November 12th: Hope Restored – Climbing in Huu Lung
Day 30
Finally just as we were all ready to get back on the road, our English speaking friend Kiem wrote back and agreed to help negotiate a reasonable price for climbing. We agreed to meet her this morning at 8am and luckily the landowner showed up in time to collect. After 30 minutes of conversation between Kiem and the landowner, the price was settled for 40,000VND per day for 2 of us. We gave the landowner 100,000VND, intending to pay for 2 days, and she took off on her bicycle, and never returned with the 20,000VND change.
Kiem insisted that we should have lunch with her family. After the huge favor she just rendered us, we couldn’t be grateful enough for such hospitality. As agreed, we showed up at her house 2km away from the crag at 11am, and were directed to the living room to take a rest, while served with ice water and yogurts. 1 hour later, the host laid a feast on a grass mat and gestured us to take a seat. We were also offered beers, which we guessed were in our honor. The whole family was in attendance, with 5 adults, 2 children, and 2 babies, although we weren’t able to figure out exactly how everyone was related because of the language barrier. Some of Kiem’s relatives she referred to as her second family, while others she said were her brothers. Our cumbersome communication was not a problem though, everyone seemed happy just to have us there, sharing a meal with them.
Quickly the children found Cher’s trike was the only one small enough that they could reach the pedals. They wheeled around the driveway on their newest toy. Having finished lunch, we were given freshly brewed rose hip ice tea, and were invited to take a nap. As the lunch had lasted for almost 3 hours, we were eager to start climbing. We skipped the nap and got back on the rock.
We offered to treat Kiem to dinner, and anyone she should choose to invite the following day. Still we felt even a most extravagant banquet would not express our gratitude enough for all the generosity and kindness this young lady has shown.
