By: Atty. Marlo T. Cristobal
After such episode of strenuous boat rowing, we immediately proceeded, without our needed rest, to a place called Hang Mua, some couple of minutes bus ride away. Here came the unexpected crucial and ultimate test to my state of health.
We were challenged to climb to its apex a sky-high stone mountain called, Lying Dragon Mountain. This mountain strikes fear in the hearts of its intending climbers owing to its daunting features. Though it is tall, its circumference is so limited that the stairs of stone steps built on its side is at a very steep angle, apparently at more than 45⁰ angle steep. For a very tall and relatively small circumference stone mountain, its famous 500 steps stairs had to be built not straight from the mountain’s ground to its apex, but certain sets of steps slant gradually to another side of the mountain, a slanting direction that continues till you reach the apex. What adds danger and difficulty to the climb is the edge of each step being made of the kind of slippery black solid stone cuts that poses imminent danger to a senior citizen with the usual affliction of body balancing problem, and each step has a height measure of about one foot or more, that thereby demanded a greater than normal amount of strain and stress to the knee.
Before our historic climb, our tour guide barked to us a scare. Those of us with heart conditions should not dare the climb or face a tragic consequence. But he was quick to add though that it was our individual decision to make by assessing our own state of health and physical fitness.
After my mild heart attack, two stents were slid into my two major, yes two big, veins of my heart way back on November 8, 2013 to keep my blood flow and stave off a fatal heart attack. My very competent and accomplished cardiologist, a mighty endorsee of my long time friend, Dr. Hayden Kho Sr, strongly advised me thereafter to avoid carrying heavy load, coffee and intoxicating drinks and maintain my regular check up with him. But l honored more in the breach than in the observance my doctor’s prohibitions. I remained faithful though to his caution that l must sustain a regular check up with him, an imperative indeed which has become a non-stop ritual between us from my surgery up to these days. After about 2 years, my cardiologist came out with consistent findings that my cardiac health had turned excellent and my overall health condition sustained a racehorse soundness. Eventually, my immoderation with bar drinks fully stopped, not because of any health prescription, but solely because of strong spiritual conviction that it is a moral deviation. My incontinence with coffee remained and, in fact, escalated in dosage and in frequency.
All these narratives about my brush with cardiac distress suddenly came to mind as l stared the appalling summit of the mountain and of the 500 stone steps put together as a staircase in its side at a very steep angle, and mentally assessed my strength and health in a daring attempt to conquer the steps. At my age and with a heart once spoiled by an unsavory episode, l have been entertaining the impression that l am fast heading to the dustbin of wholesome fettle. But l refused this destiny. As l look at the mountain peak, l felt the desire to challenge myself to prove that l am not bound yet to the inevitable, and that the seducing mountain peak l was ceaselessly sizing up could well serve, l thought to myself, as the crucible of my health condition.
With my wife following me exuding a clear body language of protest over my decision, l began to take on the stone steps of my momentous journey to an intense climb. My wife tailed me closely even as she suffered aches in her body and limbs while she climbed the stone steps. (She confessed later that she followed only because she wanted to be my guardian angel ready to come to my aid in case l collapsed since she knew very well l was (and still is) on a heart maintenance medication. Where can you find a loving and caring wife like mine?)
It was a darn intense and arduous steep climb. Many times my wife and l had to rest for some seconds to recover our breath and energy as a continuous flight up was impossible without collapsing. My body balancing problem inherent in a super senior age like mine aggravated my hard climb as l had to clutch the stone steps from time to time as l crawled up to keep my balance. We could hardly use the railings of the stones stairs since the many other climbers were holding on to the rails to gain more strength and energy in climbing or going down. My wife and l were left to our own device for strength and were able to grab rarely vacant part of the rail to hang on for dear energy. All climbers were profusely dripping with sweats all over their bodies as if they were doused with pails of water. Many men took off their shirts to beat off the heat of the climb and descend. If l were a gay (definitely l was not, and will never be), it could have been a paradise to behold a sight of many half naked muscled men amidst my aching and exhausted, tired body. Of course the women climbers were wet, too, with perspirations that helped defined their body contours but l mightily refused to look, much less stare, at them because two powerful guardian angels were clamped around me that helped me to stay the course of decorum—my wife and the much mightier guardian angel from the Lord (yes guardian angels are real and ever ready to help in times of need, Psalms 91:11-12, Hebrews 1:14).
Several times my wife asked me to give up the climb seeing my severe exhaustion, and l was on the brink of surrendering, but l was overtaken by the sense of wasting the big efforts l had already pulled through and failing the test l deliberately foisted on myself. So we slowly plodded on. Actually, l questioned myself if it was really worth climbing more and really taking the risk of my heart buckling under the intense strain of the arduous ascend. However, when we were about 20 steps away from the top of the mountain and l saw therein ready for grabs the red flags that symbolized the triumph of a successful climber, all cares and fears about my personal safety instantly disappeared. We trudged through and finally reached the mountain top, which is a small space only since, as l said, it is just a small but towering mountain.
The moment l step out of the last stone step, the guy who last succeeded getting to the mountain peak, handed to me the red flag emblematic of my conquering the mountain summit. At that very moment, l was on the verge of tears not because of the overwhelming feeling of a triumphant clawing my way up over a steep 500-layer stone steps, but because of my sudden realization of God’s blessing to me with strong heart, body and mind, after my grave struggle with cardiac infirmity. What l have done was no mean feat for a cardiac patient like me. Once more, in my very own health ordeal, God made alive His words that He cannot lie when He says He alone heals as there is no God beside Him and “no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!” (In the interest of your faith, please read Titus 1:2, Deuteronomy 32:39, Exodus 15:26, NLT). God is the sole and ultimate healer consistent with what l stated in my previous piece, “nothing happens on earth without God’s will.” (Life in God’s Paradise Is Not The Deliverance Of A Suffering Man On Earth, June 23, 1025, banateros.com). Physicians and all kinds of human healers are but God’s instruments whose wisdom and expertise cannot prevail over God’s will.
On my way down the stone stairs, still with tears-moistened eyes, l could not help repetitively acknowledging God’s blessings and repetitively expressing my gratitude to Him.
Our descend back to the mountain foot was equally marked by massive effort given that our bodies were already greatly spent and my tired knees felt doubly punished by the tall stone steps. I passed a real litmus test, an overwhelming challenge to my health. Truly, to God be the glory.
While on top of the mountain relishing my successful climb by waving the red flag symbol of that success, l got a towering, commanding view of the whole town of Tam Coc at the foot of that Lying Dragon Mountain while l was securely perched on top of that stratospheric mountain. I must have felt a tiny share of those overpowering feelings of Julius Caesar when he exclaimed “Veni, vidi, vici,” (l came, l saw, l conquered), after his military conquest of a territory.
As to my wife who only wanted to be my guardian angel and not out to prove anything became unintentionally my partner in victory, my Mark Anthony of sort, whose worried countenance initially at the foot of the mountain and up climbing was replaced this time by an ear-to-ear grinning, radiating a great relief expression, even acting unceremoniously grabbing for herself, too, the banner of victory.
The following morning of May 7, 2025, we went to the world famous tourist destination called Halong Bay now enjoying the prestigious reputation as one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Its emerald water nests an aggrupation of many islands endowed with scenic beauty that proved irresistible for the makers of the blockbuster King Kong movie to designate it as its location shooting.
There is something about this place that makes it more blockbuster to me: its being the site of a big production of oyster pearls. Here we were educated about the labyrinthine and delicate processes of pearls production in real time. Fresh oysters were open up and the tiny slice or substance of a particular pearl is, depending on what type of pearl to produce, impregnated with the flesh of the oysters and left underwater to nurture and produce the desired size of pearl.
I learned for the first time (since l don’t have any liking or interest for jewelry) that there were many kinds of pearls from the cheapest to the priceless, with the luxurious ones assuming certain darker hues. All these various kinds were on display in the production area, and all kinds of pearls were sold in the sale department section adjacent to the production area, both housed in one big, single floor building.
My wife, who is intensely enamored with jewelry for ages, started to slowly slink towards the door of the huge air-conditioned sale department, insidiously and subtly pulling me away from the more interesting production area where l was intensely watching the detailed process of producing pearls. I eventually found myself entering that door to the sprawling area of multifarious pearls for sale in glass cabinets. I felt trapped inside, like Eve trapped by the smart ancient snake with clever words in that eternity-set up Garden of Eden (pardon wifey for my propensity for colorful similes, absolutely no irreverence intended, only an expression of my innate irrepressible humor).
I began to have headache and to be restless. My wife seeing my protesting body language, was kind enough to approach me and assure she was not buying any pearl; she just wanted to see the beauty of the pearls lying all over the big store. I obliged and accompanied her to view and enjoy the pearls displayed around that indeed are bristling with beauties, acting in turn this time as her guardian angel that was quick to whisper her not to fall into temptation of buying anything nonessential to our senior conjugal life.
Immediately after our bout with pearls, we went on cruise to enjoy the waters and sight of the many stone lslands that dot the present day tourist legend—the North Vietnam Halong Bay!
