Sunday Adventures -- Part II

After this second ride, I was happy I had hopped on with the driver I did as the others were flying ahead of us while mine slowed down at bumps that could potentially send me flying and corners that at a moderate speed may have left me wishing I had knee pads to accompany my helmet. Though it was irronic I inevitablly picked the driver who was left in the dust as I often am in many aspects of my life, I was ok with it today being that I felt safe and only worried about how badly my legs were getting burnt and the severity of my butt falling asleep by the end of the day.
Our first stop after the beach was a japanese style foot bridge named Thanh Toan Covered Bridge with a Tile Roof. It was beautifully carved and when we got closer saw that the side benches were filled with lounging men and some children. One of the drivers took on the role of enthusiastic and knowlegable tourguide in which he told us that the bridge was well known for it's cool breeze within and in turn collect many werry folks needing a cool place to rest. We experianced this wonderfully 'cool' phenomenon for ourselves when we strolled over the bridge stopping in the middle for some photo ops, short fantastical conversation with some young men and a brief snack of vietnamese plums. We made our way to the other side of the bridge and discussed what the rest of our day would look like. After taking on last look at this amazing covered bridge and the lily pads beneath it, we got back into the saddle on our way to our next destination. As we made our way down the dirt road we followed an irrigation stream where at one point was covered with hundreds of ducks that had to have been trained, the way they were all in formation. It was incredible. Our next stop was the arena in which the king would pit an Eephant against a tiger within a huge brick arena. We walked around the other side which was a feat in itself with the crumbling wall on one side and pits looking down into the holding areas for the animals at lease ten feet down to the ground, the whole time being followed by children trying to sell us cold water and bracelets. Kara's driver took a picture of us from the otherside and when we saw it we thought it was pretty funny how far away we looked. We decended the steep brick stairs slowly and took off again. Around a few bends we came to an elephant monument where we took a couple pictures and found out that the tiger usually won in the battles between the two and that it was biased because the tiger was usually starved before the fight making it more agressive and sometimes leading to it's escape and the murder of whoever it encountered.
In the travels between this country side experiance and the next stop, we experianced the most amazing view I have yet encountered and fortunately or unfortunately the only picture I have is in my head. We creased a hill and before me was a clearning in the trees and houses and in the distance was monument after monument covering several rolling hills on a backdrop of hazy mountains. The site was one I don't want to forget.
We made our way through narrow roads and past small towns to some American bunkers that sit on top of a bunkers that sit on top of a hill overlooking the Perfume river. We climbed a hill surrounded with pine trees. It was intersting that an area occupied so heavily by Americans would so closely resemble parts of the U.S. natural landscape. I wonder if that was intentional. Once we got to the top, there were a couple cement structures but what we were most intersted in was the view. When I was finally able to climb up on one of the stuctures (which was just short of setting me on fire when I touched it) for the use of a lame cliche, the view was 'breathtaking'. The river below with little boats chugging along; mountains surrounding us on three sides. What an awesome sight!!
From there we stopped on the way down the road at a place they make incense. Out front were these risers of colorful bundles of sticks that were not yet rolled. We were able to see a young girl rolling incense sticks that smelled like ciniamon. Emily bought this really cool set of hanging incense spirals. I didn't buy anything because I didn't find any smells that I wanted. We met a woman while there who was a voice teacher.
A last stop was a pagoda that a famous Buddhist writer studied at (I don't want to butcher the spelling of his name). As soon as we stepped through the entry way of the grounds, a peacefulness came over me. I think it's one of the most calming places I've ever been and someday want to devote time living and studying in such a place. While at the pagoda, we spoke with a student. He is twenty years old and has been a student there for ten years. At ten years old he chose to leave the civilian life and enter fully into the lifestyle and mindset of a Buddhist. No parent can send their child to a monestary, they can only choose. I think it's amazing someone of that age has the wisdom to make such a life altering decision that requires such a huge commitment and devotion.

As for the day, that's basically the short and the long of it. We got back to the hotel and had some lunch and after all the sun and adventure called it a day.