First Visit to Phong Nha Ke Bang

After a restless sleep on a wooden bed frame covered with a straw mat, I went back to Mr. Su's and helped his wife cook some more rice wine Friday morning. The fermented rice smelled like vinegar, but after cooking it with honey and mashed bananas, it was a delicious breakfast pick me up. I left the village with Chi Sen and Mr. Vinh (the Counterpart driver and renaissance man in Dong Hoi), conducted more interviews, then went to visit Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park. The main road through the park runs next to a river so torquoise it looks dyed. The river cuts through a very steep gorge with walls covered in lush green growth. The surrounding hills and cliffs are host to a diverse collection of plants and animals, including primates.

We stopped by a ranger station and they offered to take us on a boat ride to a cave not yet open to tourists. I climbed up the stalagmites and explored the mouth of the immense cave, trying not to think about the damage that could be caused by thousands of tourists doing the same. I'm always amazed by the openess of these types of attraction in developing countries. Everything in the U.S. and Europe is roped off and guarded. Whenever I get to explore sites like this I feel extremely privileged, but also worried that these sites should be better protected from people like me.

I came back to Dong Hoi exhausted, but very happy. The worst of the culture shock has passed and I am enjoying exploring and learning more about Vietnam. Chi Sen and I went to dinner and then met up with old classmates of hers at a cafe. MTV-Asia was playing on a large outdoor screen and I spent most of my time there trying to explain to an inebriated classmate of Chi Sen's that I was not German and did not speak German. Evidently, he was reliving his time spent living in Europe. The woman next to me held tight to my hand and patted my shoulder and leg while speaking amicably to me in Vietnamese. The people here are very affectionate with each other, and it is not uncommon to see men arm in arm or women sitting almost on top of each other. Contact between the sexes is a different story. The women here are outwardly very modest, but love exchanging dirty and crude jokes with each other, especially the older women. Young couple get cuddle time by going for long motorbike rides where the girls cling tightly to their boyfriends. Much of Vietnamese behavior seems to entail a deep and institutionalized respect for rules and order, while finding ways to quietly subvert them.

Today I went to the market where I was beset on all sides by women handing me shoes two sizes to small for me to try on, pointing excitedly at shirts and jewelry, shouting "Hello! Hello! Hello!" at me, and gently stroking the tattoo on my arm. Vietnam is not for those needing personal space. It was fun, but I could only take about two hours before fleeing with my book to a bench by the bay. Even there, with my nose buried in my book, I was approached by Vietnamese practicing their English and wanting to know all about me. However, the conversations I had with a taxi driver, and a man with his young son perched on his bike were nice reminders of why I like traveling so much.

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