Day 2 First Motorcycle Chase

Today was a really interesting day for us. Our day started off great because the weather was cooler than it was yesterday. We also gained two new members to our VHP team, Quang and Ngoc Anh, Nhan’s cousins. They’re great additions to our group because they are fluent in Vietnamese and have lived in Vietnam their entire lives. It’s also nice to have members who know the lifestyle here in Vietnam.

After eating breakfast together at Trung’s hotel, we took taxis to our 16 passenger van at the bus parking lot. Nhan, Tommy, and I (Mai) had a crazy ride there because our taxi driver hit a couple on their moped. Although no one got injured, the driver of the moped was extremely mad and started chasing our taxi. Our taxi driver tried to lose them by driving really fast. At one point, he drove on a road with oncoming traffic and almost hit people walking on the streets! I was really scared and although Nhan and Tommy said they weren’t, I could tell they were too! We did eventually get to the bus lot safely. After our scary taxi experience, we took a van to Kien Giang with another crazy driver! He sped the entire 6 hour drive there and also drove in the wrong lane. Oncoming coming traffic meant nothing to him! The van also drove onto a ferry to take us across sea, which was a first for many of us. On the ferry, children and other people would randomly open the van door, step inside, and try to sell us fruit and other items. We were shocked and a bit scared so of course we locked our doors for the rest of the drive.



When we arrived in Kien Giang, we met with Magali and Chi Hoang at a coffee shop to discuss our project with the families at the landfills and school. We then ended our day with shopping at the market for food supplies to donate to the families. Tommy bought a “Movado” watch for $25 and Vuong also bought a name brand watch, which is already broken. Let’s hope their wrists don’t turn green! Tomorrow we will meet with the teachers and visit the school. We have an exciting week ahead of us!