Where the Wild Things Are

At Cuc Phong National Park, the first of Vietnam's national parks, I was in turtle paradise. Park authorities have placed turtles confiscated from rare animal poachers in a small preserve, where they are bred and spend their days contentedly swimming in murky, fish-filled water. Each was very shy, particularly some big guys whose butts I will always remember. They lumbered away from me & Eddie in a hustle.

As for the people, the park stewards that we met include a Hmong native named Huyen whose family used to live in the park center, a few local employees who study environmenal science part-time, and an British who used to volunteer at the park and now stops by occasionally to conduct training and animal surveys. Everyone was super nice and hardy.

Our guide Huyen's family used to live near the park center. Huyen learned English from a volunteer for four months and subsequently taught himself the language. When not showing tourists around the preserve itself or the monkey and turtle centers, he also educates local people living near the park about environmenal conservation.

Ever the city mouse, I was mostly concerned about the presence of mosquito nets, the speed at which the mopeds traveled, and keeping my footing in the wonderfully dense but also slippery tropical forest. There was a point where I said no to walking exclusively on wet rock ledges after developing a some nice bruises. Thankfully Huyen knew an easier way to see what is called a Big Tree, by which one means a mammoth arboreal specimen that is about a thousand years old according to a sample of cork. There was no seeing the top of it.

It was amazing to be surrounded by both the very old and the very young. As Eddie and I returned from the tree area to the main road along the park, we were surrounded by clouds of vibrant butterflies dancing towards the end (April - June is butterfly mating season).

The nice thing about staying there for a night is that the area is full of interesting silences and noises. It is rarely completely quiet. At night, the local keepers ring a dinner bell for monkeys in the forest to come near the edge of the park from the nearby forest. The birds and insects are busy at all hours. And the tourist buses are full of voices as well. A very interesting trip indeed.