|
Zay Harding takes us through the fascinating and crowded
country of Vietnam on a motorbike. From Hanoi
to Ba Be Lake National Park and finally
onto Dalat, Zay encounters the  incredible,
the beautiful and the disgusting when faced with a supper
of chick head and lizard blood wine. Beginning his journey
on bike, we are taken through the rice fields of Hanoi
and then by boat to the stunningly beautiful National
Park through a mountain on route. On his way he participates
in a festival taking part in the corn throwing contest
and catching a goat blindfold in his bid to find a wife!
Finally in the volcano surrounded Dalat, he goes on
the war trail of the 1970s and ends up in the ancient
culture of the elephant tamer. Here he meets the last
surviving elephant tamer, and after riding with the
group, he helps to bathe the elephants and observes
the ancient ritual performed on the young elephants
before they can be turned from killers to domesticated
mammals. A stunning and intriguing trek through the
Vietnam.
Trekking through this land locked country, Zay discovers
the political and cultural depths of Laos. Beginning
in Xam Neua Zay, he is
taken through the safer routes where the bombs  have
been cleared from the roads allowing visitors to pass
through. Then on to the caves where much of the community
sheltered, Zay is shown where the fascinating hospitals
and homes were built inside the secret hideaways. By
a terrifying plane ride, the journey progresses on to
Luang Praboug best known for its colonial
French architecture and scattered ancient temples. Then
for the final leg of his journey Zay hops on a cargo
boat to Luang Namtha. After a tour
around this unconventional method of travel he takes
a paddle boat up stream and treks through virgin forest
seeking out the Acke tribe. With their
thatched roofs bobbing above the lingering clouds, the
community invite Zay as a guest in their homes with
a welcome full body massage massages! During his stay
the tribe builds the ceremonial 'love shack' for a young
male in the group and Zay enjoys the celebratory dinner
afterwards feasting on delicacies like rat and dog. |
