About the Mekong 1947 Cave: The name comes from the red-blood graffiti at the entrance of the cave: « Le Mékong 1947 ».  The cave is reminiscent of an underground sewer, a gaping entrance to a nefarious netherworld or maybe an old Eastern-European factory before the fall of the Iron Curtain.  I would imagine that the deranged draftsman responsible for the cave completed his work 1947, hence the tag.  Either way it’s badass.

The legend is murky – attempts to ask the local fishermen for clarification have met with averted eyes and hushed whispers. In view of the peculiar dialect in which the graffiti is written (some claim it is French – either way, it is a heathen tongue), the discoverer of this cave might very well have been a sailor from the French Navy, during those troubled periods of forgotten yore. If so, the poor soul must have lost his map - the Mekong River is over 1500 km away, down south near Ho-Chi-Minh City. The use of the peculiar language supports the idea of a lost sailor, who probably suffered a similar fate all visitors of the cave inevitably suffer: too much rice whiskey and a bleary eyed hangover.

Review

Cat Ba to the Mekong 1947 cave: 1h 30
Number of climbing routes: 10
Routes accessible at high tide: 8
Routes accessible at low tide: 6 (shown in red on the map)
Grades: 4c - >7a
Depth of water:  Great when the tide is high – still safe with low tide, though starts are more difficult.
Rock: good quality
Other: Mekong Cave 1947 is one of the best areas for Deep Water Soloing, with a lot of routes open at high tide, compact rock and depth > 5m.

Location

This cave is located in the Lang Ha bay, archipelago of Dao Dau Be (or “Calf head” island, in English): South West of Halong, North East of Cat Ba. More precisely, near Ba Ham Ho.

Climbing guidebook

See the picture and drawing of the routes. In front of cave, from right to left:

Climbing route n° 1, 6a+
Start from the angle on the right, go to the right to reach a kind of big potatoes, end at the ridge with vegetation. Uninteresting route at high tide.

Climbing route n° 2, 6a+
Start from the angle on the right, follow the crack on few meters. From the tufa you take as an undercling, you have jugs, which lead you to the right to same platform as the Route n°1.

Climbing route n° 3, 6c
Start from the base wall, go round by the left, follow the crack, which goes to the left and becomes horizontal. Stand in the middle of the lip to reach 2 holes, and go on in a thin crack, which becomes horizontal. Go to the left, reach the edges and finish in a hole….

Climbing route n°4, Emmet’s Route, variant of the n°3
Go straight in the steep wall (3 dynamic steps, first hole on the right of the graffiti). After reaching the horizontal crack, join the route n°3.  Accessible only at high tide.

Climbing route n°5, 4c
On the right of the corner, follow the slab. Be careful, fall forbidden, you must down-climb. Accessible only at high tide.

Climbing route n°6, project ?
On the right of the cave, to go inside the lagoon. Start on the “tufas” and follow up (roof) until the big stalactite, on continue straight away. Accessible only at high tide.

Climbing route n°7, Loskot’s Route, >7a
On the left of the cave, start with the hanging rope, traverse (very steep) to the left to reach a black stalactite. Go up on few meters with jugs, then traverse to the right to reach 2 big holes. Go on a little bit higher, have a rest in the third hole (foot in the hole). Go up with pinches (crux) and reach the top of the cave.

Climbing route n°8, other start for the route n°7, >7a
By high tide, you can start directly with the black stalactite and avoid some hard moves. Accessible only at high tide.

Climbing route n°9, 7a
Start on the left of the enter of the cave, follow the obvious crack (on the shells). After few meters, follow the bad underclings on the right, then the tufas in the roof and reach the lip.
Uninteresting route by high tide.

Climbing route n°10, 6c
Same start as the route n°9, but avoid the underclings on the right, and go on the crack. After the lip, rising traverse on the right to reach the top of the cave. High : about 13 m. Pictures: Michael Gardine

Videos :

Vietclimb Prod

Voie 8, Variant of Loskot’s Route : 1.05- 1.50
Voie 2 : 2.52 – 3.30