Tanja’s birthday – thunderstorm and good that we were slowed down
N 20°39'14.6'' E 105°04'01.5''
Date:
30.08.2016
Day: 431
Country:
Vietnam
Province:
Hòa Bình
Location:
May Chau
Latitude N:
20°39’14.6”
Longitude E:
105°04’01.5”
Total kilometers:
18,166 km
Maximum height:
180 m
Total altitude meters:
54.835 m
Sunrise:
05:42 h
Sunset:
6:18 pm
Temperature day max:
28°C
Temperature day min:
22°C
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
It’s been over three weeks now since I fell off that stupid bamboo bridge. For the first 10 days I stayed in bed and rarely left, the pain was just too much. Fortunately, the headache went away after a while, so we assume that my cervical spine was not affected. Since then, I have always trained every day within the limits of what is feasible. In fact, I was feeling quite well after two weeks, but cycling was out of the question. We started the first small test drives after about three weeks. We believe that I won’t be able to drive again with heavy luggage on unpaved roads for at least six weeks after the accident. Then the stability of my shoulder should be established to such an extent that jerky and abrupt movements are also possible.
We are now part of the inventory here. None of the guests stay longer than one to three days. Every weekend we meet the entire management of the facility. Two the architect, Hai the finance ministry official and Hung the filmmaker work in Hanoi during the week. The only one who is soon always present is Man Do, the founder of the Nature Lodge. They all take very good care of me. Hung and his wife even brought me a special Ayurvedic tea, which I had to drink two liters of every day for a week. A terrible brew, but its healing properties are said to be fantastic.
But even if we stay in one place for a long time, it never gets boring. Unpredictable, unpredictable and incalculable things happen again and again. For example, typhoon “Dianmu” forced the Vietnamese government to evacuate entire coastal areas. Dianmu raged across northern Vietnam, killing at least eleven people in floods and injuring a further eight people in landslides and falling trees. Among other things, the typhoon destroyed 2,000 houses, 89 of which collapsed, and destroyed 11,000 hectares of rice fields. “Take a break over the next few days. According to the weather forecast, the monsoon over Myanmar, Laos and the northern regions of Thailand will coincide with a low-pressure area over Vietnam. At the same time, the southwest monsoon will prevail over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand in the south of the country,” Albert, who lives in Thailand, has been following our travels for years and has read all of our books, warned us in a guestbook entry. Without the shoulder injury, we would certainly have been out on the mountain roads at this point. Did falling off the bike save us from greater evil? Who knows? Some of the mountain roads in this region were destroyed or blocked for days due to heavy landslides. The wind speeds could simply blow a cyclist or pedestrian away. There was massive flooding in our beautiful Reisfeld Valley. The small river, which normally meanders leisurely through the valley, became a raging torrent overnight, eating away parts of the beautifully laid out paths or washing them out. Many of the fields were buried under a large expanse of water. Some of the farmers who breed fish for sale in small ponds lost their entire fish stock because the ponds were flooded and the water simply took the fish with it. On the following days, they spent a long time walking through the rice fields with nets to catch at least a few of the runaways. While the storm roared over our valley, we sat in our small stone-built bungalow. It was dripping through the thatched roof because of the torrential rain. Why the roof was not simply blown away by the strong gusts of wind is a minor miracle. Our lodge was unusually busy during the day. Most of the guests fled here from Hanoi and because the roads were partly blocked, they were stuck.
The weather has changed again since then. It sometimes rains for days on end, which is why the air sometimes feels like a viscous liquid to breathe. A breeding ground for mosquitoes, thousands of which buzz out of their hiding places as day turns to night.
The fall and the resulting longer stay completely disrupted our travel plans. We had actually wanted to be traveling in Laos for a long time. Especially because our three-month Vietnam visa has now expired. But how can you leave a country if you are unable to travel? Tanja pulled out all the stops and made a lot of phone calls. She found out that there is an immigration office in the city of Hoa Binh that might be able to extend our visas. With a sick note from the hospital and our passports, she set off by bus to Hoa Binh, the capital of the province of the same name, 70 kilometers away. The staff at the authority were very friendly, helpful and accommodating. After only two hours, Tanja received a two-month visa extension for US$ 10 per person. “We want them to be well with us and for her husband to recover,” they said.
Yesterday I sat with Tanja under a straw-covered parasol having breakfast. “A really nice day after the constant rain,” I realize. “Yes, finally some real sunshine again.” “Ahhhhhhhh!” “What’s going on?” Tanja is startled by my sudden cry. “An electric shock,” I say out of breath, holding my shoulder because the shock has made its way through my body from my big toe. “I can’t believe it. Now I’m sitting there peacefully, doing nothing but drinking my coffee and being beaten by the current,” I cursed indignantly. “What’s happened?” asked Ka, rushing over immediately. I pointed to the faulty power cable under the table. “Oh, the neighbor’s dog has been chewing on it again,” he said pragmatically. “It’s a good thing I was wearing sandals. With my feet on the bare, rain-soaked earth, you could have driven me straight back to the hospital,” I said, still a little shaky. “Sorry.” “That’s all right. It’s not your fault. Is the dog still alive?” I wanted to know. “Why?” “Well, if he’s bitten off the insulation, he must have got it bad. See if he has a black tongue,” I said, laughing again.
Today is August 30th, the day of Tanja’s birthday, which we actually wanted to celebrate in Laos. Tanja ordered some cakes yesterday in Mai Chau for today’s party. Because the friendly staff at the lodge treat us so well without interruption, we want to invite everyone for cakes, fruit and sweets. Tanja gets up early to organize her party. As I’m not really fit yet, I can only help a little. “We still have to sacrifice to our ancestors and pray for a successful launch of the new lodge,” say filmmaker Hung and Hai from the Ministry of Finance. It is pure coincidence that the entire management of the plant is represented again today. After the bosses and a Buddhist monk have made offerings to the ancestors and prayed for a long time for the successful launch of the growing Nature Lodge, everyone gathers under the stilt house. This is exactly where we prepared the cakes and sweets for our Vietnamese guests. “Everyone please stand together for a group photo,” requests filmmaker Hung. After many smartphones have run hot, our 25 guests sing a Vietnamese Happy Birthday to Tanja. “Bon appétit!”, Tanja calls out, whereupon everyone, especially the children, tuck into the cake buffet…
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