PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MAJOR SPONSOR, SAN MIGUEL! Contact Mr Duy for all San Miguel products in Vung Tau: email: [email protected] phone, text/sms: 0908808468 Home, office, party etc deliveries a specialty! 25 January 2015 NUI DINH - "Get to da choppa!" A large group of mostly familiar faces registered at Offshore Bar 1 on Sunday for this week's top secret mission: "Get To Da Choppa". We climbed aboard the Hashmobile and made it to Nui Dinh in good time. But that's where "religious forces" worked against us as busloads of devotees were all trying to reach the pagoda to celebrate the anniversary of Buddha's enlightenment! We finally made it to the dirt road leading to the lake and dismounted for Basil's Chalk-Talk, which included a reminder to watch out for "the bamboo enemy". Our mission was further jeopardised by the unseen enemy's cyber attacks which disabled our walkie talkies - we were on our own! "On On" we went, up the steep hill and into the bamboo forest with "death by a thousand spikes" awaiting the unwary - not to mention plenty of "grovelling on hands and knees" to navigate past some large boulders on a near-vertical ascent! Bamboo spikes notwithstanding, it was an interesting trail through the forest - up to some big rocks for plenty of "happy snaps" against a scenic backdrop, then down again past a rock cave that had been "home" for jungle troops in wartime, as evidenced by rusty food cans on the floor. We finally emerged from the forest onto an open dirt track, which offered a pleasant stroll past the lake and on to the eskies. Most of the Hashers enjoyed the usual healthy snacks and ice-cold drinks, but the younger set opted for potato chips that Blackhawk had "thoughtfully" purchased at the coffee shop by the lake! Rowdy Water gracefully accepted nomination as duty Ring Master, and he selected Tiny Tim to rate the trail - aided by Peach Melba's supporting translation. TT awarded full marks: 10/10, which everyone agreed was a fair assessment of what had been an "excellent" trail! TT then helped hares Basil, The Gardener and Ms Banana duly quaff their reward (co-Hare Samson was absent on work duty!). Hash Virgins Mr Hoang and his sister Ms Do Thien were welcomed (they had been introduced by Hard Drive), then sinner Ms Van Anh was penalised for littering (in full view of Hash Flash!), and one of Ciprian's friends, Ms Phuong, was given the Hash tag "Madonna" to wide acclaim. Returnees Taffy, Vicky, Private Business, Ayrat and Hard Drive were welcomed back; and a vote of thanks was made to Mother Teresa and Ice Water for supplying the delicious snacks. Next week's run will be set by Mountain Goat on her favourite block of land: Big Mountain! We'll meet next Sunday, as usual, in Offshore Bar 1 beer garden at 2 pm for 2.30 pm start. In the meantime, if anyone is wondering whether our intrepid Hashers reached their goal "Da Choppa" on Sunday, you should have been there and then you'd know the answer! If you weren't there, you can "catch up" by joining us next Sunday when we search for "A perfect world" on run #666 (all will be explained next week!). On On! ![]() Reporting: Basil, Uncle Hares: Basil, SamSon, The Gardener, Ms Banana Hash Flash: Hard Drive, Kojak VTH3 #665 PHOTO GALLERY > > >
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PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MAJOR SPONSOR, SAN MIGUEL! Contact Mr Duy for all San Miguel products in Vung Tau: email: [email protected] phone, text/sms: 0908808468 Home, office, party etc deliveries a specialty! 18 January 2015 SMALL MOUNTAIN - "Combo trail" The weather was looking a bit warm for anyone without a hat (Ice Water?), but once we'd crossed the Front Beach area and gone behind Mr Ket then up the pagoda steps opposite house 2/2, there was plenty of shade from the trees. Basil warned everyone about the slippery downward slope to "dismount" off the mountain, and urged adults to help the younger "ankle biters" to ensure everyone gets down safely (which they did, albeit with rather dusty trousers!). Terminator headed off in front, as usual, but was fortunately steered in the right direction before he could blaze a new, different trail! It was a case of "Quiet please" as we went through the pagoda because they were in prayer. Then it was up the hillside behind the pagoda and right turn down the dirt track and through the big, very popular shrine which straddles the track. Picnicking students had a bonus English lesson by practising as the Hashers passed by: "Hello, what's your name?" replaced "On On" for a while! There are lovely views of Vung Tau Bay and the ferry terminal from the shrine - and lots of photos were taken. Then it was "On On" along the track until it meets the sealed road but, instead of making a righthand U turn to descend, we continued on until we reached the "tipping point" to go over the side and down the "slippery slope" mentioned earlier. There was only one "official" trail off the mountain - and it was well marked with the familiar red eco-tape. But several Hashers found their own way down the last bit, including some who went through a new resort and took the opportunity to remove some of the mountain dirt from their hands in the water tube - despite the loud attention of local dogs! Then it was a fairly long hike around Halong to the twin goldfish in the park - interrupted by Viking coming the other way "because he needed some exercise", and some of the young ones emptying Basil's water bottle to slake their well-earned thirst! Ronald Reagan had finished up front and taxi'd the eskies from Offshore Bar 1 - which pleased the younger set, who enjoyed the refreshing orange juice while the "oldies" quaffed gold and silver San Migs to wash down the delicious snacks provided by Ice Water, Mother Teresa, Mountain Goat and Basil's grandmother. Duty Ringmaster Ronald Reagan called the Circle and nominated Superteen to rate the trail. She gave 9/10 because the trail was "good, but short" - which indicates how far she's advanced her Hashing prowess in the past three years because "too short" was never a complaint "back in the day", as RR pointed out! Hash Virgins Ms Thuy, Nhat, Minh, Huy and Quan were welcomed (friends of Ms Van Anh); then returnees The Gardener and Ms Banana. Ms Banana was then called out again for not wearing yellow, because RR had made a new and interesting rule that you must wear something to match your name! The "caterers" were thanked once again, and volunteers were called for next Sunday's trail. Basil and Mountain Goat raised their hands, with Basil getting the nod to set a trail somewhere in Ba Ria with SamSon, and Mountain Goat will set a local trail the following week. STOP PRESS (Wednesday): Basil and SamSon teamed up with The Gardener and Ms Banana to set a trail to the wartime "dust-off" helipad on Nui Dinh (5 km west of Ba Ria). Strange things happen in the jungle sometimes, and Wednesday was no exception! More detail will be disclosed in the run report, but suffice to say they've laid a brand-new trail that looks challenging and exciting - the GPS track will be circulated by email! To take part in what sounds like it's going to be a memorable run/walk, we'll meet on Sunday as usual in the Offshore Bar 1 beer garden at 2 pm for 2.30 pm start. On On! ![]() Reporting: Basil, Uncle Hares: Basil, Uncle Hash Flash: Flying Finn, Kojak, Mr Son VTH3 #664 PHOTO GALLERY > > >
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MAJOR SPONSOR, SAN MIGUEL! Contact Mr Duy for all San Miguel products in Vung Tau: email: [email protected] phone, text/sms: 0908808468 Home, office, party etc deliveries a specialty! 11 January 2015 BIG MOUNTAIN - Three trails, a bugle and a "changing of the guard"! We headed off from Offshore Bar 1 under a bright, sunny sky - fortunately not too hot, but a few degrees warmer than the cool weather we've enjoyed lately. We made a right turn at the SOS clinic and continued to the residential steps at Hem 89. Up the steps for our first "breather" stop and to make sure we hadn't lost anyone on the way. Then on down Vi Ba - past the Venus 2 nightclub and up a winding side-road to the famous Thang Hoa pagoda - where Terminator's "muscle shirt" was deemed unsuitable for entry. After another headcount, we grouped together and skirted the left side of the pagoda grounds very quietly and respectfully until we emerged on the other side - and it was here that seasoned Hasher Terminator found us. He'd skirted around the other side of the pagoda and either by luck or good judgement arrived at the same spot as everyone else! From here, it was straight up the mountainside under the power lines for the "difficult trail" (almost, but not quite a vertical climb over many boulders); or, for the not-so-difficult trail, down then around the mountainside in parallel with but on a lower level than the more difficult trail. Both trails posed challenges along the way, as well as good views of Vung Tau City - and they eventually joined again at the grassy, open "crossroads" area known by many veteran Hashers. Then it was Down Down the hillside over lots of small rocks ("no dancing shoes, please!") until we emerged on Vi Ba, a little higher than where we'd emerged from the residential steps and stopped for a breather earlier in the day. Left turn for 200 metres, then down to the residential steps and right turn then left to eventually gather at the twin goldfish in the park between Le Loi and Front Beach. The eskies had been transported from Offshore Bar 1 by the first Hashers to finish the trail and, by the time most of the pack arrived, they were well and truly "open for business" - quickly followed by snacks and vodka courtesy Terminator and Tiny Tim, plus a loaf of bread that Ice Water brought along "for emergencies"! The Circle was eventually called, and Titanic and Basil awarded the difficult and easier trails the impressive scores of 10/10 and 8/10 respectively (Titanic's score was based on the "difficult" trail actually being difficult!). But that wasn't all! Anti was called into the Circle to evaluate "her" trail - the extra distance she'd lured several Hashers along by following her instincts and memory of previous Hashes instead of the red eco-markers! Unbowed, Anti explained that they had enjoyed "her" trail and awarded it 10/10 - for a total of 28/30, which is a pretty formidable score by anyone's reckoning! Hash Virgin Phi Vu was introduced and will more than likely become known as "the handsome dentist" when he qualifies for a Hashtag (he's a dentist and gave part of his reason for joining the Hash as being "...and because I'm handsome"!). His girlfriend Chuong was also introduced because she didn't arrive in time for today's run but plans to join us next week. Returnees D&G and Ice Water were welcomed back; then Terminator and Tiny Tim were brought into the Circle to be thanked for providing snacks and (more) vodka - but things went awry at this point because it seems that it was (or will soon be) their birthdays, so Rowdy Water's youngest daughter Haley was also invited into the Circle so we could sing "Happy Birthday" to all three (it will be Haley's 9th birthday later this month). And then the highlight of the Circle arrived with the introduction of the "official, new mismanagement team" of Basil and Ice Water - complete with a symbolic handover of the revered Hash Bugle. Basil and IW have actually been looking after VTH3 affairs for some time already, but now it's "official" with a Hash Cash and assets handover because Uncle & Anti are heading back to Australia for several months. Importantly, we need more Hares to set trails - and there is plenty of information on this website to help any would-be Hares, including explicit details of dozens of earlier trails that can be copied and/or improved upon. In all the excitement of the handover, a call for Hares to set next Sunday's trail was forgotten - so Uncle has volunteered to "right his wrong" by setting a trail before he and Anti depart this week. STOP PRESS (Wednesday): Uncle and Basil have combined to set a "combo" trail on Small Mountain for Sunday - a combination of two existing trails with a new "dismount" (or "mount", depending which way we go). Sound intriguing? It is! Join us on Sunday to enjoy for yourself... We'll meet as usual in the Offshore Bar 1 beer garden at 2 pm for 2.30 pm start. On On! ![]() Reporting: Basil, Uncle Hares: Basil, Uncle. Hash Flash: Uncle. Circle photos: Anti, Ice Water. Additional photos: Tiny Tim, Flying Finn VTH3 #663 PHOTO GALLERY > > > ...NOW SOME "CANDIDS" FROM TINY TIM'S LENS > > > ...AND "A DAY IN THE LIFE..." FROM FLYING FINN > > >
С Новым Годом Chúc mừng năm mới ********************************************************************************* PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MAJOR SPONSOR, SAN MIGUEL! Contact Mr Duy for all San Miguel products in Vung Tau: email: [email protected] phone, text/sms: 0908808468 Home, office, party etc deliveries a specialty! 04 January 2015 SAND DUNES - Russian Orthodox Christmas! It took much longer than usual for the bus to arrive this week, but everyone agreed afterwards that it was worth the wait! We offloaded at the landscaped red dirt road about 1 km past the Seaview Apartments. A bilingual Chalk Talk by Peach Melba followed, then it was "On On" along the highway to Ba Ria for about 100 metres until we encountered "duty human signpost" Mother Teresa showing the way onto a hard-packed, rock-strewn track leading towards the ocean (if you're wondering how we know the track was hard-packed and rock-strewn, just ask Uncle - he tested it with a layout and pike that would have done Greg Louganis proud!). As we reached the fishing boats, we turned right and headed for the sand dunes that stretch for miles along this part of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, interspersed with fishing villages. And this is where the fun began. It was plain to see from positioning of the familiar red markers that the Hares had enjoyed themselves, weaving in and out, up and down the dunes for the pack to follow. The ocean views were awesome, as always, but now we had several changes of terrain and vegetation as well - including some dense bushes which hid the wasps that took a few bites out of Superteen and Camel Bone! And how good was it to see all our fellow Hashers stretched out along the dunes! (we usually run through jungle, where it's often difficult to see more than a few metres ahead - so today was "a special treat"). The markers eventually showed the way back inland from the dunes, where farmers were harvesting watermelons in preparation for Lunar New Year. They were also kind enough to shout warnings about the prickly bushes we were heading for, which saved a few Hashers from being "needled"! Once through the shrubbery around the farm, it was back towards the highway on the red dirt road, which made it easy to see who had been running because they were covered in the thick, red dust they'd kicked up! And then we had our next surprise for the day - being greeted by "Santa" Terminator bearing gifts of San Miguel and candies for adults and children respectively! Lots of socialising followed, with Russian Orthodox Christmas being toasted with genuine vodka and lots of Russian flag waving! The delicious bread and salted pork provided once again by Mother Teresa and Mountain Goat was supplemented by yet another surprise - the sudden arrival well "off the beaten track" by an ice-cream vendor! Camel Bone was very popular as he shouted ice cream cornets for the kids! It was soon time for the team photo and a vodka-fuelled Circle, with apprentice Grand Master Oggy keeping a watchful eye on proceedings. The Trail was awarded the magnificent and well-deserved score of 10/10, only to lose 0.5 demerits for the wasps (boo, hiss)! Hares Terminator and Mountain Goat were applauded accordingly, and showered in "snow" as they Down Down'ed their reward! Hash Virgins, holidaying Finnish couple Miki and Malla, and Mr Son's son(!) Hoang Thai were welcomed to the fold; as were returnees Peach Melba, Faulty Brakes, Ronald Reagan and Hifi, with FB giving a textbook demonstration of how to manage "stiff-arm pouring" without missing the target! (see photos below). Sinners were next, with "crimes" ranging from waving the Russian flag to living in Finland, and many in between. Uncle even managed to get in on the act but can't remember why - it was one of "those" vodka-fuelled Circles! We thanked Basil for managing everything so well for us; and Terminator, Mother Teresa and Mountain Goat for being sufficiently caring to provide the vodka(!) and delicious snacks! Then Uncle called for volunteers to set next Sunday's trail, with nil response. So he put his own hand up - but he and Anti will be returning to Australia after next Sunday, so we urgently need more volunteers because "no Hares" means "no trail", and "no trail" can mean a very boring Hash! On On! ![]() Reporting: Basil, Uncle Hares: Terminator, Mountain Goat Hash Flash: Uncle. Circle photos: Anti. Additional photos: Flying Finn, Tiny Tim, Radio Wave VTH3 #662 PHOTO GALLERY > > > Hash Flash photos first - then other contributions below ...NOW THESE FROM FLYING FINN > > > ...AND THESE FROM TINY TIM > > > ...AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THESE FROM RADIO WAVE > > >
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