When our field manager Vinh told us that we were going to do a boat race ourselves today, images of the first race we had seen in the Old Town flashed through my mind. I was half excited, half nervous to see how our race would turn out.
Around 4 pm we were led down to one of the local rivers and were introduced to the three faithful “stalions” we would race in, as well as given life vests. Safety precautions in Vietnam are somewhat of a joke, both among the tourists and among the locals, but for quite different reason. Even though most Vietnamese wear helmets when on their scooters or motorbikes (they have to, by law), many will just wear them for show; either they wont actually close the strap, or they will wear a symbolic helmet made out of extremely thin plastic. A funny in between solution I’ve seen a good amount of times now, is men wearing a construction site helmet. If they fall, this obviously wont protect them – unless they fall very strategically – but if they magically get hit by a flying brick, they are covered!:)
Once, on one of the minibus trips we’ve been on, I noticed that one of my Vietnamese friends wasn’t wearing her seat belt. We were going quite fast, and because of the bumpy roads our heads and bodies were bopping all over the place. When I asked her why, she just looked at me and said “Oooh no, that’s too modern!”, and gave me a hearty laugh.
My boat race team mates and I had a good laugh about the condition of some of our life vests; mine for example was completely empty on the front-left side, but if I were to fall in the water, at least the right side of me would still float! We were not worried in the slightest bit though, because of the very close proximity to land during all of the race.
However, if you decide to venture out on one of the many boat trips that are offered throughout Vietnam, be sure to check the life vests first, they might just be filled with cut-up, layered, foam mats!
By the time we were ready to start, we had attracted quite a small crowd. Local bystanders cheered as we passed them, and chants from each team rung through the air. We crashed into each other numerous times, but only once did one from the local team have to perform an epic Matrix maneuver, when the tip of our boat rushed over theirs. In between chanting, laughing, and screaming encouraging words to each other, my team mate Vebjørn and I often heard our names being yelled out load, half laughing, half exasperated. Without knowing, we had strategically placed ourselves in the front, so that we were the splashers, not the splashed. Because our rowing skills were pretty much non-existent, Mille and Joakim, who sat in the back, were completely drenched after about 3 minutes. Sorry!
To no one’s surprise, the local (and highly coordinated) team came in first, with one of our teams coming in as a close second. The whole race was a great experience, and the happy nature of the Vietnamese people shone very brightly throughout.
The next boat race is already scheduled, let’s see if we can beat them then!
