Facing the Dragon - Chapter 5

My last morning in Saigon! As I prepare to leave, I have mixed feelings -- sentimental on one hand and excited on the other.

Before I leave, I have a few final encounters with girls and boys trying to hawk post cards, stamps, fans and anything else a tourist doesn’t need. I buy some post cards from an adorable teenage girl. Smart, sassy and speaking excellent English, she seems to have a retort for me every time I respond with ‘I already have those cards’ or ‘I already have a scented fan’. According to her, there is surely some reason why I need to buy something that she is selling. Whether it is for my non existent girlfriend or wife or my friend or sister, she has all the answers. I tell her that she speaks excellent English and she tells me that she went to school for it. Wanting to remember our encounter, I ask her if I can take a picture of her. She poses outside my hotel and I snap a photo. We chat for a bit longer and have a nice conversation during which she tells me that she hopes to work in a hotel or restaurant after she completes her schooling in English and computers. Her name is Ly, and her spirit and endearing personality are contagious.

Across the road, I recognize the cyclo driver that I have come to know quite well over the past few days. We approach each other, shake hands and say our goodbyes as if we are old friends. It feels strange as I act as if I am saying goodbye to a friend who I will see again soon, yet reality says that I will most likely never see my friend’s face again.

It is hard to fully describe the depth of the impact that my experiences in Saigon have had on me. I guess my eyes, heart and instincts know the best.

What I will remember most though is the people and their smiles.

Finally departing from Saigon, we begin a long day of traveling in route to Dalat. Located in the Southern Highlands, Dalat is Vietnam’s premier hill town. Dalat served as a mountain retreat for the French during their occupation and attempted colonization of Vietnam during the period of 1948-1954. These days, it is popular as a honeymoon and tourist destination, primarily for the Vietnamese.

The journey to Dalat is not a direct one though. It is filled with many stops along the way. I am hopeful that this ride is just as enjoyable and educational as the one to Cu Chi a couple days earlier.

Our first stop is at a floating fishing village. The people that live in this village all work as fishermen. They make a living by fishing from the freshwater river that they literally live on top of. The water flows into the river down from the highlands and it is startlingly dark. I use the term startling because the fish that come from the river are the main form of sustenance for the villagers. There are numerous floating huts on the river that function as the very basic homes of the families that live in this area. Bad weather can be catastrophic to these modest residences. It is interesting to get a view into the lives of the people living here. Men and women paddle the river in small canoe-like boats with fishing nets in hand. They propel the boats with oars that are powered by their feet instead of their arms. By propelling the oars with their legs, much like a cyclist does on their bike, this leaves one’s arms free to manage the net and assist with catching fish. Moving their hands quickly and fastidiously, the net is pulled out of and pushed into the water at a rapid, machine like pace. This process continues until there is enough fish to feed the family and make some modest sales at a nearby market. Fishing is an integral part of Vietnamese culture and fish are one of the staples of the Vietnamese diet. The Vietnamese people are experts at fishing any body of water available to them, including streams, rivers, lakes and the sea, for anything they can find.

As we head back toward the bus to continue our trek onward, I make eye contact with two innocent and adorable children that are playing in the water that their parents are trawling from. A boy and a girl that appear to be siblings by their appearance and familiarity with each other approach me with glowing smiles shouting “Hello, Hello” to indicate to me that they speak at least a few words of English. I respond with “Chao”, indicating that I also speak “some” Vietnamese. We continue to exchange waves and smiles and they follow me all the way back to the bus. As I approach the bus, I contemplate what to do. I would like to give them some sort of small gift but don’t have anything in my pockets. I decide to run on the bus and see what I have in my day pack. As I rummage through my bag in the bus, I look up and can see the two children waving at me from the window. I smile at them and wave back. I am unable to find anything gift worthy in my bag but do find some small bottles of shampoo that I took from the hotel for my own use. Admittedly, these aren’t the greatest gifts but they will have to do. As I emerge from the bus with my hands full of small bottles, I can see the excitement in the children’s faces. I unscrew the cap on one of the bottles and try to get them to smell the shampoo as I hold the bottle up to my nose and then hold the bottle up to the girls’ nose for her to smell. Her perplexed look tells me that she has no idea what I am talking about. I hold the bottle up to her nose again and this time also rub the head of her brother to indicate to them that the soap is for their hair. They smile excitedly indicating to me that they understand and say, “Thank you.” Using more sign language, I suggest to them that I would like them to pose for a picture for me. They nod and smile and pose for me before I snap a shot that will be a memoir of our encounter.

Soon after leaving the fishing village, we make another stop at a rubber tree plantation. I see farmers hard at work harvesting latex from a few of the hundreds of rubber trees on the plantation. It is an interesting process as the trees that are being harvested have a dish that is attached to their base. The fresh latex drips into the dish after the bark is peeled back. Vietnam is one of the largest producers of rubber in the world. This stop was particularly enlightening to me since, naively, I didn’t know where rubber came from and had no idea that rubber trees even existed.

Continuing on, our next stop is for lunch at a small waterfall. Upon arrival, my first impression is that this looks like a quaint and pleasant place to relax for a bit. The waterfall is surrounded by a path that is lined with cultivated flowers and shrubs. Remembering my time in the mountains of Switzerland some years back, I remove my shirt and douse my head and upper torso into the cool, refreshing water that runs from the surrounding hills. We have a simple, healthy lunch consisting of fresh fruit, vegetables and French bread. The cucumbers, onions, avocado and tomatoes are beautiful and the pineapple, mango and dragon fruit satisfy my sweet tooth. This is a welcome change from the food I have been eating the past few days. While the food has been scrumptious, I am slowly but surely finding out that eating rice 3 times a day can have quite a shock on your digestive system.

Over lunch, I converse with Claire, a 79 year-old Aussie from Adelaide. Claire has always been an avid traveler and used to love taking adventurous trips all over the world with his wife prior to her passing a few years back. Nonetheless, Claire has continued his travels alone and now takes a yearly 6-8 week trip with his friend Sebastian, whom he met on a trip some years ago. These two single grandfathers are now globetrotting travel buddies. During our conversation, Claire confessed that he misses his wife dearly but feels fortunate that he has been able to find a friend who shares his profound interest in travel. Claire is inspiring. His life and his experiences are a breath of fresh air to me. He has 3 sons and has incurred 3 heart attacks and 4 bypasses but he continues to live his life like a young man as he makes his away across the world from Southeast Asia to South America. His joy of life is evident in the fact that he is on this trip. I sincerely hope that I am blessed with the health and opportunity to continue to explore the world when I am Claire’s age. However, health and opportunity aside, the most important aspect of really living is your mind frame and outlook.

Our next stop on the road to Dalat is a quick and caffeinated one. We stop at a coffee and teahouse to sample 2 of Vietnam’s biggest exports. It is surprising to me to find out that Vietnam harvests and produces vast quantities of supposedly well respected tea and coffee. One thing I can definitely attest to is that the coffee is very strong. It was suggested to me that I drink my coffee with lots of sugar. After one sip of coffee, I understand why. You need to put something in the cup to overcome the bitterness and strength of the coffee. I add more sugar. The sesame cookies offered go well with the coffee and the lotus and jasmine teas are both very good. I prefer the lighter taste of the tea to the harsh taste of the coffee though. Despite the 90-degree weather, I find these hot beverages to be refreshing, although I could be mistaking all the caffeine pumping through my veins for a refreshed feeling. As we enjoy this nice break from the road, we are told that we will have one more stop at a waterfall before arriving in Dalat.

DambRi Waterfall is not an easy spot to get to. This was mentioned to us but as we begin to travel and I continue to look at my watch, I wonder if going two hours out of our way to see a waterfall is really worth it. It has been well over 8 hours since we left Saigon and I am feeling travel weary and tired. My thoughts fail to take into account that the journey is part of the experience, not just the end destination. The roads we are traveling on are surrounded by coffee and mulberry plantations in addition to cottage silk farms. The smell of raspberries is also in the air as they also grow in this area. Amidst all this beauty, nothing can match the surreal scene of a group of children directing a herd of water buffalo that is blocking the path of our bus. As I stand and watch what is unfolding before me, I don’t even have time to think. Our bus is stopped and I have de-boarded the bus onto the road. In front of our bus, two girls who look to be between the ages of 8 and 10 are attempting to guide a large herd of 20-30 water buffalo across the red clay road that we are driving on. Our bus driver has no choice but to stop because this huge herd is moving very slowly. I snap one photo after another as I stand in the hot sun. I realize how lucky I am to be in this very place at this particular moment. The setting is something out of this world with the children, water buffalo, red clay road and greenery surrounding us. These are the moments that I travel so far and long to experience. I am not sure that a non traveler can understand the significance of seeing something so simple, but special at the same time. However, anyone who has passed through a small village or local community and experienced a culture that operates so vastly differently than the one that they are accustomed to or even knew existed can surely understand.

Eventually, the herd passes and we move onto the waterfall. I did not expect to encounter a 25-meter waterfall in Vietnam. Maybe in Jamaica or Hawaii, but Vietnam? This is a welcome surprise and a great place to take some pictures and have a quick rest. I cool off under a nice stream of water and enjoy a moment of much needed silence while watching a local man and his daughter enjoy the natural surroundings.

The amount of beauty and hidden treasures that this country possesses is remarkable. I am beginning to believe that the concept of Vietnam being a huge jungle was invented by the American movie industry. Undoubtedly, there is much jungle terrain in Vietnam, but there is much more than just that. In fact, the country is very mountainous.

As we move into the Southern hill town of Dalat, the holiday charm of this town is immediately apparent. Dalat is a Vietnamese vacation and honeymoon spot, so this is not a surprise. Given the French connection to this town and the mini Eiffel Tower that was built here, Dalat is sometimes called the Paris of the East. While I doubt I will agree with that assessment, Dalat does appear to be quite nice based on first impressions. The Vietnamese themselves have high expectations for Dalat. They expect more and more visitors and are considering building an airport nearby. My initial thoughts are that this will be a nice change of pace from the last couple days. Our hotel is situated at the base of a quaint lake. I am excited.