Hey, everyone! Buckle up because this is going to be one hell of a post! I have spent the last seven nights in Cát Tiên National Park enjoying the wildlife haven that it is. It has been a really special week. I originally was only going to stay three nights but I extended it to five nights… and then to seven nights. My visit around the rest of Vietnam hasn’t been nearly as wildlife heavy as Cát Tiên – but it certainly makes for a great grand finale!

A few housekeeping things:

1) If you’re interested in my art, have a look at my merchandise on RedBubble!
2) If wanting to read my first novel, Eclipse Me, you can find the link here.

Intro to Cát Tiên National Park

From Đà Lạt, I took a four hour bus to Cát Tiên. This wasn’t a… regular bus. Transportation from Đà Lạt to Cát Tiên isn’t easy in the same way as pretty much every other destination and so I had to contact a local online to help me book the bus. And so while I’d gotten used to “sleeper busses” and “VIP limousines,” this time I was on a “local” bus. I was expecting a bunch of locals but no, it actually was a bus served for transporting flower arrangements. How cute is that? Along the way, the bus stopped multiple times to collect flower shipments from local business owners. And hey, the bus smelled pretty good.

By early afternoon, I arrived at Cát Tiên. I met with Luan, the “manager” of the homestay (the son of the owners, from what I gathered). Luan has been incredible through and through – he helped answer so many questions for me prior to and during my stay in Cát Tiên. He’s a total legend.

Luan showed me to my room which was perfect. I should have taken a photo – I don’t know why I didn’t. Outside the room was an outdoor patio with hammocks to look over the river. Much like Taman Negara in Malaysia, one has to simply take a 1min boat ride across the river to enter the national park.

I even had a few preemptive wildlife visitors outside my room.

Cát Tiên National Park only gets about 60,000 annual visitors which I’d say is pretty low. To put into perspective, Yellowstone gets ~4.5 million visitors (according to Google).

I’d heard of Cát Tiên when I started to thoroughly research where to look for wildlife in Vietnam. Through various sources (Reddit, ChatGPT, etc.), I was told that Ba Bể and Cát Tiên were probably the top spots in Vietnam. Cát Bà popped up, too. But Cát Tiên was sort of the holy grail of wildlife, at least from how it sounded to me. And it certainly delivered.

I didn’t get up to much that first day. Because I arrived in the late afternoon, I pretty much checked in, walked around town, hung out with the friendly hostel dogs, and got dinner. I was eager to get inside the park, though, so that’s exactly what I did the next morning.

Into the Jungle

I woke up somewhat early and went to the dock to buy an entry ticket. For $2, I was able to get the boat across the river and back, and walk around the park the entire day.

The park has one main road running through it. To the west of the park headquarters (HQ), it winds through some light forest and then opens up into a number of paddocks. That is a great spot for birding and also seeing deer. To the east of HQ, the foliage is much denser. The road crosses over some streams and then forks. To the left is the path leading to Crocodile Lake, to the right leads to a viewpoint of the rapids.

On my first day, I went to the east of HQ. I walked slowly and kept my eyes peeled for any kind of wildlife sighting. First creature spotted was a striped flatworm. Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, BEETLEJUICE! I also saw one of these Pinnochio/dildo-looking dudes. I’d seen its cousin back in Sumatra.

Maybe ten minutes down the road, there was a small nature trail that was home to some very large, old trees. It only took about five minutes to walk around.

I continued on. Of course, I spotted little skinks and small lizards. I tried to photograph birds but the bastards are so skittish, they make it nearly impossible!

Another trail cut off to the right – the “botanical gardens” part of the park. To be honest with you, I was very nervous to walk through this area. I had heard Cát Tiên can be quite leech-y and… well, I am not a big fan of leeches. At all. Terrified, in fact. And the botanical gardens fit the bill for their favored habitat. Damp and shaded. AH! I didn’t end up seeing any leeches there. Which is very good because I hadn’t yet purchased leech socks.

I reached the rapids and then still walked a little further. The main road ended up turning to mud and I thought… nah. Good point to start heading back. I’d already been walking for a long while.

As I turned back, I stood at the edge of the trail and looked down at a small stream below. Definitely snake territory – good place for them to look for frogs and maybe small fish. And sure enough, there he is! It was a very quick sighting and the photos turned out terribly so I’m not going to share them. It was a Bocourt’s Mud Snake. I was slightly frustrated that I wasn’t able to get a decent photo. I am seriously such a brat sometimes.

Pouting, I kept walking. Not two minutes later, I spotted a bronzeback snake to my left. The universe was like, “here ya go – take a decent photo of this l’il guy instead!” BUT I’VE ALREADY TAKEN PHOTOS OF BRONZEBACKS BEFORE!!! Still, I was pleased. Two snakes on my first day in Cát Tiên? Talk about a win.

Once I arrived back at HQ, I stopped at the birdwatching hide which went up six flights. It was pretty high up. I managed to spot a couple of racket-tailed drongos. I’d seen them before (was it Malaysia?). I think they’re the coolest birds – I love their little pigtails. I later learned that only the males have those plumes.

Satisfied, I returned back to my hostel. It had been a long day but a good day and a great introduction to the national park. Luan had told me that two people were going to be doing a wildlife boat tour the next morning. While I wasn’t initially sold on it, three people would be splitting the cost, making it much more affordable. For USD$11, why not?

Wildlife Boat Tour

I woke up at 5.45am and headed to the edge of the accommodation grounds, waiting to be picked up by boat.

Every morning, from about 5-8am, gibbons can be heard singing. They sing for a number of reasons. I’ve always known it to be marking their territory, but the Interweb is telling me it’s also to “bond with their family and advertise their relationships to other gibbons.” Did you know gibbons are monogamous, unlike most primates?

However, I also read (somewhere, IDK where) that gibbons are sort of the guardians of the forest. That they sing to tell all the other animals that the day has begun and it’s time to wake up. They also supposedly “maintain the balance of nature” – bridging the gap between animals and humans.

There are a number of gibbons in Cát Tiên National Park and for $50, you can join a tour to hear their song and potentially spot them. As I waited for the boat, I smiled – I could hear the gibbons singing from across the river. Why pay $50 for a low guarantee of a sighting? I’d rather try to spot them on my own. I know that might sound hypocritical – I was spending $10 on a wildlife tour that morning and later that evening, spending $100 to go herping through the jungle for six hours in search of snakes. BUT because I’d already seen gibbons in Sumatra, albeit a difference species, I felt it wasn’t a priority for me.

A few minutes later, the boat arrived. The two other guests joined and we began our early morning adventure.

Pretty much from the get-go, our guide was spotting wildlife for us. He spotted some birds and then took the boat towards the rapids. We were fighting against the rapids only briefly – he just wanted to show us how powerful it was. Then he turned it back around and we cruised along the other way, towards the national park entrance.

I couldn’t believe some of the things he was able to spot. He was able to point out a Chinese water dragon, which looked peculiarly like an iguana. I had no idea such things existed here in Vietnam! Crazy.

He also pointed out various kingfisher birds, which I always like. Some of them are so colorful! He also pointed out a black and white pair. At one point, he tried to point out a “great” kingfisher to me, but I couldn’t spot it until it was already flying away. That one was way larger than the others. I was bummed I missed the shot haha.

Probably my highlight of the morning was being able to see a couple black-shanked douc langurs high up in the canopy. Yay! My langur journey continues. The dusky langurs in Malaysia, Cát Bà, Delacour’s, Red-shanked, and now Black-shanked. Success. Langurs, langurs, everywhere! I was hopeful that I would get to see them closer another day in the park.

We also saw a group of macaques – although, to be honest, I’ve seen so many macaques since being in Asia, I’m not all that impressed anymore haha.

The ride was maybe an hour and fifteen minutes. Pretty quick, but much was seen in that time. The tour was so unexpectedly fun and really rich with wildlife sightings. $10 well spent.

When I returned to my accommodation, I had breakfast and asked Luan if I could buy a pair of leech socks. I knew I was going to be needing them while in Cát Tiên. I had just gotten lucky my first day.

I then went to sleep until like 11am hahaha. I was tired after waking up so early. That evening, I was going on yet another tour – a herping tour to try and see some cool snakes. Usually the park kind of closes at 6pm and you have to take the ferry back right around that time. So night walking is not really an option. There were night tours in a jeep but I’d read they were usually pretty disappointing. The jeep is loud and scares off the animals, etc. So I decided to pass. But I knew I really wanted to get into the park to try and see snakes at night. Soooo, $100 later and the deal was done.

Before doing so, though, I had a lazy afternoon. I laid in the hammock and read some of a Danielle Steele book (which is incredible, btw. It’s called Malice). It began pouring rain for maybe thirty minutes.

Every now and again, I’d look towards the river to see if there were any cool birds or monkeys. After the rain stopped, I noticed two large birds along the top of the canopy. Is that… could it be..? I went to grab my camera and with my zoom lens I was able to confirm – YES, there was a pair of oriental pied hornbills taking a breather!

It took me back to my time in Sumatra (when all the hornbills looked like silhouettes) and then Malaysia, where I luckily spotted the elusive rhino hornbill. Oriental pied hornbills are much more common but just as lovely. I kept snapping photo after photo. Maybe ten minutes later, they both cried out and then took flight.

What a lovely afternoon. What a lovely day it was shaping up to be! A morning wildlife tour, a long sleep-in, a rainy afternoon, and then hornbills?! But the day hadn’t ended yet – I still had a six hour tour to attend.

Herping Tour

As I got ready to head to the park, I was met with quite the surprise. Because my shoes were outside the room (as is custom in Asia), I’ve taken to shaking out my shoes before putting them on. Snakes, crabs, who knows. Well, this time a bullfrog plopped out. LOL. What a beautiful frog.

I took the ferry over around 5pm because I wanted some time to walk around on my own before the tour started. I’m glad I had enough sense to buy leech socks because I managed to get a single leech on me during that time. I was able to flick it off without issue. Shivers ran up my body and I shuddered. I. Do not. Like. Leeches.

I met Khanh, my guide, at HQ as well as Huel who was a taxidermy specialist who was in Cát Tiên working for the week. Huel decided to tag along on the adventure. No problem with me – the more eyes, the better.

First things first – leech cream. Khanh slathered it on his leech socks and his shoes. I followed suit, heeding that advice. The last thing I wanted was more leeches on me.

And then… into the jungle.

I hope this isn’t going to be annoying to read about, but my fear of leeches was really starting to activate. I just… God, I did NOT want them on me. And as we walked through the jungle, I started to see them. The fear started to consume me. It made the first half of the jungle trek pretty unpleasant. I kept checking my legs every few minutes and any time I bumped into a twig or a drop of rainwater fell off a leaf and onto my head, I shuddered. The fear was real. The terrain was also pretty rough and muddy – it reminded me of tramping during my night walk in Lombok where I hurt my eye.

My fear was alleviated temporarily when we would spot some sort of wildlife. Early on, we spotted a few bent-toed geckos, some frogs, etc. Fun stuff. Also, the occasional huntsman, though I’m very used to them now.

Maybe thirty minutes in, I managed to spot it: A SNAKE! Was it… was this a banded krait? No, absolutely not. A mangrove cat snake? No. Khanh told me it was a common bridle snake. COOL! A species I’d never seen before. We were all happy to see a snake. Khanh lit the scene as I snapped some photos. It was in a less than ideal position. At one point, Khanh kind of shook the branch and then the snake rearranged itself in a lovely display. I’ve mentioned this before – I prefer in-situ shots, not “staged” kind of things, but those staged shots really make for good pictures haha.

I was tickled when both Khanh and Huel spent time taking photos with their phones too. I love when others are interested in wildlife the same way I am.

We continued on and shortly after, Huel spotted… A GIANT CENTIPEDE. Except, it wasn’t a “giant centipede” species that I’d become accustomed to seeing in Asia. this was literally like a monster version of the house centipede. These things are like my worst nightmare. Just kidding – now that’s leeches.

Speaking of leeches, at this point they had started crawling on me. I would try to flick them off but sometimes, they would stick to my fingers before I could. Huel became my savior – he would pluck the leeches off of me. Bless him. At first it would be just one or two. As the night wore on it was maybe three or four. During the deepest part of the trek, I swear I must have had fifteen on me at once. They never did manage to crawl very far up my leech socks. None of them got inside, none of them sucked my blood. But I was certainly living in fear LOL. It was terrible. The things I do for snakes. Sigh.

We spotted a number of cool things – interesting spiders I’d never seen before, some cute frogs, a scorpion. We also saw a porcupine and a civet, but I wasn’t able to take photos in time.

Khanh pointed out what looked like a ball of fluff. It was a sleeping bird! I lovvve this picture. It’s so cute!

We managed to see a few other sleeping/resting birds. This would be one of the only times I was able to get a half-decent photo of birds while in Cát Tiên haha. The rest of the time, they were always flying away from me, damn it!

During the deepest point in our trek, we stopped for a ten minute break. Just before doing so, Huel spotted a whip spider/scorpion. Now, I’ve seen these things on the internet before but have never had the pleasure of seeing them in real life. They’re not actually even spiders, nor scorpions, although they do look like some strange combination of both. After our break was up, I forgot where it was, and I almost stepped on it, causing it to scurry away. Eek!

We carried on, this time taking a different path back to the main road. This is going to, again, make me sound like a brat (look, I AM a brat, okay?), but I was feeling slightly disappointed that I had only seen one snake so far. The snake-to-leech ratio was not up to my standard. If I had to put up with these goddamn leeches, I should be seeing more snakes, damn it! Well, the universe said have-no-fear. As we crossed a stream, Khanh spotted a Bocourt’s mud snake. Remember the snake I’d seen the day prior? THIS was the same species, and this time I was able to get a better photo. Hoorah! It was a pretty bulky snake. Most of the time since being in Asia, the snakes I’ve seen are on the skinny side. Not this boy. He was CHUNKY. Loves it.

Maybe 45 minutes and 45 leeches later, we were back on the main road. Now this was the type of herping I like to do. I get the appeal of trekking through dense jungle, looking for wildlife. I mean, wildlife THRIVES in those thick conditions. But honestly, I prefer wide, open trails. I feel safer and I feel it’s easier to see snakes and other creatures when they’re crossing the road.

Almost immediately, I spotted a snake on the road in front of us. It was pretty small and moving a lot, so it was hard to get a decent photo. Khanh thought it was a juvenile red-necked keelback, but I posted it on Reddit later and someone confirmed it’s actually a white-spotted slug snake. Eats slugs.

Third snake of the night! C’mon!

I was thinking Khanh was going to have us turn around and head back to HQ sooner but in fact, we were able to walk along the main road for a while still. Another bonus of main-road-walking was… no more leeches trying to crawl up my legs. What a win.

At a certain point, I hovered my torch over something tucked into the grass. It was bright green but not moving. Was it..?

“Viper,” Khanh said excitedly. He found a stick and lifted the viper up, relocating it to a tree branch. “White-lipped pit viper,” he explained. Why is it that pit vipers are the #1 venomous species I’ve seen in Asia? I’m always seeing these guys! But I have to admit, seeing a venomous snake is always a real delight.

I was incredibly pleased with the shots I was able to get of this guy. Such a gorgeous specimen. Vipers are very docile, they typically won’t bite unless they’re stepped on or cornered. I follow a few of my past guides on Instagram and I’m amazed at how close the guides get to the vipers. Me? I like to keep my distance LOL.

The viper was a good turning point for us. It was getting late, almost 11pm, and so we began heading back to HQ. Along the way, Khanh found a red-necked keelback resting on a palm leaf. So very cute!

And maybe five minutes from HQ, he spotted a green cat snake. “What big EYES you have!” I’d love to see this guy again under better positioning. He was kind of faced away from us the whole time. I love the color though. The big eyes, the varied color, the way it was curled into the foliage. It was a solid final sighting of the night.

All in all, we saw six different species of snake. Had I been hoping for a cobra or a krait? 100%. But I think those will be awaiting me in Thailand.

Aside from the leeches, it had been a spectacular night for nocturnal wildlife sightings. Sleeping birds, porcupine, whip spiders, leeches, snakes, centipedes, leeches, geckos, frogs, leeches, scorpions, leeches, leeches, leeches, LEECHES.

Too many leeches. Ugh.

However, it served as exposure therapy for me. No, none of them sucked my blood. But the subsequent days, I occasionally would see a leech or get a few on me. Nothing compared to the horror of being in the thick of the jungle, with a dozen on me at once. I think I can handle a leech or two in the future. Maybe.

I thanked Khanh for a great night. He offered to do another tour with me at some point if I’d like – cheaper. Unfortunately, still very expensive, so it will have to wait until next time I’m in Vietnam.

What a NIGHT!

Oh, and we also really, really lucked out weather-wise. Most afternoons, it would just start pouring rain out of nowhere for 30min, an hour, two hours. Or at night. Or in the morning. We had no rain whatsoever, which in hindsight was an absolute blessing.

Biking Around

On my third day in the park, I decided to hire a bicycle and ride around for the afternoon. I’d had a late morning due to… well, the late night. And I woke up to a light rain anyway, so figured it all worked out well.

I crossed the river, paid for the bike, and off I went! This time, I was off to explore uncharted territories – the area to the west of HQ. I wasn’t quite sure what would be there. As mentioned before, the road curves through forest that then opens up to open fields/paddocks.

While traversing through the forest section, I was pleased to spot some macaques on one side of the road and ALSO some more black-shanked doucs! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a good photo of either. Although, I probably could have gotten one of the macaques, I didn’t care as much LOL. Sorry, macaques. You’re cute but rambunctious.

Continuing on, I passed the sun bear sanctuary and then entered the area where everything starts opening up. The area is arranged nicely. The area is paddock after paddock, separated by a tall fence of trees on either side. The paddock area is great for deer and occasionally gaur. And I think the fence of trees draws in the birds. It was such a totally different vibe from the other side of the park I had been exploring, which is basically just thick forest + the occasional stream all the way through.

A few sambar and muntjac deer made appearances, which was a nice and unexpected treat.

I saw a hornbill flying, but I wasn’t able to photograph it in time. And then… oh, it started pouring rain. I hurriedly put my rain poncho on and tucked my camera into my waterproof bag. What a MESS! The lower half of my pants and shoes got soaked. And then the rain stopped!

I ended up chatting with two other tourists who were from America. They were a couple from San Francisco. We talked about whales and leeches for a few minutes and then I continued riding. I later discovered a leech had crawled into my rain poncho. EEK! It was up to the neck – luckily I had taken it off before the leech could attach to me instead.

There were a few peacocks hanging out in the paddocks which I found unexpected.

At the end of the trail (well, mostly) – I discovered a large birdwatching hut. I climbed to the top and scoured the area for wildlife but even after 10min or so, I wasn’t seeing anything. Because it was later in the afternoon, I began to head back.

About halfway to HQ, it started to rain again. Annoying! I still had maybe 20min of cycling to do. But then… I got sidetracked, because I spotted an Asian vine snake waiting for me on the side of the road. It was perfectly coiled around a tree twig. Cute! Even with the light rain, I snapped a few photos. The snake looked directly at me. Vine snakes can be so JUDGY.

Love them. It has also been a minute since I’ve seen them. I used to see them pretty regularly in both Malaysia and Singapore. I was getting sick of them (because I want to see new species instead) but lately I’ve missed seeing them.

Finally, I arrived back at HQ and returned to my accommodation for the rest of the evening. A chill day but a good day. Biking around the park was definitely the way to go – it’s the best way to cover ground efficiently.

Crocodile Lake

Initially, I wasn’t sure if I would go to Crocodile Lake. I’d heard the tours were overrated, I’d heard if you went solo that the entry fee was overpriced, and I’d heard that the trail was leech infested with “hundreds of leeches.” I had asked Khanh during the night tour if our tour or if the trail to Crocodile Lake was worse leech-wise. He said our tour. So… I decided to brave it.

Crocodile Lake is known for being home to the endangered Siamese crocodiles. In fact, the crocodiles had been wiped out from the lake because of poaching/habitat loss. But in the early 2000s, conservationists successfully re-populated the species in the park.

Early in the morning, I picked up a bicycle and road to the start of the Crocodile Lake trail. I had to cross over a stream and, not realizing how deep it was, completely soaked my shoes. It was a shame, because I’d spent probably 20min the night before drying them with a blow-dryer after the rain. LOL. Lord have mercy.

Along the way, I was pleased to spot a couple of black-shanked doucs jumping around in the canopies. I pulled over my bike but by the time I went to snap a photo, they usually had retreated too far away. I did manage to get one in time, though! Much closer than the shot I’d gotten on the boat tour.

Maybe an hour later, I was at the base of the Crocodile Lake trail. The trail takes about an hour and a half to do (maybe?). An hour and a half… of leeches. Maybe? Nah, it wasn’t too bad. I did get the occasional leech on me, but it was nowhere near as bad as the night tour. And these leech socks work wonders, I swear.

Halfway through the trail, I was happy to discover a teeny, tiny snake in the middle of the path. It was crunched up in such a way, I wasn’t even sure it was alive. I’d seen one other snake that was all wrinkly like this when in Indonesia.

I figured it might be a common mock viper, but I wasn’t sure. I ended up texting Khanh and he confirmed it for me. These guys are only mildly venomous, but their appearance “mocks” pit vipers, making them appear more dangerous than they really are. As I was photographing it (unsuccessfully), a leech started inching towards me. Well, the snake blocked its path and the fucking leech started ATTACHING TO THE SNAKE. Crazy.

I kept walking and after a brief civet/mongoose(?) sighting, I arrived at Crocodile Lake. It was about $10 entrance fee, but that was fine. A boardwalk led along the edge of the lake. I walked to the end of the boardwalk and sat down, eating crackers. I was hungry after all that bicycling. I enjoyed the reflections on the water.

I wasn’t really expecting to see a crocodile. For some reason, I didn’t have my hopes up. “Welp, I guess that’s it,” I joked to myself. But then I saw some movement in the water. Zooming in with my lens, I confirmed it was a croc. I walked along the boardwalk and then asked the management if I could head down the stairs to the jetty. They said it was fine. And sure enough, there was another (larger) crocodile basking right there! Crazy!

I haven’t been able to see crocodiles so clearly since I was in Darwin, Australia.

Talk about a success! And then the smaller one came up to the same area, too.

I hung out in the shade for about 45min before beginning the hike back. I spotted a tokay gecko and was able to snap a pic of it in the daylight for the first time. I had another rest once I’d gotten to the head of the trail. There was a bench full of butterflies! I deemed it the Butterfly Bench.

About halfway back to HQ, I was graced with another sighting that I wasn’t expecting… gibbons! They heard my noisy bike and started swinging higher up in the canopy. It was a pair – both a male and female. Yellow-cheeked gibbons are sexually dimorphic, so the males and females look very different. Males are black with yellow/white cheeks and females are pretty much yellow/golden all over. I saw both of them from afar but could hardly make out any details. The photos are terrible but I’m including them since I was so happy to spot them, albeit briefly. (It also made me glad I didn’t spend $50 for the potential to see gibbons because I got to see them on my own! Now that $50 can go towards some other tour lol.)

Another great day! I was initially supposed to leave the following morning. However, being amongst wildlife is probably my #1 favorite thing. I figured I’d rather spend more time in nature than in Sài Gòn/HCMC. I’m sure Sài Gòn will be great, but it’s also… a city.

Gibbon Mission

While I initially accepted that I probably wouldn’t see gibbons, after having caught a glimpse, I made it a mission to try and spot them again. I had marked the spot where I’d seen them on GoogleMaps and decided to return the next day. But really, I just wanted to take the bike around all over the park.

I started the day riding towards the rapids again, the spot I’d gone on my first day in the park. Before crossing the stream where I’d previously soaked my shoes with (and this time took them off before crossing), I spotted the cutest thing. A little frog tucked into bamboo.

I accidentally scared the shit out of a monitor lizard who had been basking on the side of the road. I have never heard a monitor lizard running through the bush that quickly before. I also saw a… mongoose? Not sure. Some of these sightings are so brief – basically just seeing the backside of an animal as it runs away.

I quickly learned that weekends at Cát Tiên are… very unlike the rest of the week. I had been in the park from Monday – Friday so far, and it had been so pleasant. With hardly any other tourists, I felt I had the place to myself. Now, though? A SATURDAY? People were everywhere. And they were talking loudly and listening to music – scaring off all the wildlife. Fuckers. No joke, I was pissed off about it. I know it’s silly – everyone is allowed to enjoy the park as they see fit. People should be able to chat with their friends and have a good time while riding their bikes, blah, blah, blah. But I’m like WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LOOK FOR WILDLIFE AND YOU’RE SCARING EVERYTHING AWAY?

Anyway.

Just before making my way to the rapids, I spotted something in the bush to my right. Was it a snake? Yes, it sure was! It was another red-necked keelback. It sat motionless for some time and then slithered away. I tried to follow it but it disappeared behind a bamboo thicket and I wasn’t able to find it again. So far, I’d seen a snake (or more) every day since being in the park!

I backtracked from the rapids and then went down towards the Crocodile Lake path. Checking GoogleMaps, I was getting near the area where I’d seen gibbons the day before. I had a pit stop, ate some crackers, and continued on.

I heard movement in the trees to my left. The female was gone in an instant but the male gibbon sat on the fork of a tree. I stopped my bike and went in for a photo. The male was being such a good subject but the universe had other plans for me. In an instant, my bike fell over – which obviously startles wildlife. And then my camera decided to start giving me an error, saying the lens and the body weren’t communicating (this has never happened before). I managed to take two photos before the gibbon took off. Had my camera been working properly, I am confident I would have gotten the perfect, in-focus shot. He even looked right at me! And was sooo close. I didn’t think I’d ever have an opportunity to get that close again.

I intended to try and follow the gibbon, but just then, completing the shitshow trifecta (bike falling, camera malfunctioning), it started pouring rain. Great. I hustled to put on my rain jacket and put away my camera. I stood still for probably 15min, trying to keep my pants and shoes from getting soaked yet again. I have no idea where the gibbon went.

When the rain finally stopped, I was… to be honest, fuming. I know this is ridiculous but I was just SO annoyed that my camera chose that moment to act up. How rare was it to see a gibbon so low in the canopy. He was RIGHT THERE and I was so close to getting a damn good photo. I was annoyed about it for the rest of the day lol. What did I say before? Brat. I know it. Sorry.

After riding around the area some more and not finding the gibbons again, I decided to head back to the paddock fields that I’d been to a couple days earlier. I saw a couple of deer again. The star of the show, though, was being able to see two hornbills SUPER close.

Unfortunately, a family of three loudly biked past and caused the hornbills to take flight. It felt like pouring salt into the wound. Not only the gibbons, but now THIS?! I mean the pictures are fine but I was hoping the hornbills would hang out on the branch for a while so I could get some nice shots. Instead, it was two pictures where the beaks were partially obscured and then they flew away. Hey, at least I got the two. I’m telling you – the thick foliage really makes it difficult to photograph! That + an old camera + tricky lighting… makes for soft photos. Alas. One day, I’ll buy myself a new camera and lens!

By then, it was late afternoon. I headed back to my accommodation and tried again the next day.

Mission Gibbon was officially activated and in a big way. It was my last day and, still hurt from the near miss the day before, I really was hoping I would get another chance to photograph the gibbons.

At 7am, I biked to the spot as quickly as I could. Shoes off at the stream, take a left at the fork towards Crocodile Lake, pass the vendor near that tree, and… OKAY, this is roughly the area.

Nope. No gibbons. But DOUCS! I saw so many doucs that morning and they provided me with the photos I was hoping for. I kept seeing groups of them again and again and they were so much closer than any of the other days. It felt like during my time in Cát Tiên, the doucs just kept getting closer and closer. The last day was my best sightings and it was fitting because initially, they were the ones I really was hoping to photograph. Success! I saw so many.

I also want to just put a side by side of the black-shanked and red-shanked doucs so y’all can see the difference. Very similar, but some slight differences. See below:

But… yeah. I was also really hoping to see the gibbons. I biked towards the Crocodile Lake trailhead, then went back to the gibbon spot. More doucs, no gibbons. I decided to bike down to the rapids – maybe I’d see a snake instead? Maybe the gibbons would hang out over there? Although, I doubted it.

Nothin’. I took a snack break.

It was an eight hour day and other than the doucs (which I am happy about!), I hardly saw any wildlife. The occasional bird, but that was it. A full ass work shift.

Slightly discouraged but also trying to accept it, I had to return the bike at 3.15pm. I dropped it off and thought – well, let me just walk to that area that has the abandoned-looking pool. Maybe there will be some snakes there. (I had seen snakes every day in Cát Tiên with the exception of the final day… except I did see one fresh roadkill in the evening. Does that count?)

And while walking there, behind the park buildings/dorm accommodation, I saw a gibbon swinging.

No. Fucking. Way.

My heart started beating faster. I hurried to get closer.

I couldn’t believe it. And then there was another one – both males.

The trees in the area had a lot of fruit on them. Gibbons are frugivores (which I never knew was a thing) – their diet is 80% fruit.

I was ecstatic to be observing them relatively close. One of them snacked on the fruit, then nestled into the fork of a tree, munching on it. AHHHH!

I walked to the other side of the tree to try to take advantage of better lighting. One of the gibbons dangled from a tree branch while simultaneously munching on fruit.

Eventually, the first gibbon swung through the trees and ended up further away. I continued to photograph the second gibbon. A lady came up to me at some point and was like, “do you have a ticket to be back here?” I was like uhh no, what is this? She said the area was the wildlife rehab center (there were a lot of buildings back there). My heart dropped. So were these not wild gibbons? There was no fence or anything – the gibbons were swinging freely in the forest. I apologized to the lady and left the area.

A moment later, I bumped into Khanh and explained the situation and what I had seen. He said that actually, one of the wild male gibbons has his mate who is in the rehab center and so… he comes to the area to visit with her? And he said there is another group of wild gibbons that hang out there as well.

I haven’t mentioned this yet but behind the bike rental place, there were a number of cages with gibbons in them. I was able to see them swinging around while waiting to get my bike. I’m thinking that is the rehab center… which is in a sad state from the looks of it.

I was slightly confused. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing semi-wild/re-released gibbons or what the deal was. I ended up texting him later, trying to get clarification. He said, “those kept in captivity are not eligible to be released again. [The ones you saw] are living in wild nature.” I tried to cross-check online and I am just not able to get confirmation really. I’m thinking maybe they were re-released. Which somehow felt like cheating – I’d gotten the photos I wanted, but they maybe weren’t of truly wild gibbons. BUT – I had seen wild ones on the previous days and hey, re-released is better than a zoo!

Talk about a grand finale of my time in Cát Tiên! Spent the whole day looking for gibbons and was able to see them at the very last minute. Yahoo!

My time in Cát Tiên has been nothing short of wonderful. Have I gotten absolutely soaked from sudden downpours? Yes. Have I had probably 50 leeches on me at various points throughout my stay? Yes. Have I seen some incredible wildlife? YES.

Since I have been in Vietnam, I have had some lovely wildlife sightings but they have also been sparing. Mostly, it has been the various langur species and not much else. Aside from that, and prior to Cát Tiên, my experience in Vietnam has been largely about the scenery, the culture, the food. It kind of feels like I had to love the rest of Vietnam first before I could get to this crazy wildlife heaven. I sure am grateful for it and I sure do love Vietnam.

Miscellaneous

Throwback to last week’s post – remember the random bearded snake sighting I had in Đà Lạt city? I learned that the bearded snake is actually one of Vietnam’s rarest snakes and that it doesn’t have much documentation on it because it is so rare!

I just heard that both Huế and Hội An have flooded in a major way. Worst flood in 10 years or something like that. So… not as bad as Cao Bằng but PHEW I am glad I got out of there before that happened haha. Geez. Rainy season in Vietnam, amirite?

When I got to Cát Tiên, I learned that some areas actually had been sprayed with Agent Orange during the war. This was to kill off the foliage so the American/northern soldiers could spot the southern soldiers better.

Sadly, I have to report that I’ve lost my beloved hat. Being slightly careless, I put it on the handlebar of the bicycle when I was sweating too much. My hand was on the outside, holding the hat steady. At one point, I must have shifted my hands and I didn’t notice that the hat had fallen off. I returned to the same areas the next day, but didn’t find it. SAD!!! I always lose hats – it’s like the #1 thing I am 99% sure I will always lose eventually.

Art of the Week

I haven’t drawn anything in quite some time. Some of it is that I only had two pages left in my sketchbook, but I also have just been kind of focused on all the traveling. It took a while for me to find a good spot to sit down and simply… draw. I found it in Cát Tiên. It had been a few weeks and already, I felt I had lost some of my confidence with the pencil. I have definitely been lacking art-wise lately, but I know once I’m back in the States, I’ll have a lot more time to focus on the craft once again. This piece is inspired largely by the pagodas I’d seen in Central Vietnam, particularly Thiên Mụ.

Reflections

What a damn week. Oof. God, I love Vietnam. This has been a long ass post. If you’re still here, leave a comment.

Tomorrow, I head to Sài Gòn, where I’ll be for a few nights (edit: JK, I’m here now as I finish putting this together!). I don’t have much planned. I’ll go to the war museum, and… that’s about it. At one point, I flirted with doing a day tour to the Mekong Delta. I flirted with doing another snake tour. But actually, I think I just need to eat all the bánh mì, bún chả, and phở before heading to Cambodia.

Until next time, sending you all my love. x