Tet in the Forest

20 February 2010
Food for Thought
I just got back from spending a few days in Cat Tien with Jonathan. It makes me sad to admit this, but until this week, I hadn't been back to Cat Tien since May!! I was due for a visit! I took the big orange bus to Tan Phu, where Jonathan picked me up on his motorbike. We had a great ride back to the river, where we caught the boat across to the park. With it being Tet, there were lots of tourists visiting (myself included!). I was starving so we went to the restaurant for some lunch, where we got invited to join in lunchtime Tet toasts. 3-4 shots of rice wine later and I was ready for a nap! When we awoke, we stopped by to visit the bears, and had a nice dinner at the Bamboo Cantina with Silvia and Carla.

In Ho Chi Minh City I end up eating lots of strange, non-Vietnamese foods, like salad. In preparation for almost any trip, our conversation inevitably revolves around foods that we will get to enjoy. This was no different. I was excited to eat the homemade chips, the stir-fried noodles with tofu, and the egg sandwiches. When in Cat Tien, my question to Jonathan is always: "When is our next meal?" I think it is mostly out of boredom rather than an insatiable appetite for so-so foods I never choose to fix for myself.

The oddity in this whole scenario is how our roles are reversed in the city. When Jonathan comes in for a visit, he can't go an hour without a meal. "What do you want to have for lunch?" "Are you hungry yet?" "Do you want a snack?" My answer is usually "no" or "I don't know". In the same way that I eat everything in sight (which isn't very much in the forest since pickin's are slim) Jonathan does the same- pizza, gnocchi, sandwiches, cheesecake, and the list goes on. I am so glad that he is also excited about eating salad when he comes for a visit!
The Nam Cat Tien Market..we were late and it was during Tet. It's usually pretty hopping around 6:00 a.m.


A Refreshing Hike
Aside from seeing how the new Forest Floor Lodge is coming, and catching up with friends, one of the highlights was our morning hike on Wednesday. We woke up early- about 6, so that we could hear the gibbons singing. They usually begin around 6:30. We made coffee and I was in my usual spot out at the stone table watching the sun and listening when we decided to go for a walk. Coffee in hand, we headed out the trail that Jonathan takes every morning to get to his "research site". This was the first time I had gone into the forest and wasn't covered head-to-toe with my REI Field Gear, Leech Socks, and Hat.

One thing I have discovered about myself is that I have a cautious love of the outdoors. While I enjoy going for a hike, it is the moments when I "get naked" so to speak when I have one of those earth-shattering moments of true love- not just for the outdoors, but for myself and my silliness and bravery. I wear all the gear to create a false sense of safety and separation. It's like sleeping in a tent. That thin piece of nylon is like a security blanket: bear-proof, insect-proof, sleep-inducing...but in reality it's just a thin piece of material.

Just strolling, coffee in hand, long-sleeve shirt but no bra, sequinned Fit-flops on feet...I had the best time hiking and listening to WILD gibbons sing. Yes, we could hear the gibbons at the rescue center, but we could distinguish those from the ones up on the Birdhouse/hill trails a few kilometers away. I had some realizations: of bravery, of "oh my gosh you are so silly", and of WE'RE "TRACKING WILD GIBBONS!!
Coming across the river..


Ready, Set, Shoot
As we sat at the Bamboo Cantina working on syncing our calendars for the upcoming months, a Vietnamese family came up to a table nearby. We looked over and noticed that the son had a pellet gun! He was shooting it at the squirrel eating the jackfruit in a tree not 2 meters from me! There were some macaques moving about in the bamboo just past the jackfruit tree and the family noticed them. The son got up to get a closer look/shot at them. WHAT??! Are you kidding me??! I politely told him that he needed to stop. He did. But then his dad came over and was about to start. Jonathan and I both were shaking with rage. In our shattered and stuttering Vietnamese (I am shaking now as I type this..) we told him that he was in a national park and that the animals were protected. He stopped. No one ever said anything to us. I am not sure if anyone would. We spent the next day and a half analyzing our actions. Should we have said something? Was that someone important? Did we offend someone? Any time something like this happens in Vietnam, or in other parts of the world ,but especially in Vietnam, our question is always WWBD: What would Bert do? Bert is Jonathan's advisor and the coolest cucumber in the salad. He always seems to do the right thing with a calm, level head that would only bring people together rather than alienate.

After all the brooding, I kind of decided that despite the fact that I was shaking on the inside, my voice was calm, and I don't care if he was someone important (even bigger shame on him- he should know better!). If the situation were to happen again, I would act the same way. WWBD? Hmm. Don't really know. I do know that I have to do what I deem is right and trust myself with that choice.