Fun things you DON’T know about ABC GMA video
1. The video was broadcasted from Hang En – “Swallow” cave instead of Son Doong, the main subject ABC was talking about. Actually, En “Swallow” cave, the 3rd world’s biggest cave, is 2km from Son Doong, but has a large sandy ground for camping near from cave vault, better for satellite broacasting. Local government doesn’t allow anyone to stay overnight in Son Doong, but Hang En – Swallow cave is ok. Pay attention to the time zone difference: Good Morning America but Good Evening Vietnam 🙂 so the reason why ABC crew chose Hang En (ops! they’re hungry for dinner) instead of Son Doong.
2. This is the first time Vietnamese people seeing a government elite going on ADVENTURE. The photos of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam trekking on Rao Thuong stream leading to Hang En Swallow cave makes a typhoon on social media in Vietnam this week. His English interview with Ginger Zee is perfect, simple but very professional.
Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Dr. Vu Duc Dam (2nd from right) trek on Rao Thuong river with ABC crew. This photo is making a fever on Social media in Vietnam this week.
3. Ginger Zee had 3 days NO Bathing when the camping site in Hang En usually allows tourists stay in 1-night/2-days tour only. Don’t know when camera men swam on Rao Thuong streams, what was she doing haha ?
4. The name “Son Doong” is named by British Caving Association. At first, they intended to name the cave as “Ho Khanh”, the first discoverer but late Ho Khanh suggested to rename. “Son” means mountain. “Doong” is the name of a village on the way to the cave.
And the facts Behind The Scene
The biggest difficulty of the crew was to move 150 suitcases of equipment, including seven aerial cameras and ten generators from London and the US to Quang Binh to the caves. They needed the assistance of 150 strong local men to do this.
Here, the crew was divided into four groups: the group of cameramen, the aerial camera group, the lighting and the satellite technical group.
Maria Stepfanopoulos, in charge of producing “Good Morning America”, said that this was the first time ABC had broadcast live from a cave. She also said the crew had one of the most wonderful experiences of their life. Bringing the stunning images of this natural wonder to the audience is important because most Americas and the world do not know about this cave.
ABC crew is trekking on the stream leading into the jungle of Phong Nha.
Local porters carry filiming equipments into the jungle.
Rope down from the cave vault is the only way to approach the camp site
Landing in Son Doong cave. “It’s unbelievable” said LeBron James basketball super star while watching the video live on 13.5.2015.
The campt site where ABC crew and porter use to make ABC live broacasting video.
Inside the cave there are tropical forests, white sand grounds and a mysterious system of plants.
Hidden underground river flows through Son Doong cave
Inside the world’s biggest cave and hidden deep in the jungle, the crew discovered the spectacle and overwhelmed scene: The sun shone down on the ground through the broken cave ceiling of hundred meters high. The cave is large enough for two Boeing 747s and high enough to accommodate an 80-storey building.
Son River in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park also appeared in ABC Son Doong cave video.
The crew before the scene
Returning to guesthouse, the crew was reviewing at their video replayed on Internet.
Tran Tien Dung, Vice Chairman of Quang Binh province, said that ABC’s program was a rare opportunity to advertise Vietnam tourism to the world. “We hope that through this program, people around the world will know about the magnificent beauty of two of the caves Son Doong and En in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh province,” Dung said.
