The Adventures of Adam Bray & The Land of Nop: Pt 2

In case you missed it, view Part 1 of this adventure here.

Here we have a second ancient Cham temple ruin. The government found this one and excavated it about 2 years ago. It also likely dates from the 8th or 9th century. As usual, the government looted when they wanted from it, then left it fallow for the cows and farmers to run all over it. Surely it won't last long now.

This corn field is growing on what was tropical rainforest a few years ago. Slash and burn agriculture is taking villagers further into the jungle each season and destroying this precious habitat.

Obstacle 4: the road has gone from path to riverbed now. Soon I'll have to abandon the motorbike.

I enter a bamboo rainforest. The villagers tell me that in this area a man was just discovered, having been missing for a few days, eviscerated with his brain removed. I shudder a little. I hope I haven't entered the scene of the next Predator movie! Stories abound in the countryside of evil men who kill travelers and children, and sell their organs--to be used in magical rice wine brews by the wealthy and powerful.

A giant jungle millipede. These guys are everywhere and feed on dead and rottering plan matter. They are relatively harmless, though highly poisonous if a predator tried to eat them.

Giant spiders... these lovely ladies, with legs like chopsticks, have a very large range. I've seen them in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. if I'm not mistaken, I think they are bird-eaters.

Giant river crabs... I'm told they are edible but they taste like mud. They actually have very cute personalities. There were about 10 of these males (the females are relatively tiny and lack the giant  claw) in my swimming hole. I slept in the waterfall for about an hour. I woke up with this fellow poking me in the leg. I think he was trying to see what I was.

My swimming hole, taken from a little waterfall above. There were at least three kinds of fish in the pool--who were very inquisitive and loved to help me eat the bread that I brought for my picnic lunch.

This stretch of jungle was one of the most wild that I've encountered in Vietnam, actually. There were wild birds everywhere squawking, singing and fluttering about. Unfortunately most of the time that's not true--the jungles of Vietnam are usually completely silent because all of the birds and other animals have been hunted and removed from the forest wholesale. Its a worrying situation and villagers and authorities alike don't seem to care.

As I left the forest to return home, a villager stopped me and asked if I was there looking at the river for the government. I asked him why he thought that. He said that 5 years ago, the government announced that it planned to build a dam and flood the gorge, creating a reservoir, and destroying this unique jungle habitat--just as they have many of the valleys and gorges throughout the Central Highlands. One by one all of these spots are being lost--and so are the wild plants, animals, archaeological and cultural treasures of the people who live here.

Want more adventure and great photos? Read the whole adventure thread here.

The Adventures of Adam Bray & The Land of Nop: Pt 1

Last week after recovering from pneumonia I hopped on my motorbike and drove north to the land of Nop. As best as I can tell, the people of Nop, where are a clan of the K'ho tribe, only live in the mountain foothills of Binh Thuan Province, Vietnam. The K'ho tribe are Mon-Khmer, which basically means their language is related, long ago, to Khmer (Cambodian).

The purposes of this adventure were lighthearted--namely to check some ancient (more than 1000 years old) temples from the Champa Kingdom, and explore a gorge leading into the jungle and find a waterfall pool to swim.

My trusty steed for the adventure.

Obstacle #1, an old wooden suspension bridge. The Vietnam countryside is full of these, thankfully, because it makes road trips much more interesting. Clackity clackity clack all the way across...

A Nop woman with a heard of goats. Though they now live in what was once Cham territory, I don't believe Nop were actually wards of the old Champa Kingdom back in antiquity. Instead they were apparently friendly neighbors, who traded with the Cham were at least bilingual, speaking both K'ho and Cham.

Obstacle #2, sometimes pot holes in the road get out of control.

An ancient Cham temple that I discovered in Ham Tuan Bac district in 2009. If it's as old as other Cham temple ruins in Binh Thuan Province, it could date from the 8th or 9th Century. Cham were all Hindu at the time and worshipped Shiva and other hindu gods and goddesses. Sadly, the government recently found the temple too, and about 7-8 months ago it appears they conducted a very slopped excavation to loot any antiquities they could uncover, leaving the temple unprotected. If nothing is done to preserve it, it will collapse very soon and be lost forever.

On to the Nop villages where they are celebrating the rainy season and praying for a good harvest. This is done with joyous feating and offering to the spirits. This beautifully ornamented, woven object is a symbolic hut and offering to the house god of a Nop family.

Similar in form to the sacred trees made by highlands tribes, which they (but not the Nop) create for buffalo-stabbing festivals, this decorated pole is an offering to the spirits of the Nob ancestors. The fence is designed to keep animals out, rather than in.

The torch in the middle is lit with fire and then blood is poured into two small (and difficult to see) bamboo spouts near the ground. This blood offering is made to the earth gods of the Nop.

Continuing on we meet Obstacle #3, a bull guarding the path. Actually, he turned out to be a big sweetheart.

Stay tuned for part 2, which will be appearing above next. I visit another temple, charge through the jungle, run into some interesting critters, and encounter tales of gruesome murder...

Despite Warner Brothers, Enjoy The Harry Potter Experience: Vietnam Style

This season Warner Brothers demonstrated that they understand the spirit of Voldemort inside and out—and much like his Dementors, they have sucked the joy out of Vietnam’s children—young and old. Are you bummed about Warner Brothers’ decision not to screen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in Vietnam? Below are ten ways you can still enjoy the Harry Potter Experience: Vietnam Style.

1. Get your invitation to Hogwarts by Owl Mail. Believe it or not, Vietnam does have owls. Lots of them in Ho Chi Minh City, even. They feed on the polluted city’s many diseased rats. Vietnamese don’t generally share the same affection for owls as Harry Potter. To them owls are harbingers of death and other bad omens. More likely than an owl, your letter will be delivered by a questionable mailman demanding extra money for, uh, um, ‘expat tax.’
2. Just like Harry Potter, you can make some new best friends on your way to the train station. Every corner in downtown Saigon seems to have a smiling goodwill ambassador from the Philippines… and they’re always up for a good conversation, a cup of coffee, and a rigged card game with a US$10K pot.
3. Hop aboard the Hogwarts Express! Yes, we have a great old train, but it’s actually called the Re-unification Express (Shhh… It doesn’t go to Hogwarts either… It goes to Hanoi… sorry… you’ve got to use your imagination!). You might even encounter magical escaped animals on the train, like king cobras, scorpions and giant centipedes! They don’t belong to students however—they are brought on board by wildlife traffickers.
4. On to Hogwarts! …well …ok, the Hanoi Hilton. Really! It’s a nice place! They played tennis! ...Oh, don’t mind the guillotine or the images of torture. There aren’t any celebrity professors here, but hey, they had John McCain!
5. Magical symbols are everywhere! Stars, swastikas, hammers, sickles, lotuses, cameos of messianic figures, and tiger beer girls… much like death-eaters, brand yourself with the right combination and you’ll find yourself in all the right circles, moving up the ranks.
6. Christmas vacation… well, most Vietnamese are into Tet really. Thank goodness there’s no fruitcake. Instead we have heavy, slimy green logs made of gelatinous rice, gooey globs of pork fat and green bean puree. Yum!
7. Potions… yes! Many Vietnamese love a good magic brew—especially for Vietnam’s chronic erectile dysfunction and male virility issues. Here the ‘medicines’ are called ruou thuoc. Made with great things like human placentas, deer penis, bear bile and monkey foetus, it’s a whole lot scarier than the Hogwarts version, too.
8. Magical creatures… you are in luck! Vietnamese love them. There’s writhing dragons, prancing ky lan, dancing lions, soaring phoenix… and in the heart of Hanoi a giant turtle with a much publicized skin infection. Don’t get too close!
9. Next head for drinks on over at… well we don’t have a Leaky Cauldron, but we do have Bia om! It’s a Vietnam institution—beer and hugs! And you must admit that the waitresses look better in a mini-skirt than a goblin played by Warwick Davis.
10. Lastly, head on over to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. Uncle Ho and Dumbledore are a lot alike. Both died heroes in their old age, unmarried, and had a special fondness for young students. Like Uncle Ho, Dumbledore also will be preserved for future generations to enjoy, and looks equally fabulous on repeat viewings.

Danang Hospital Recommends Goats

Below is a very rough translation of a rather outlandish article on the Danang Hospital website. A few sections were rather hard to understand, largely due to how poorly they were originally written, and so have been omitted. I think you'll get the general idea. So before you head to a Vietnamese hospital for any serious treatments, remember this, which you can try yourself at home first... hahaha.

From the Danang Hospital

Goats: Nutritious folk medicine & treatments

Goats are omnivorous animals, and as such parts of their digestive and reproductive organs are very strong. Each morning out of a barn, a male goat can have sex with many goats.  Females can live long and give birth many times; each litter can have many babies. So popular is the concept of goat dishes improving one’s health, and particularly sexual function.  1.     Goat Meat. According Mr. Hai Thuong Lan's  Medicine Series, goat meat is sweet, hot, and non-toxic. Goat meat puts the body in a positive direction, makes one warm and improves mental function. If you eat 30 - 40g/day of dishes made ​​from goat meat, it will make you stronger, eliminate back pain, cleanse the blood, and reduce excessive sweating. Goat meat is often quite good prepared with the ginger and garlic. Mr. Hai Thuong Lan advises eating goat meat with onion, garlic and shallots. Vegetables and warm pepper complete the prescription. Particularly, garlic and shallots with goat work to strengthen the kidneys; eating goat meat can also treated renal impairment, fatigue, and knee pain. The general effect is to nourish the blood with oxygen.  2.     Goat Blood Wine. Have the goat stand straight, shave the neck fur and disinfected the area with alcohol, Poke a knife into the neck artery (avoid poking into the esophagus). When the blood sprays like a faucet, remove the head, put some alcohol into a jar, and then fill it with all the blood. Drink it right away. Be sure the goat is not sick and is full grown. For an even better effect, add to the wine cinnamon, ginger, and orange peel. Another good remedy is to mix honey and blood wine. Blood wine is good for cleansing one’s blood.  3.     Goat testicles. Choose big males but avoid old goats. Eating goat testicles is good for the kidneys and curing impotence. People often use alcohol with testicles – Goat testicles make an interesting wine: take the testicles, the kidneys, the penis, cutting into thin pieces, marinated in garlic, mix in an earthen pot then simmer on a plate. The heat of the wine will mature the testicles.  For goat testicle hot pot: stew lotus roots in a pot of water, add lotus seeds, and bulbs. When the water is boiling, add goat testicles, kidney, and bone marrow. Do not cook the meat too much, which will reduce the effect. Goat testicle hot pot is a very exciting drug and very strong.  4.     Goat Kidney. Cooking goat kidney is similar to cooking other kinds of kidney (such as pig). However, goat is usually baked or steamed with onions. The dishes are suitable for the treatment of depression, hearing loss, and sweating.  5.     Many stomach. Goat stomach is very salty like that of other omnivorous animals. However, gastric goat stew or porridge can treat poor digestion and nausea after meals. Note, those with stomach and duodenal ulcers should not use this item.  6.     [Ommitted] 7.     Goat can be substituted with snake meat, minced, cooked in a pressure cooker and bones   crushed. Mix with heart and cleansing organs, finely shredded and dried. All can be pureed, mixed, and is good for the skin, Drink 5 - 10g/day.

Mui Ne: Month in Round-Up

On June 4^th we lost Krasovsky Andrey Sergeevish, better known as Andrey, in a traffic accident. Andrey, with his wife and young child, was the owner of Dejavu Restaurant in Mui Ne. He was much loved in our community and is missed greatly.

The new high-speed boat service from Phan Thiet City to Phu Quy Island met with serious problems earlier this moth when the hull was smashed by waves on its second voyage. The boat was varying 175 passengers, including tourists, on the 5-hr journey. The hole in the ship was reported to be 2 square meters in size and several windows were also broken, allowing seawater to flood into the passenger hold. The ship belongs to Huong Phuc Company, was licensed by the Vietnam Marine Administration, and was purchased in Australia. The incident comes as a significant blow to transportation efforts out to the island.

On a more positive note, a new golf cart service has started in Mui Ne, with rates from 10,000-30,000 VND, spiriting passengers between the Cham towers and the Red Sand Dunes. Additionally, Rang Dong is beta-testing a helicopter service between Sea Links and Saigon, initially priced at $500 for a round-trip. That’s a steal if you ask me.

Several times in the last few months we have received reports of snatch-and-run thieves in Mui Ne. Last weekend there were at least 3 incidents in a single day. The thieves appear to be operating as a pair on a single motorbike, and targeting women. They apparently search for women riding bicyclea, knock them off balance and then snatch their bags.

It is most likely that these thieves are part of a gang visiting from Saigon or Nha Trang on the weekends, when there are large numbers of out-of-town tourists in Mui Ne. Unlike District 1 Saigon, Vung Tau and Nha Trang, where such crime is very common, Mui Ne does not have a history of this, and it is vital that we do not allow it to take hold. No level of this sort of thing should be considered acceptable. If you are a victim or have witnessed this crime in Mui ne, or have any information about the identity of the criminals, please contact me.

In archaeological news, the Binh Thuan Antiquities Department took possession of a an earring from the Sa Huynh Culture on 30 June. This civilization is believed to have occupied much of coastal Vietnam from 1000BC to 1AD, and to have been the forerunners of the Champa kingdom. The earring is a typical design--two deer or goat heads with long horns, facing away from each other on opposite ends of a scale. Unfortunately the province has no official history museum, so the artifact may never actually go on display.

On June twelve there was a riot in Mui Ne. Due to the sensitivity of the situation I will not go into the details of how the riot started, other than say there was an altercation between police and a local resident. Also it’s probably helpful to mention that this is a local incident and not related to regional issues currently in the international news.

On that Sunday, more than one thousand people congregated at any given time around the police station in the middle of Mui Ne Beach, although probably several thousand people came and went during the course of 7hrs. Only a small subset of those present actually participated.

As reported in the local newspapers, two police motorbikes were destroyed, one of which was burned along the side of the road. Rioters parked trucks full of rocks outside the police station, which they used to heavily damage several police cars and jeeps, and hurl at the building.

After 11pm several squads of more than 100 riot police in full gear were called in to disperse the crowds with tear gas and non-lethal stun/flashbang grenades. According to local newspapers, more than 30 people were later arrested and 4 are now in prison, though it appears many more have been detained since.

The incident came as a great surprise to those of us that live here, as Mui ne does not have  a history of such things, and after all, this is the resort capital of Vietnam!

Please note that while I always welcome comments on this blog, comments on the riot will have to be moderated and anything sensitive may be read by me but withheld from posting.