Sharing from Vietnam - Our First Road Trip

Lunar New Year Calendar: The Second Day

On a spur moment decision, my lớp học tình thương students and I decided to take a road trip toward Da Lat City, with a flexible attitude that 'the end is nothing; the journey is all.' Within one hour, every one managed to pack and get ready to start. I brought all the needed medical supplies, especially Ian's epi pen and allergy medicine. Three motorbikes, five adults and one kid, we started our first road trip together. 

Following Google Map to take the short trip to Dau Giay Intersection, we got lost and ended up going toward Vung Tau, the beach city instead. We decided to stay and rest there one night. Thuy Van Beach was full of tourists; the hotel room was ridiculously expensive for its low quality. Fortunately we found a very good restaurant that sold delicious mini rice crepe (bánh khọt) and claim rice porridege (cháo nghêu). Ian constantly asked questions about everything, my students laughed at any silly reason they could find, and serenity penetrated my whole body, reminding me how simple happiness could be: staying with the people I love in the place I feel belong.

When night fell, we took a short walk and spent time on the rocky beach. Ian had so much fun playing with the waves. The air was pure, the weather was cool, and the Tet atmosphere brought smiles to everyone's faces, from the side walk shop owner to the snack street seller. We slept peacefully through the night of the second day of Lunar New Year Calendar looking forward to the unknown excitement of the next part of our road trip.

 Lunar New Year Calendar: The Third Day

We got up around 9am to get ready for a long day ahead. Ian wanted to stay to play with the sand, but he finally agreed to go for the forest and mountain instead. I told him the long way ahead, and asked him to be patient. The journey was fun, with often stops for Ian to switch from standing in front of our Yamaha Classico Mio to sitting in the back taking a nap, talking, or resting against mommy's shoulders. Despite the sun, the heat, and the exhaustion, we managed to have fun and laugh every time we confirmed that we were heading the right direction. Ian kept asking, 'are we on the right road, mommy?' He was so used to a mommy who had a bad sense of direction who happened to be the tour guide for this trip!

We stopped at a small shop to rest on the comfortable hammocks, wasked our faces in the refreshing well water, drank the sweet coconut juice, and took a short nap if possible. Ian ran around looking at the chicken, dogs, plum tree, ants, busying himself with so many questions and did not show even one small sign of boredom or exhaustion. What a boy!

One kilimeter before our destination, the Mandagui Resort, my motorbike got a flat tire. Three of us stayed behind to get the tire fixed, and the rest went on to book the facility. I had a chit chat with the bike mechanic, was overly happy to be called 'older sister' (chị) by a four year old boy, gave the kids some red envelopes, and left behind a happy man who openly shared with us about his life in the twenty minutes that we stayed there.

We got our tent, washed our face, and walked to the restaurant. The place was beautiful, the weather was perfectly cool, the nature was so adorable, and the food was unbelievable delicious. Ian slept peacefully through the night while my students and I had a hard time adjusting to the hard floor. Lying there and listening to the birds chirping, wind blowing in the middle of the night was such a blessing.

Lunar New Year Calendar: The Fourth Day 

Unfortunately, our peace and good impression of the resort was broken at 8am the next morning. The place was crowded and noisy. Rock music filled the air in one area while Karaoke singing destroyed the serenity of the wilderness in another one. There was no place to escape the dizziness. No matter how calm I tried to be, it was so hard not to be annoyed by the noisy environment. Luckily the swimming was fun for us, and we did enjoy the grass sliding despite the noise.

We happily left the place behind to rest that night in the small and quite Mandagui town in an inexpensive, clean mini hotel that provided a four star hotel customer service quality. That night my students shared with me their first love tales, and I dripped into my sleep remembering the sweet scent of my own first love years ago.

Lunar New Year Calendar: The Fifth Day 

Breakfast was tasty and the service was sincere. The trip back was so much shorter and with only one small incident. Ian lost his cap to the wind on the high way, cried his heart out for two minutes when I refused to stop (trust me - people here do stop on the high way to pick up the stuffs they lost), and then got distracted by my curiosity of who would rescue the hat: would that be Rocky or Thomas or Gordon? At that moment I was so thankful to the Thomas Trains and His Friends Tales as well as my ability to create such a fun story on the spot. That night Ian asked me, 'Do you think the hat is rescued by now? I wonder who would have it? I am sure that person will love my hat so much.' He closed his eyes and slept peacefully after that. How cute!

It has always been my dream to take a road trip with Ian since he was two years old. Now that he is three months away from being five, it is such a blessing that together with my students, we successfully did our first road trip of 600 km in four days and three nights. It was unplanned, easy going, short, and safe. Our next destinations will be Cambodia, a beach town in the Central Vietnam, and probably Hanoi years from now. This road trip marked Ian's transformation from toddler to boyhood. It has been such a joy observing how mature, independent, and happy he has become over the years. This is one of the moments when I confidently testify that being a mom is the best thing one could wish for in a lifetime. About the other moments - well, I try my best not to voice my opinion then :)

February 1, 2012
Saigon, Vietnam