Easy ridin....cool and wild

As if my "List of requirements for the man I end up with" isn't long enough, I now have to add another requirement.  He must either own or at least be able to safely ride a motorcycle.  Watch out Mom and Dad, I'm bringin home a biker!!  Seriously though, why don't more Americans invest in this phenomenal mode of transportation more often?  Where is this coming from, you ask?  Well, I should have you know that I spent 3 days touring the Central Highlands by motorcycle and it was purely magical!!!!  Not only did I feel like the coolest thing since sliced whole wheat bread, but it was an amazing way to scope out a new place.  (I should note that riding in the Philippines also had something to do with this).  The company I used was called, get this, Easy Riders.  Does it get any cuter than that?  They came highly recommended by other PCVs who said they were safe guides who really know Vietnam and get you into the mountains, with the locals and away from the city.  It was all that and then a million things more.  It was by far the most memorable experience in Vietnam.  I know I still have almost 3 weeks left in Vietnam, so maybe that's a bold statement, but this will be hard to beat.  Largely because of Peter and Son, the best guys ever.  

Marj was linked with Son, a 38 year old whose bike had "born to be wild" on it, he called Marj mommy darling, she called him my darling son, he totally did everything to take care of her, and they were pretty much in love from the get go.  I was linked with Peter, a 5 foot tall scrumcious thing that had the kindest eyes, warmest smile, smoked like a chimney, told dirty jokes and laughed at everything.  He was jolly like my grandpa, and for those of you who were lucky enough to know gramps can imagine how lucky I felt to be on the back of the bike with Peter.  We would all scream out one of the following every time we peeled away: "cool and wild", "yeehaw" or my personal favorite "wwwoooohhhhoooo"!

I really wanted to get video of these 2 bad ass guys laughing because they have the best laughs ever....they would throw their heads back in unison and laugh from the gut, real loud and hearty, holding nothing back - it was infectious.....they were infectious!  Both guys were from the Southern regions and were married with kids.  Both had family that fought on the American side of the war (Peter's dad died fighting with us) and both have paid their dues for it.  Similarly to Phuong, they and their families have been denied opportunities of government assistance, education and jobs because of their non-communist affiliations.  Despite all of that crap, they are so happy as Easy Riders, love their job, have the best sense of humor, have pride in their country and dig life.  

It was a Holiday weekend, things were booked and so we didn't actually spend any time in the little french city of Dalat.  Our bus arrived at the station at 5:30am and we peeled away with the easy riders on our bikes at 8:30 am.  Just driving through it, I could tell it would have been nice to spend a day there, but it didn't work out that way. Yet, our guys took us to one temple in the city.  It was quite beautiful and the big draw was a statue dedicated to this women who is very important within the Vietnamese sect of Buddhism (they practice a different sect from Thailand) who, back in the day, decided killing animals was a bad thing and became a vegetarian, encouraging monks to do the same.  So, the monks in Vietnam are actual vegetarians, whereas in Thailand, they are supposed to be veggies but are not.  

Anywho, there was a tour of Vietnamese at the temple. They were lovely and curious about us and began talking to us through Peter, who translated. They were war veterans who either fought for the communist viet cong or lost their son or husband who fought for the communist viet cong.  The Vietnamese government paid for this group to go on a little trip, which is a common treat they give veterans and family.  They also said the government gives them $55 every month.  Peter and his family receive no assistance and are never taken on trips.  I guess in a way this is understandable, but regardless of who Peters family supported in the war, it was 40 years ago and his family is still Vietnamese, endured hardship and work just as hard as anybody else.  One war veteran shook my hand when Peter told him we were touring Vietnam.  As he shook my hand, he thanked me and welcomed me to his country.  I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for his appreciation but felt kind of weird too.  I mean, did he know or care that I was American?  Most likely, it's more of a significant detail for me than for him.  I don't know for this one guy, but I've asked every Vietnamese person I talk to if there are hard feelings or resentment towards Americans.  I tell them I can handle and understand any answer so to please be honest.  They have all said maybe there is some negative feelings or lack of trust in foreigners, but overall most feel that it was a long time ago and they have moved on. I've even heard that they know it was the American government who took those actions while the American people didn't want any of it. Either way, many people have asked where we are from and my answer is well received with smiles, high-fives and handshakes. 

Dalat is known for flowers so we stopped to smell them (lol) and met a lady and her son, originally from the north who moved to central Vietnam after the war, and now export flowers.  It's a good source of income for the people.  We learned about Vietnam's large production of silk and that Vietnam is now the number one producer of coffee and rice!  Coffee fields were everywhere and also make those who grow it quite rich.  We stopped at this farm that grows weasel coffee.  Weasels eat the coffee beans off the tree, but rather than spraying chemicals to ward them off or seeing it as a lost cause, the Vietnamese wait for the weasel to poop out the coffee bean and then use that.  They waste nothing!!!  It's become so popular that they now house the weasels to purposely get the pooped out bean.  I had a cup and it was really tasty. I wanted to buy the beans to bring home, but it's super expensive.  Sorry guys, I'm bringing home poop-free coffee that is more reasonably priced!! 

I also learned that there is a lot of pepper and coco grown and exported here (I now feel obligated to eat some chocolate here.....it's my duty as a tourist).  The farms we saw were privately owned but taxed by the government, naturally.  Marj and I are still trying to figure out the independent business concept in a Communist society-we are somewhat ignorant on the economics here, but slowly piecing some of it together the more we read and discuss with locals. The guys took us to places that make traditional drums, silk and bricks.  We took a walk through a local minority village, said hello to everybody and took some pics with some of the many, very excited, children.

We hiked to various waterfalls.  Marj was uncertain about some parts of this one hike as it was steep and slippery but Son, who led all the hikes, was so supportive and encouraging because he sincerely wanted both of us to experience it all.  Marj cried when she reached the first waterfall.  This was on our first day and if I didn't love Son when I first met him ( which I did) I would have certainly fallen in love with after this.  

The guys took us to the best places for delicious, cheap, street food.  I had Vietnam's "dish" called, Pho, which is a noodle dish.  It usually has tons of meat in it so mine was just noodles....maybe that's why I didn't fall in love with it.  But don't fret, our boys took us to a vegetarian canteen one night and I sampled everything.  I can't tell you what I ate but I can tell you it tasted good.  The last day the boys took us to this house that makes rice crackers.  Let me tell ya, Asians will figure out a way to make anything delicious out of rice.  It was so simple: cooked rice to a broth, mix in sesame seeds, dry it, grill some and keep some wet, throw on some scallions, make a sandwich and dip it in soy sauce with chili.  Variations of rice are impossible to avoid....and the thing is it tastes so good.  When we went to pay our half, the boys said it was on them, that we were more than easy riders, we were friends.  Gotta love this shit

One morning, I went for a run through the mountains and felt overwhelmed with happiness.  I feel so blessed and fortunate to be traveling right now.  Maybe for some it's no big deal, but this is not something I thought I'd ever have the chance to do and so I feel very grateful for it.  Later this same day as we stopped to watch the farmers in the rice fields (unlike Thailand, they still use buffalo to plow the fields.....Philippines was the same same) Peter told me we were going on a boat ride.  We get to the boat, just for us, take a few minutes to get the bikes positioned properly, Son tips the kid who pushes us off, the guys make a big deal about the "boat ride", Marj and I get excited and settle into the "best spot" when we realize we've arrived.  We literally took a 2 second "boat ride" that was like crossing the street.  Marj and I were hysterically laughing and the boys couldn't figure out why!!! It was so cute.  Once we arrived, however, we arrived to butterfly land.  They were everywhere and it was like that for an entire days trip on the bike...about 200 km.  While driving, a bunch flew straight into my helmet and one flew into Peters shirt.  It was a sea of butterflies for the day....really cool.

The tour led us to a beach town, Nha Trang, where we end our trip.  We decided to stay at least one night so we could relax and not have to rush around to get to the next place.  We had lunch and the boys drove us around to find the cheapest hotel.  We had to mentally prepare for the good-bye, which we were not looking forward to.  We just had 3 amazing days because of these 2 guys and we were sad to be leaving them.  It was seriously an emotional good-bye but of course, they cracked a joke before peeling away, leaving their wonderful laughter in our ears.  It was the best way for them to leave, cool and wild, just as they are.