Unfortunately, I am writing this post from the bottom of my bed because the winter flu has finally caught on me. Not to worry, earlier this week I went all in on buying Christmas chocolates, cookies and tea for the cold evenings and now all of that has proven to be very useful.
Lets talk about the weekend ! It was really one of a kind.
We had a little Christmas party on Saturday so we gathered up at a friend's place to have some red wine, cookies and to practice singing Christmas songs. From there we headed to our normal Saturday spot where we were had Santa hats, mulled wine, Guinness and Christmas songs - just a very happy, cozy evening.
I headed to bed early because I had arranged a hike for Sunday !
Got up early Sunday morning, had breakfast with my hiker buddies and luckily, headed towards Yen Tu mountain with a car. It is actually an interesting experience to be in a car in Vietnam; the roads are clearly designed for motorbikes and cars have no privileges in the traffic, just louder honks. We were looking to climb 8 km in three hours so it was very good that we didn't have to start the day by navigating through the cities on a motorbike for an hour and a half.
The landscape in Vietnam is stunning, endless rice fields with distant mountains casting their blue shades on them. We found a beautiful temple resort before we actually found the root of the mountain where the hike starts.
I bought myself an authentic 'rice hat' (unfortunately, this is the nickname I have always called them. Cannot remember the Vietnamese name) for the hike up. We were trying our best to hold back our excitement and pace ourselves. Prior to our trip we were advised to put aside our pride and buy a bamboo stick as soon as one was offered so that's what we did ! And for a good reason. The highest pagoda on top on the mountain is about 2 km above the sea level. The hike there is 8 kilometers long, full of steep steps and some pagodas on the way up. It is also possible to take a cable car up but in that case, you would miss all the pagodas and views on the way up.
We got hot, sweaty, it started to ache muscles a little bit, and was dehydrating. But most of all, it was breathtaking and worth every second of it. We played some word games on our way up to keep our mind occupied as we continued to lift our feet rhythmically. We did stop at every platform to have another 'Oh my gosh' moment and some pictures.
The final resting stop is 500 meters from the top by a 1.5 ton bronze Buddha statute. We bought some ice creams and water and sat down to enjoy the view. This is the first stop that is actually completely on top of the mountain allowing you to have your first 360 degree view. Turned out it is actually also possible to shower here ! I was desperately looking for a restroom so I could wash my hands and splash some water on my face. What I found appeared to be an army bunker with a shower; shampoo and towel hanging right there. I didn't actually shower but managed to transform myself from a drenched rat back into a human being! What an experience.
Final 500 meters and there we were; on top of the world. I won't even attempt to do justice to the view by words. Everything is put to a perspective when you stand on top of an enormous mountain marveling the view; blue mountains reaching further than you can see, clouds surrounding you from all sides, the vales echoing an ancient tune.
Mira
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