480
And then he forgot about it
01:22:33.480 --> 01:22:37.380
because it wasn't of any
particular use to him.
01:22:37.380 --> 01:22:39.780
And then in 2005,
01:22:39.780 --> 01:22:42.510
he was introduced to the
British caving expedition.
01:22:42.510 --> 01:22:45.210
And he said, "Yep, I used
to go in the jungle a lot.
01:22:45.210 --> 01:22:46.950
I know lots of caves."
01:22:46.950 --> 01:22:49.620
And he agreed to take a digital camera
01:22:49.620 --> 01:22:50.880
and we paid him a bit of money,
01:22:50.880 --> 01:22:54.150
and over the next few years
he sought out caves again,
01:22:54.150 --> 01:22:59.150
finding Son Doong in 2008
and taking us there in 2009.
01:22:59.330 --> 01:23:01.849
(eerie music)
01:23:01.849 --> 01:23:04.599
(water plopping)
01:23:11.760 --> 01:23:12.930
Our initial thoughts were
01:23:12.930 --> 01:23:15.930
it was quite obviously a
reasonably significant cave.
01:23:15.930 --> 01:23:19.470
You can hear the river flowing
inside from the entrance,
01:23:19.470 --> 01:23:22.290
and there's quite a substantial breeze
01:23:22.290 --> 01:23:23.430
coming out of the cave.
01:23:23.430 --> 01:23:26.490
A substantial breeze
normally, would signify
01:23:26.490 --> 01:23:28.490
a substantial cave.
01:23:28.490 --> 01:23:32.048
(errie music)
01:23:34.690 --> 01:23:36.848
(bats squeaking)
01:23:39.480 --> 01:23:42.420
If there aren't any
ropes down the entrance,
01:23:42.420 --> 01:23:44.880
it's a very committing climb.
01:23:44.880 --> 01:23:47.460
It's certainly very
committing on some days.
01:23:47.460 --> 01:23:49.893
The entrance can get very, very slippery.
01:24:00.900 --> 01:24:03.030
We didn't see any footprints at all,
01:24:03.030 --> 01:24:05.730
but in the first part of the cave,
01:24:05.730 --> 01:24:08.583
it floods catastrophically
in the wet seasons.
01:24:17.940 --> 01:24:20.790
It's possible we weren't
the first people in there,
01:24:20.790 --> 01:24:24.183
but it's very unlikely
that anybody had been in.
01:24:25.800 --> 01:24:28.680
Vietnamese only tend to
be interested in caves
01:24:28.680 --> 01:24:32.043
for collecting water,
fishing, and shelter.
01:24:33.794 --> 01:24:37.127
(eerie music continues)
01:24:49.303 --> 01:24:52.220
(orchestral music)
01:25:36.270 --> 01:25:38.790
- [Jonathan] I was
lying in bed that night,
01:25:38.790 --> 01:25:40.350
and I do remember this very clearly,
01:25:40.350 --> 01:25:43.170
and I was thinking, "What have we found?"
01:25:43.170 --> 01:25:45.870
'Cause I'd been to the caves in Mulu.
01:25:45.870 --> 01:25:49.293
I'd only done a very short
trip there, a family trip,
01:25:50.670 --> 01:25:52.320
as a tourist rather than as an explorer.
01:25:52.320 --> 01:25:57.320
But I'd been into Deer
Cave, and...it was bigger.
01:25:57.597 --> 01:26:00.720
And I was convinced that
this was either bigger,
01:26:00.720 --> 01:26:03.540
or as big, or very nearly
as big as Deer Cave.
01:26:03.540 --> 01:26:05.550
And obviously, we couldn't
say anything definitive
01:26:05.550 --> 01:26:07.710
'cause we hadn't done
anywhere near enough work.
01:26:07.710 --> 01:26:09.990
And I'd also been to the
Chiquibul Cave in Belize,
01:26:09.990 --> 01:26:12.477
which at the time was the second
biggest cave in the world,
01:26:12.477 --> 01:26:14.850
and this was clearly
much bigger than that.
01:26:14.850 --> 01:26:15.683
Much bigger.
01:26:16.860 --> 01:26:20.160
So I knew we'd found
something very, very special.
01:26:20.160 --> 01:26:23.010
- [Helen] I'd never been
to Asia caving before.
01:26:23.010 --> 01:26:26.490
And I was just like, "Wow,
all caves must be like this."
01:26:26.490 --> 01:26:29.280
Like, yeah, I was 22 years old, just,
01:26:29.280 --> 01:26:30.870
and I was like, "This is amazing."
01:26:30.870 --> 01:26:33.660
I'm probably less impressed
than Adam and Trevor
01:26:33.660 --> 01:26:35.280
and lots of other people
who'd done lots of discovery,
01:26:35.280 --> 01:26:37.650
'cause I was like, "Oh, maybe
this is just what it's like."
01:26:37.650 --> 01:26:39.630
Whereas, they were just like...
01:26:39.630 --> 01:26:42.570
And I was like, "Well,
yeah, it's pretty cool."
01:26:42.570 --> 01:26:45.060
And actually now, I kind
of look back at that
01:26:45.060 --> 01:26:48.420
and I think that was
so incredibly special.
01:26:48.420 --> 01:26:50.970
And I was so spoiled in that moment,
01:26:50.970 --> 01:26:53.190
in that first experience.
01:26:53.190 --> 01:26:54.180
If someone told me,
01:26:54.180 --> 01:26:56.760
this will be the greatest
discovery of your lifetime,
01:26:56.760 --> 01:26:59.970
at 22, you'll never be
able to top it from here,
01:26:59.970 --> 01:27:01.890
it would seem unlikely to be able to.
01:27:01.890 --> 01:27:04.803
I would have probably gone (gasps) more.
01:27:05.873 --> 01:27:09.240
(soft music)
01:27:09.240 --> 01:27:12.450
- [Adam] There is still a
lot of worthwhile research
01:27:12.450 --> 01:27:13.680
to be done in Son Doong.
01:27:13.680 --> 01:27:16.560
Things do evolve in
caves that you don't see
01:27:16.560 --> 01:27:18.120
in other parts of the world.
01:27:18.120 --> 01:27:20.220
Things can stay alive in caves
01:27:20.220 --> 01:27:23.100
perhaps that are extinct in other places.
01:27:23.100 --> 01:27:24.540
And certainly in parts of Son Doong,
01:27:24.540 --> 01:27:27.030
there are animals as unique in the world.
01:27:27.030 --> 01:27:28.410
- [Darryl] As a geologist,
01:27:28.410 --> 01:27:30.690
we look at the world sometimes
a little bit differently
01:27:30.690 --> 01:27:33.570
and we're dealing all
the time with deep time.
01:27:33.570 --> 01:27:35.460
We think about the age of the Earth,
01:27:35.460 --> 01:27:38.340
the age of this Solar System,
the age of the universe,
01:27:38.340 --> 01:27:40.110
the history of life.
01:27:40.110 --> 01:27:42.600
These caves are time capsules of the past.
01:27:42.600 --> 01:27:45.270
They're this tremendous
archive of information.
01:27:45.270 --> 01:27:47.160
And if you figure out how to read them,
01:27:47.160 --> 01:27:49.380
you're able to learn incredible detail
01:27:49.380 --> 01:27:51.930
about what happened millions of years ago.
01:27:51.930 --> 01:27:52.763
This is an area
01:27:52.763 --> 01:27:55.590
that hasn't been studied, to
my knowledge, extensively,
01:27:55.590 --> 01:27:58.290
and so there may be new
discoveries for science.
01:27:58.290 --> 01:28:00.310
- [Helen] I don't think
anyone wants to see
01:28:01.500 --> 01:28:04.470
the trash on Everest in other places.
01:28:04.470 --> 01:28:06.840
We should learn from what's
happened in the past.
01:28:06.840 --> 01:28:09.660
They have expeditions to
Everest now to pick up rubbish,
01:28:09.660 --> 01:28:13.200
and bits and pieces that the
expeditions have scattered and left.
01:28:13.200 --> 01:28:16.290
It's effectively a tip, the
world's tallest mountain.
01:28:16.290 --> 01:28:20.520
And I wouldn't want that for Son Doong.
01:28:20.520 --> 01:28:23.394
- [Jonathan] It's very
probable that at some point,
01:28:23.394 --> 01:28:25.350
the Vietnamese tourist industry
01:28:25.350 --> 01:28:26.880
and the Vietnamese government
01:28:26.880 --> 01:28:29.490
will put pressure on enabling
01:28:29.490 --> 01:28:31.440
much more universal access to the cave.
01:28:32.490 --> 01:28:34.770
And I have to say, I have
two minds about this.
01:28:34.770 --> 01:28:37.670
First of all, as a conservationist,
it will be a disaster.
01:28:38.940 --> 01:28:39.930
But on the other hand,
01:28:39.930 --> 01:28:42.660
do we as foreign conservationists
have the right to say
01:28:42.660 --> 01:28:43.890
that the Vietnamese people
01:28:43.890 --> 01:28:45.660
are not allowed to go
and see this great cave
01:28:45.660 --> 01:28:46.620
in their country.
01:28:46.620 --> 01:28:51.330
So I'm hoping that they hold off.
01:28:51.330 --> 01:28:55.923
But...it's gonna be such
a temptation for them.
01:28:56.856 --> 01:28:59.689
(heartfelt music)
01:29:02.224 --> 01:29:04.974
(water swishing)
01:29:07.260 --> 01:29:10.350
- [Huong] Sometimes I got
this really weird conflict
01:29:10.350 --> 01:29:14.280
within myself after I
discover a beautiful place.
01:29:14.280 --> 01:29:15.600
Should I tell people about it?
01:29:15.600 --> 01:29:17.725
Should I not tell people about it?
01:29:17.725 --> 01:29:19.470
It may sound conflicting,
01:29:19.470 --> 01:29:24.300
but as an educator myself,
I don't believe in the idea
01:29:24.300 --> 01:29:27.450
of hiding information from people.
01:29:27.450 --> 01:29:30.060
People should know about
beautiful places in their country.
01:29:30.060 --> 01:29:31.860
People should feel proud.
01:29:31.860 --> 01:29:34.800
And hopefully that pride
will be what motivates them
01:29:34.800 --> 01:29:37.116
to protect those places.
01:29:37.116 --> 01:29:38.970
I actually dislike the fact
01:29:38.970 --> 01:29:41.730
that Son Doong is always advertised
01:29:41.730 --> 01:29:43.830
as the world's largest cave.
01:29:43.830 --> 01:29:44.880
Yes, it is true.
01:29:44.880 --> 01:29:46.530
It is the world's largest cave,
01:29:46.530 --> 01:29:48.570
and that title probably what attracts
01:29:48.570 --> 01:29:50.820
a lot of people to this place.
01:29:50.820 --> 01:29:52.680
But I think Son Doong deserves
01:29:52.680 --> 01:29:55.380
so much more recognition than that.
01:29:55.380 --> 01:29:57.060
Me, myself, I went to Son Doong
01:29:57.060 --> 01:30:00.030
because of the fact
that it was so isolated
01:30:00.030 --> 01:30:01.500
from the outside world
01:30:01.500 --> 01:30:04.650
and its pristine charm has been preserved
01:30:04.650 --> 01:30:06.723
through millions of years.
01:30:07.800 --> 01:30:11.730
Son Doong is beautiful
because of its ecosystem.
01:30:11.730 --> 01:30:12.817
Inside this cave,
01:30:12.817 --> 01:30:16.350
there are two jungles,
two rivers, one waterfall.
01:30:16.350 --> 01:30:19.080
There is even fog inside the cave
01:30:19.080 --> 01:30:22.530
that makes you sometimes
forget that you're underground.
01:30:22.530 --> 01:30:25.050
Now imagine the same cave,
01:30:25.050 --> 01:30:29.220
but without the living
ecosystem inside Son Doong.
01:30:29.220 --> 01:30:30.150
Would it be beautiful
01:30:30.150 --> 01:30:32.790
or just gonna be the worst largest hole?
01:30:32.790 --> 01:30:37.680
An empty chamber with no
habitats, nothing. It's dead.
01:30:37.680 --> 01:30:39.270
It's gonna be very boring
01:30:39.270 --> 01:30:40.890
if you're just gonna walk through a hole
01:30:40.890 --> 01:30:43.323
for like 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days.
01:30:44.370 --> 01:30:49.080
So Son Doong deserves some
time for us to study and admire
01:30:49.080 --> 01:30:53.300
before we let human beings
in and destroy everything.
01:30:57.960 --> 01:31:00.720
- [Jonathan] People are a lot more
conscious now of what can happen.
01:31:00.720 --> 01:31:04.500
And these vulnerable indigenous cultures
01:31:04.500 --> 01:31:07.320
are also sensitive to their impact.
01:31:07.320 --> 01:31:11.760
So there's a lot more
experience in the world
01:31:11.760 --> 01:31:16.470
of how a little village like
Phong Nha could be impacted
01:31:16.470 --> 01:31:18.270
because of the value of the cave.
01:31:18.270 --> 01:31:22.200
I would say Phong Nha will
become a lot more accessible.
01:31:22.200 --> 01:31:23.490
There'll be...
01:31:23.490 --> 01:31:24.360
Well, it depends.
01:31:24.360 --> 01:31:25.470
It's hard to know.
01:31:25.470 --> 01:31:27.690
- [Denise] It's inevitable, it's coming.
01:31:27.690 --> 01:31:30.140
There will be a cable car at some point.
01:31:30.140 --> 01:31:33.630
We can talk about how we don't
want it as much as we want,
01:31:33.630 --> 01:31:36.090
but it is going to happen.
01:31:36.090 --> 01:31:39.690
So it'd be nice if the right
people are on the committees.
01:31:39.690 --> 01:31:41.040
That's all we can pray for,
01:31:41.040 --> 01:31:44.550
is that those types of people are in place
01:31:44.550 --> 01:31:47.700
and direct the growth that we have.
01:31:47.700 --> 01:31:49.890
And it's not just about the money.
01:31:49.890 --> 01:31:52.170
It's about responsible tourism.
01:31:52.170 --> 01:31:55.590
- [Multi] So it's inevitable,
but I can still care about 'em.
01:31:55.590 --> 01:31:59.967
So, yeah, the care's
still there. (chuckles)
01:32:03.240 --> 01:32:05.853
But, yeah, you're right.
01:32:06.750 --> 01:32:07.833
It's inevitable.
01:32:12.840 --> 01:32:16.550
But being here on the ground...
01:32:18.210 --> 01:32:21.213
Yeah, so for me, being
here and seeing it happen.
01:32:22.140 --> 01:32:25.113
Sometimes in history you've
been able to deflect it.
01:32:26.307 --> 01:32:27.730
So, yeah, I suppose it would've been nice
01:32:27.730 --> 01:32:29.771
to be able to deflect it.
01:32:29.771 --> 01:32:32.807
(people chattering)
(crickets chirping)
01:32:32.807 --> 01:32:35.460
(orchestral music)
01:32:35.460 --> 01:32:38.850
- [Huong] If we put human
beings as the center of it all,
01:32:38.850 --> 01:32:40.920
then I think of the feeling that I had.
01:32:40.920 --> 01:32:43.500
The overwhelming feeling that I had
01:32:43.500 --> 01:32:44.793
when I went to Son Doong.
01:32:46.067 --> 01:32:48.150
I want my children to feel the same.
01:32:49.290 --> 01:32:53.490
The pride I felt when they
discovered this place.
01:32:53.490 --> 01:32:55.260
I want my children to be proud, too,
01:32:55.260 --> 01:32:57.260
when they talk about their home country.
01:32:58.110 --> 01:33:00.540
I love this country very much.
01:33:00.540 --> 01:33:03.360
And to think that my
children would grow up
01:33:03.360 --> 01:33:06.300
not being able to enjoy
what I'm enjoying right now,
01:33:06.300 --> 01:33:10.470
just like how whenever I hear
stories from my grandmother
01:33:10.470 --> 01:33:14.850
about how beautiful Ho Chi Minh
used to be compared to now.
01:33:14.850 --> 01:33:17.663
Yeah, I don't want
history to repeat itself.
01:33:17.663 --> 01:33:20.580
(orchestral music)
01:33:29.262 --> 01:33:30.542
(atmospheric whooshing)
01:33:30.542 --> 01:33:33.542
(people chattering)
01:33:35.137 --> 01:33:37.887
(birds chirping)
01:33:39.581 --> 01:33:42.243
(atmospheric whooshing)
01:33:42.243 --> 01:33:44.993
(water swishing)
01:33:52.178 --> 01:33:55.428
(atmospheric whooshing)
01:33:58.144 --> 01:34:00.727
(gentle music)
01:34:05.640 --> 01:34:10.290
- [Hai] I know that it's a lot
of bad things still going on.
01:34:10.290 --> 01:34:11.580
There's a lot of awful things.
01:34:11.580 --> 01:34:13.260
A lot of drama in the background.
01:34:13.260 --> 01:34:16.560
A lot of games, a lot of
fighting, whatever shit.
01:34:16.560 --> 01:34:19.650
But the point is, at the end of the day,
01:34:19.650 --> 01:34:21.900
There's still a lot of
positive thing with that.
01:34:22.740 --> 01:34:24.831
The good cake as always,
01:34:24.831 --> 01:34:28.050
will attract a lot of greedy people.
01:34:28.050 --> 01:34:31.620
But if they work singularly, individually,
01:34:31.620 --> 01:34:35.370
I don't think it will not be
welcomed by the community.
01:34:35.370 --> 01:34:37.710
Everything has two faces.
01:34:37.710 --> 01:34:40.320
One is the good, one is the bad.
01:34:40.320 --> 01:34:42.960
So with all the bad thing happening,
01:34:42.960 --> 01:34:46.530
I'm pretty confident if people
know how to work together,
01:34:46.530 --> 01:34:48.213
Phong Nha, I think, will be good.
01:34:49.110 --> 01:34:52.793
But it needs some time, for us to learn.
01:34:53.865 --> 01:34:58.069
(water swishing)
(atmospheric rumbling)
01:34:58.069 --> 01:35:00.986
(orchestral music)
01:35:28.544 --> 01:35:31.884
- [Woman] Thank you,
everybody, for coming today.
01:35:31.884 --> 01:35:34.350
(speaking in Vietnamese)
01:35:34.350 --> 01:35:37.799
We want to protect our environment, yes?
01:35:37.799 --> 01:35:38.885
- [Children] Yes.
01:35:38.885 --> 01:35:42.548
- Okay, today we pick up rubbish, yes?
01:35:42.548 --> 01:35:46.223
(children clapping)
01:35:46.223 --> 01:35:49.556
(singing in Vietnamese)
01:37:13.053 --> 01:37:15.302
- [Giang] Well, the good sign
is that, a few years ago,
01:37:15.302 --> 01:37:17.220
the national government announced that.
01:37:17.220 --> 01:37:19.775
But we are very cautious.
01:37:19.775 --> 01:37:24.240
There's no...there's nothing
who held them accountable
01:37:24.240 --> 01:37:25.470
for that statement.
01:37:25.470 --> 01:37:28.860
Governments come and go, so
now we got a new government.
01:37:28.860 --> 01:37:33.120
And they all can have a
different thought on that, right?
01:37:33.120 --> 01:37:33.953
They can turn around
01:37:33.953 --> 01:37:36.360
and say, "Hey, look, well, things change.
01:37:36.360 --> 01:37:39.240
Now we need to rethink our priority
01:37:39.240 --> 01:37:41.280
and this is what we should do now."
01:37:41.280 --> 01:37:46.170
So that number, 10 years,
is just a symbolic number.
01:37:46.170 --> 01:37:50.907
It says that they are not
ready to do that right now,
01:37:50.907 --> 01:37:52.110
but it doesn't mean
01:37:52.110 --> 01:37:54.810
that they will not try it again in future.
01:37:54.810 --> 01:37:56.430
- [Huong] We're keeping our finger crossed
01:37:56.430 --> 01:38:01.430
that the side that's leaning
towards conservation is winning.
01:38:01.435 --> 01:38:05.370
But then again, they always
say "as of right now."
01:38:05.370 --> 01:38:08.930
Even though UNESCO did ask them to cancel
01:38:08.930 --> 01:38:13.925
all cable car plans to
Son Doong permanently,
01:38:15.450 --> 01:38:17.100
they have never said "permanently."
01:38:17.100 --> 01:38:20.157
They always give a
timeline, "oh, until 2030,"
01:38:21.355 --> 01:38:22.230
or "as of right now."
01:38:22.230 --> 01:38:27.230
So, I still believe that this
is an ongoing campaign for us.
01:38:28.171 --> 01:38:32.996
(singing in Vietnamese)
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 99 minutes
Date: 2022
Genre: Expository
Language: English; Vietnamese
Grade: 7-12, College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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