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Seeking the Hidden Star

25.04.2006

Stage 1 – Day 3 It was the calm before the storm. Day three began on the banks of the misty Mekong with a Buddhist blessing at the 6th century Sikhottabong Temple. Then, as the first remote competitions kicked in, spirituality changed to raw physicality, serenity to sweat and chanting to cheering - it was game on.

However, before they could work up the first bead of perspiration, competitors got an immediate taste of driving in Laos: blinding ‘red outs’ on dusty tracks, wandering animals and navigational trauma. Several teams lost precious time trying to find an alternative route after maps and GPS failed to show that an impassable river blocked their road.

Once located, however, the competitions offered pumping adrenaline with six challenges ranging from navigation to climbing to kayaking, in the middle of awesome scenery and stifling heat. The challenge at Sabaidee Pinnacles, mixed driving and running with climbing one of the area’s immense limestone pinnacles. This was followed by a showstopper 50-metre abseil.

‘It wasn’t just great, it was also quick,’ said Turkey’s Tolga Senefe, partner of Ireland’s Gary Robertson. ‘We’re both big guys and our main strength is our power. We’re fast on the climbing and abseiling.’

Equally spectacular was the competition known as Hidden Star, where competitors had to locate points inside and around the vast cathedral of Tham Xiangliab Cave; home to bats, turtles and hanging shards of rock-like dripping candle wax.

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