Welcome To The Jungle

I'm currently in Hue, the self titled cultural hart of Vietnam. I'm waiting for my bed to become available so I'll start typing this blog thing up until it gets cleared. Pictures will come later.

So last night was interesting, where I got on my first sleeper bus, along with my two newly found Dutch friends. It looks kind of like a theme park attraction with its small bunk bed-like structures and blue neon tube lights. In the middle of the night we crashed into something, or something crashed into us, with only some minor structural damage in form of a broken window. Additional adventure was provided when you tried to use the toilet. If you think doing your number one on a plane or train is difficult, try pulling it off on a bus that's working its way through Vietnamese traffic. All in all, the ride took about 10 hours and the lucky ones slept for about 6, which includes me. The unfortunate ones got sick and participated in barf bag-testing.

Ready for take-off

Yesterday, the three of us booked another tour together which was a little more expensive (15 dollars per capita) which took us to Cuc Phuong national park. It's a 50 km drive on motorcycles, which takes a little over an hour, depending on how many cows are crossing the road along the way.

The park itself has a short trek available in which you hike through the jungle (with a stone path) to a thousand year old tree. The journey getting there was more rewarding than the tree itself, but thanks to the extensive knowledge on human psychology available in our trio, we were well aware of that before we ventured on. We came across walking branches, gekko's, colorful spiders, all sorts of bugs and two platoons of ants that were dragging worms back to the colony. 

Particular colorful specimen

Then came the monkey and turtle rescue center. This place is a tiny dot of hope in a country were conservation is about as important as stopping for a red light. Most of these animals were intercepted on the trade markets, on their way to either China or Thailand. The monkeys end up in enclosures where they get used to social life and participate in a breeding program, which sounds fun enough, even more when you consider that they don't have to go look for food. Afterwards they go to a semi-wild environment, where they need to fend for themselves, while still being isolated from human contact. The final step is reintroduction.

Meet the family

The turtles are a different story. Some get reintroduced or have a breeding program, while others are kept in isolation because they are invasive species that fare too well in the conditions the park has to offer, killing the endemic species. Most end up in the park after they're intercepted off the trade market as well. Coming here, it's really hard not to fall in love with the place and with what they are trying to do. There is a ton of information here and Vietnamese kids are invited to this place to learn and appreciate nature and, at least on a local level, it seems to work. 

Today I'm on my onesies again, having said goodbye to Naomi and Rowan, who I wish all the best, if they ever get to read this :).

Expect an update with pictures.