a byte of me

So I've added another ambition to my list of things/adventures to do in Viet Nam that already includes backpacking from north to south in Viet Nam. Next time I am there, I'd also like to rent a Minsk (pronounced as Min) bike and drive off into the mountains in the north with a few friends. I came across Emma Sedgwick and Russell Skingsley's old blog and read the article about their relative riding a Minsk motorbike up north and having a blast! What an adventure! Many years ago, I read a Nelson DeMille book called Up Country where the plot of the story is based in Hanoi, HCMC and up north in the country side. Although the plot was fiction, the places he describes in the book are absolutely real. (He is a Vnam vet and he went back to Vnam to research while writing this book).

Reading about the country side fascinated me then and it still fascinates me. I remember something about the Montagnards - the tribals that reside up in the country side - that they are hostile towards the Northern Vnamese government (or anybody that is there with the motive of establishing authority over them. They very much like their own independence and want to stay that way.) Otherwise they are a very friendly lot. I am not sure what the situation is today, but if others have taken trips up there, I am sure its quite possible and although dangerous, quite adventurous.

So now that I am bubbling with excitement, I am going to try to convince some Vietnamese friends of mine from school (OWU) to go there with me sometime. We'll have to come up with a time that works for all of us, but I'm ready to go as soon as next summer when school at Utah ends.