Today we took a 3 hour bus ride to a beach in the Kien Giang province. The bus ride there was long, sleepy, bumpy, and completely worth it. We first toured a cave with a Buddhist temple inside of it; the views from one of the natural openings of the surrounding rice paddies and mountains was awe inspiring. Many of us bought little flavored ice bags for about 20 US cents. When we got to the beach we were treated to a delicious meal of canh chua (for the 5th or 6th day running? Not complaining though), seafood and steamed vegetables, fried pork, and rice. Then there was the beach. The water was perfect for relaxing and enjoying the natural beauty of the surrounding water and sand; not too warm to be uncomfortable but cool enough to be refreshing. We played frisbee (poorly on my part) and chicken (much better). Some of us wrestled and others looked on with concern. Although we only got to stay for about an hour, the break from the constant work of PVNF really balanced the trip out. Appreciating the natural beauty of Vietnam and its people gives us a more personal connection to the work we do with PVNF. Floating in the salty water looking at clear blue skies or laying in a reclining chair and taking in the panoramic beach at the edge of tropical rainforest covered hills is completely surreal, something you only see on Corona commercials.
But I see it almost as a generous payment for our volunteerism. I would gladly do crowd control and clean dental equipment to be able to go to beaches like the one here in Kien Giang, paddle down a river in Ben Tre, or have a blast at any of the tours that we have been lucky enough to experience through PVNF. To another day starting bright and early at 5AM tomorrow!
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