Bikes, Baskets & Buffaloes

[Martin Hash]

Hoi An Gwynne on Bicycle.JPG

I'm not real enthusiastic about riding a bicycle but I can be talked into it, especially if the day is nice & the scenery is to die for. Vietnam has ample supplies of both, so my wife, Gwynne & I, hit road on some Granny bikes with a local guide around Hoi An. Now, Gwynne probably would have gone no matter, but she knows me, and what really attached us to this particular guide was that he said we could ride a Water Buffalo. I've never been on a Water Buffalo, never even touched a Water Buffalo, and it's fair to say the chances of me ever riding a Water Buffalo in the future seemed remote, so you have to take opportunities as they present themselves, and I signed up for Water Buffaloing.

First, though, was the Basket Boat ride. Apparently, somebody in Vietnam's past thought it would be a good idea to weave boats out of palm fronds, and naturally they took the shapes of large baskets. We actually saw someone weaving one of those basket boats, and it looked like no easy job. Mostly, I was wondered how to paddle one of them: wouldn't you just turn in circles? When I paddled, yes, that's what you do, turn in circles, but when the local boatman got his skinny paddle swirling around like a blender, we scooted along just fine. Still, the thing seemed paused to turn over at all times. Another observation I might make was that our boatman must have loved karaoke: English songs but he didn't know any English, so it was a guessing game what he was singing.

Basket Boat.JPG

Finally, the Water Buffalo moment was upon us. A teenage boy, smaller than my tiny wife, all smiles & wiry limbs, hoisted us onto the back of a huge Water Buffalo, and headed hells-bells into the rice paddies. Let me tell you, staying on the back of a high-stepping Water Buffalo is no mean feat. I know there are people out there saying, “oh, the poor buffalo,” but what about my tail-bone, huh? Who's going to feel sorry about that?

Gwynne on Water Buffalo 3.JPG

[DBTrek]

Cast that last one in bronze and put it on the Wallstreet Bull.

Be like "Who wants to stand defiantly in front of the Wallstreet bull when you can ride it around like a rickshaw?"