In a new vow to make the most of our weekends, to find enjoyable ways both to stay in the city and opportunities for short escapes, Laura and I have made a running start over the past two weeks.
The first weekend of April was an adventurous one. I borrowed a motorbike from a housemate who was out of town (fashioned with my cycling helmet as her helmet was too large for my head), heading a few hours north to greener pastures and fresher air.
With a later start then planned we were on our way by early afternoon, the time of day wholly unimportant as excitement and anticipation gripped us at the thought of the long open road and new surroundings. We had unintentionally spent the whole of March in the city, something that had slowly and subtly begun to wear on our states of mind as we dealt with the constant force on all senses that is Hanoi.
The ride itself was quite uneventful, our little convoy (Laura, Dylan and I) making our way at a steady pace, taking time to marvel as the landscape began to undulate in deep green.
We reached the homestay (a local home opened up to guests, providing a beneficial relationship for both guest and host as we swap culture for cash) and met up with the rest of our group of weekend explorers. It emerged that this was no longer our homestay as a group of thirteen had turned up taking all available space, but there was another place just down the road. I use the term road loosely, as this ‘road’ became first dirt track and then a narrow rocky track along the edge of farming fields, an interesting ride on a city bike with no suspension…
The rest of our day was relaxed. Taking a trip back into town for a little food and beer; a photo op with some local people very excited to find blonde hair, tall females and very tall males; and to collect supplies for our evening meal. Dark by the time we arrived back at the homestay, it was not long before the fire was crackling, food was chopped and we waited in anticipation to cook on the open flames. Our ears touched by gentle sounds of nature, I felt a satisfied calm wash over me as I enjoyed a night lit by the light of fire and the mostly full moon.
The next morning, after a mediocre night of sleep (I had slept on the floor due to a lack of beds and also had to battle some intense sounds of snoring – an unfortunate new noise pollution I had not anticipated in my mental image of serene country) we rose to head to a nearby waterfall. The idea of fresh, swimmable, water was something of rare beauty. The lake I look upon every day being far from appealing, and most likely not safe, to dip even a toe into!
Walking along the river we passed small groups of local Vietnamese youths who evidently made it a regular occurrence to come and enjoy these surroundings, cooking their breakfast on open flames.
The water was all we could have asked for. Cool, verging on cold, absolutely perfect to waken and refresh me. Being warned of snakes further upstream, I didn’t venture too far. Once the coolness began to feel cold I instead took the opportunity to sit atop a rock, feet moving gently in the water, gazing at the ripples I created. I watched as droplets made their way down the mossy rock walls, to the body of water at their base.
The moment could not last forever and soon we were heading back to the homestay to pack, eat and make our way back onto the road, back to the city. Deciding to travel as a bigger group on our return, it soon emerged a much harder task than we’d imagined. We lost Laura (who managed to land herself on a completely different road) for a few hours, lost Dylan, found him and then lost him again as he tried to find Laura. I began to lag a little behind the rest of our group and they eventually left my sight for good, resulting in a change in my mentality from following the pack to the more assertive state of map reading and searching for road signs.
An hour down the road I found the group waiting, wondering what had happened to the rest of us and we were joined not too long afterward, first by Laura, then Dylan. All of us by coincidence having marked this town as a perfect point for attempting to regroup. By the time we motored back into Hanoi our three hour journey had become five hour event!
The weekend just gone was spent mostly within the city, but left us with a satisfied feeling of productivity.
We started Saturday morning with a woman’s circle at a local café, a mixture of yoga; meditation; learning a little about each other; astrology; and the cycle of the moon. The most interesting part of this being to gaze into another person’s eyes for a full five minutes to become more in tune with them and their personality, acknowledging the general avoidance we have at looking into anyone else’s eyes for a prolonged length of time.
On Sunday, Laura and I spent a large part of the day out of the city. We’d driven an hour north with a group of people on a clean-up mission. A beautiful area, surrounded by jungle covered mountains, with a large, clear looking lake at its base and a local hotspot for Vietnamese campers. The amount of litter we saw here was a little disheartening and though we were told that litter at the camp level is dealt with and so we didn’t need to work in that area, it was hard to believe as we came across half buried piles.
The group leaders had a plan to take us up mountain, following the water bed to collect rubbish that has been carried down. A good idea in theory, our mixed ability group were soon concentrating much more on finding secure footing for our climb up, rather than looking for any rubbish that may be along our path.
Finally, we reached a section of steep rubble, apparently created during construction of the road. A far from sensible idea, the second half of the group had to be on guard for rock falling as the first half dislodged ground. There was no guarantee anywhere you put your hand or foot would not come away at touch.
The top of this section was a road where we all gathered before continuing along the next section of river bed. With a lack of faith in our guides’ abilities, a lack of trust in their truly knowing what the path was like ahead and the small amount of rubbish there actually was to collect along this route, Laura and I decided to make our way back down to the campsite. We collected rubbish along the way, hoping that being viewed cleaning up would have more of an impact than working out of site.
After lunch we took another little trek, wanting to take advantage of the natural beauty while we had the chance. We weren’t quite free from noise, having discovered that their dedication and love for karaoke means they will transport microphone, speaker and all along with their camping equipment! It was the most interesting camping experience I have ever come across, reminiscent more of a festival than a campground, as music blared, piles of rubbish filled our vision and we even came across a group of twenty or more people dressed in animal onesies!
We were happy to have made the effort to be a part of the experience and in the litter we collected whilst there, though it felt like the smallest dent as our bags became too full to continue. We arrived back in Hanoi early evening and ended our weekend with a Tom Yum hot pot in a small restaurant by the river (a huge pot of vegetables we cooked ourselves on a camp stove), drinks with friends and a gig (one of Laura’s friends) with an incredibly gripping vocal performance.
