Hanoi is burning. Maybe not literally, but certainly figuratively. It’s been over 100 degrees for much of the past month. Hanoi summers normally are quite hot, but usually not the steam bath we’ve had this year. A quick walk to the corner means a change of shirts, and three showers a day aren’t uncommon. Add in traffic congestion, dust, and a few other pungent smells and there are times that we retreat back into our apartment. Like a snow day in DC., it’s just too uncomfortable to go outside, so we watch videos without guilt.
At the same time, our tour in Hanoi is winding down and we want to see and do as much as we can before we leave. To escape the heat, we joined our friends Nisha and Patrick for a day trip to Tam Dao. Located about 50 miles northwest of Hanoi, the low mountain of Tam Dao is the leading edge of a range that leads north into China. On one of the 5 or 6 days per year when rain and wind have taken the smog out of the air, it is visible from within the city limits. Yet, it’s a different world from urbanized Hanoi.
On our way to the mountain, we stopped at the bear rescue center run by the Hong Kong-based NGO, Animals Asia. I’ve worked with Animals Asia a bit as part of my wildlife protection portfolio and they do a wonderful job rescuing bears from the bear bile farms that have sprung up in Quang Ninh province near Halong Bay. Most of the bears have lived many years in painful captivity and so cannot be returned to the wild. The Tam Dao bear rescue center is a world-class facility that provides excellent medical care for the bears to nurse them back to health. Once in better shape and adjusted to their new surroundings, the bears can socialize and roam around aeveral acres of fenced in and protected outdoor scrubland.
After visiting the bears, we wound our way up the mountain. It’s a popular weekend escape for many Hanoi residents, so we were not alone is trying to beat the heat. The town of Tam Dao sits at about 3,000 feet and, when not hazy, has a terrific view of the Red River and Hanoi. It’s also a bit cooler than the plains below and so instead of feeling oppressively hot it was merely uncomfortably hot – a big step up. 90 degrees has never felt so pleasant. We ate a picnic lunch at a waterfall, together with a few dozen Vietnamese holiday makers. Unfortunately, the local population hasn’t yet taken to conservation and so the area was littered with soda bottles, plastic bags and cookie wrappers.
I had been to Tam Dao once before in the middle of winter and it was freezing as a wet wind blew from the north. It was also empty. Not so in the summer, as hotels and restaurants are full of families eager to sample the local specialties. In particular, the su su. Su su is the vine of the chayote fruit/vegetable. Sauteed with garlic, it’s a mainstay in northern Vietnamese kitchens. As we walked down the street, we saw families loading the trunks of their cars full with bundles of the stuff.
A two hour walk around town without fear of getting run over or overcome by exhaust fumes was a nice break in a busy Hanoi summer. Now, for the final stretch before we head back to the States in early August.
