Let me introduce our crazy motorcycle drivers, who helped to make the trip from Dalat to Hanoi such a fun experience with their humour and knowledge...and karaoke skills! I was originally going to post this in Vietnam, but decided against it when one of our driver's stories involves anti-Communist sentiments...read on to find out more...
PHUONG (A.K.A 'DENNIS')...
...after Dennis Hopper in the 'Easyrider' movie, as I mentioned before! Patrick is his back-seat passenger up the Ho Chi Minh trail; I hear he's had quite the wild ride! 39 years old and without a wife, hence the nickname 'Lonely Dennis'. Although I'm pretty sure he likes it that way...the cheeky sparkle in his eyes when he told us about his hometown's 'Love Market' (for singles- and naughty non-singles- to have some fun for 2 days of the year) spoke volumes! As an 18 year old, he smuggled goods through the mountains between China and Vietnam. One time, he was accidently shot in the leg by one of the minority people while they were hunting. Phuong's companion had to perform a quick operation, without anaesthetic, to try and get the poisonous lead out. Luckily, they came across a farmer who looked after him for a few days, without whom Phong swears he would not be alive. There are many strings to Phuong's bow...he also worked on gold-mining and construction sites whilst studying at university. One more thing...adventure is his middle name. Everything is an adventure...and that's the way we like it!
CHAN
...my 25-year-old driver, and quite the cheeky chappy! He is marrying his childhood sweetheart in 2 months time...apparently they met when they were six! I wish we could be there for the occasion...A little bit of a naughty teenager, he followed his brother Thinh to Dalat for university, studying Computer Science. He's very intelligent, especially good at maths; he kept setting us little maths problems on the road! Always laughing, always smiling, ever the professional- a great person to have around.
THINH
...the driver of Danny, one half of a lovely English/Swedish couple we were traveling with for 4 days. He is Chan's older brother, and has a wife and 21 month old baby back in Dalat. He had an extensive knowledge of the Vietnam War, and had some insane stories to tell about lucky escapes from landmines. People in his and Chan's home town still search out souvenirs that the Americans left behind from the war...kitchen utensils, uniforms, the iron from landmines...The latter is obviously a very dangerous game; Thinh and Chan's father had two lucky escapes, then called it quits. In the first case, Thinh and his father was searching for iron with two friends; the latter went left, Thinh and his father went right. Five minutes later, faraway to their left, they heard a boom. They knew what had happened. The second time, Thinh's father had been due to go iron-hunting one day with four friends, but had prior arrangements. None of the friends came home alive. Iron provides income for these people, but at what cost? Thinh recognises how lucky his family is, and is extremely thankful for it.
THAM
...the kind-faced driver of Hina (the other half of the couple), and the oldest at 51 years old. Thinh relayed his fascinating life story one night over a few beers. Both of Tham's brothers were in the Vietnam War; one died, the other survived. Tham was just a child- he remembers rushing down to air raid shelters when he heard the sirens, then rushing back up again soon after to see what was going on. After graduating from sailor school, Tham was posted to Sunderland, northern England, reaching there by train via Russia and London. He was amazed by exotic women in cars and double decker buses; glass doors were also a novelty to him, and he bumped into a fair few! Returning to Vietnam, he did not like the Communist government, and so he, his wife, and his two children took a boat to China. They landed in Hannan, but took another boat to the democratic Hong Kong. Unfortunately, their case was not considered 'desperate' enough to enter the country, so they stayed in a refugee camp with 2000 other people for 4 years. Just rows of beds, each containing one family. After 4 miserable years, Tham and his family were extradited back to Vietnam. His wife and son later returned to Hong Kong, and still live there today; he now has a second wife and third son! A very happy man, with a lot of spirit; he was the one encouraging us to walk behind the waterfall!
So there they are; our four new friends. We only spent the first 4 and a half days with Thinh, Tham, Hina and Danny, then just Chan, Dennis, Patrick and I for 8 days up to Hanoi. Anybody thinking of going to Vietnam, I URGE you to take one of these guys; I promise you experiences and fun that you'll never forget. More than that, I promise that they'll take you off the tourist trail (tricky in SE Asia) and show you the real Vietnam. Just let me know if you'd like their email address/number...
