VTH3 Run Reports

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22 February 2015
BIG MOUNTAIN - Happy Lunar New Year of the Goat!

Communication has now been restored, so here's Rowdy Water's take on an extremely nice day, which was all about celebrating the New Lunar Year - and our first home run where the Down Down was held in our new home: Sao Bien 4.
In amongst the celebrations we had probably one of the ’cutest’ and most historic local runs imaginable. A super run without question, and awarded a well deserved 9/10 by Flying Finn Pekka.
With "Nui Lon" being our hill of the day we all went up and yes, it was steep; but it was also lovely, passing by wood yards, evading huge water pipes and looking over our collective shoulders: 'Wow, what great views of Vung Tau'!
We passed an historic French bunker never seen by VTH3 before - so it was a champion effort by our hares to find this route. We also passed through Ho May Park (the owners of Sao Bien 4), and past the very impressive Big Buddha statue before heading down Vi Ba Road. Taking a couple of sanctioned short cuts down the mountain, we then cut to the right and came down through the gardens of the White House and back to Sao Bien 4 - full circle!
Did those Hashers who couldn't make it today miss a genuine treat? Indeed they did! Delightful, home cooked Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew), along with pork bread and pickles very kindly brought by our two fabulous and supportive stalwarts Ice Water and Mountain Goat.
Accompanying the culinary delights was wine, beer and soft drinks - so onlookers could be forgiven for asking if the hash is turning into a collection of gourmet foodlovers! The short answer is "No", but it was genuinely 'super' to celebrate Tet as we did: together! Our sincere thanks to both ladies!
RW didn’t want to leave the dinner table, but he was 'dragged away' to perform Ring Master duties.
First up, of course, the hares - as already mentioned (9/10 for The Gardener, Ms Banana and Ice Water - well done, indeed!).
With the hares appreciated, we moved on to the Hash virgins: Miss Ngi and Henry (La France) were welcomed and then, with no sinners being charged, another ‘honesty’ question was raised: "Who sinned?"
There is no better volunteer than an honest one amongst peers: Taffy and Stubble stepped forward and two half pipes suddenly appeared, so our self-confessed sinners demonstrated to all and sundry how not to drink beer wearing their ‘encumbrances’ - all done in the best possible spirit and manner of the Hash, naturally!
Then followed a whisper of ‘Sex on the Hash’. "Tut, tut, tut" - we won't 'name names' as we like to deal with such things delicately... (but see photo gallery below - ed). The alleged guilty parties took their place as Hash sinners and Down Down'd in style!
We are extremely happy with our new surroundings at Sao Bien 4 and look forward to sharing them with everyone next week - even perhaps those who might be nursing "post-Tet" hangovers!
STOP PRESS (Friday): Rowdy Water and Ice Water have confirmed ANOTHER new trail on Big Mountain this Sunday - followed by a beachside Circle and Down Down at 83 Tran Phu. We'll meet in Sao Bien 4 restaurant at 2 pm for 2.30 pm start - if still unsure of the way, please follow the directions on our home page.
On On!

Reporting: Rowdy Water, Uncle
Hares: The Gardener, Ms Banana, Ice Water
Hash Flash: Flying Finn

VTH3 #669 PHOTO GALLERY

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VTH3 #668

15/2/2015

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15 February 2015
SMALL MOUNTAIN - "A new page turns..."

Lots of smiling faces at our new home this week, as a result of sterling efforts by Basil and Rowdy Water to select the lovely Sao Bien 4 restaurant (NOT Sao Bien 3 - see below) after checking several potential host establishments around Vung Tau - and full credit also goes to Ice Water for helping to relocate our assets midweek at short notice, and Flying Finn, The Gardener, Ms Banana and Basil's phone number(!) for combining to help ensure everyone made it to registration on Sunday despite some confusion about the way into start point A - a magnificent team effort!
Thanks also to GeoffK (nursing an injury) and Basil for ferrying the eskies to the end point B - many hands make light work!
Note for future Sundays: The Sao Bien 3 entrance is about 50 metres before the main cable car building. Once inside the Sao Bien 3 gate, you should head for our host and meeting place the Sao Bien 4 restaurant (not SB3) on your LEFT, for registration. But if you arrived on a bike or motorbike, please park in the official (secure) parking area on the RIGHT as you get inside the Sao Bien 3 gate, then walk across the entrance to Sao Bien 4 for registration. Some Hashers mistakenly parked at the coffee shop on Sunday, but it's a non-secure area and not advisable to leave your vehicle unguarded for several hours whilst away Hashing - it's definitely a "park at your own risk" situation! Also, taxis will usually drop passengers at the main cable car building - but that's 50 metres too far so, if it happens to you, just walk back to the gates as above. The following diagram and notes will hopefully assist (imagine Tran Phu along the bottom, and the sea along the top):

...Small arrow at bottom left shows correct entrance gate (marked "Sao Bien 3 Restaurant").
...Red area is Sao Bien 4 restaurant - for Hash registration.
...Green area is official (secure) parking.
...Yellow is Sao Bien 3 restaurant.
...Purple is main cable car building.
...Arrow in the centre pointing left, shows easy way to access parking area if you mistakenly go too far to the main building entrance.

And so, with registration duly completed, we departed on a long'ish hike to 84 Phan Chu Trinh - proving upfront that although our new home is clearly within easy reach of Big Mountain, it's also not that far to Small Mountain, which is a good sign for future home runs.
The Gardener had given his chalk talk on the way to Phan Chu Trinh, so off we went past a few houses, over a wall and onto the mountain. It was a challenging climb to the top, following a new trail cut by the hares through lots of prickly bamboo to the Lighthouse - with several Hashers saved from damaging their collectors-item Hash shirts by luckily wearing backpacks.
Time at the top to enjoy the views with couples who were still thinking of Valentine's Day, including one couple in full wedding regalia! We took a few snapshots, and then followed the familiar red eco-markers down through the "thorn garden"(!) and eventually onto the "abyss" descent which was made quite treacherous by all the dry weather - lots of slippery excitement for young and old!
The trusty walkie talkies proved their worth yet again, with Basil enlisting The Gardener's help to ensure Chippy's plucky little fellah, Yu Bok, managed to reach the bottom without losing too much bark!
Out onto Halong, it was a left turn to #32 and there they were - our precious eskies, full of ice-cold San Migs and softies to help wash down the delicious snacks provided by Mother Teresa and Ice Water (and transported by Terminator). Live Wire's vodka helped a bit, too!
Some of our visitors had to leave at this stage, so we wish them well - come back soon, ya hear!
Duty Ring Master Basil nominated Terminator to rate the trail, and it was scored a "slightly less than perfect" 9/10 because although it was challenging and interesting, the steep and slippery downhill descent caused too many Hashers to lose their collective footing, so 1 demerit point was awarded. Well done once again to The Gardener, Ms Banana and Rowdy Water!
One returnee, the injured GeoffK, and three visitors were welcomed (Paddy Fag and Twin Knockers from SH3, and Yura); then Sinner Live Wire was charged for managing to get lost, plus Paddy Fag and Twin Knockers for thinking they were still in Saigon and taking a shortcut! And so it was on to the "slippers" (all given away by the Lighthouse Hill dirt on their clothes and Hash Flash FF's photographic evidence) - Ronald Reagan, Paddy Fag, Twin Knockers and Vicky paid the penalty in fine style. (Did anyone else notice, by the way, that wily SH3 veterans Paddy Fag and Twin Knockers managed to get themselves into every Down Down except one. Hmmm...)
And then it was left to thank Mother Teresa and Ice Water for the food, Terminator for chauffering it to 32 Halong, and Live Wire for his vodka Tet celebrations!
A few closing words about our new home from Basil (but now also see diagram and "explanation" above), a Happy New Year / "Chuc Mung Nam Moi" message to one and all - and a reminder that it will be "business as usual" next Sunday, although Basil will necessarily be absent at work (the hospitality industry never sleeps!). Experienced Hasher and VTH3 stalwart, Rowdy Water, will do his usual fine job of keeping things moving along at a dignified pace as we ease into our new hosting situation with exquisite timing - the New Lunar Year of the (Mountain?) Goat! Don't be shy, folks - "Rowdy" will be thankful for every bit of help you can offer leading up to and on next Sunday!
STOP PRESS: Hares The Gardener, Ms Banana and Ice Water confirm they've found yet another new way up Big Mountain for Sunday's "Tet run". It's not yet finalised because of the Tet holidays, but we're hoping that the Circle and Down Down will be back at our new home, Sao Bien 4, to help celebrate the beginning of what we're sure will be a wonderful year for all Hashers, friends, hosts and sponsors alike!
Chuc Mung Nam Moi - On On!

Reporting: Basil, Uncle
Hares: The Gardener, Ms Banana, Rowdy Water
Hash Flash: Flying Finn

VTH3 #668 PHOTO GALLERY

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VTH3 #667

8/2/2015

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08 February 2015
NUI DINH - "On top of the world!"

We were promised that this week's run would take us to the "Top of the World", courtesy of Hares Ronald Reagan, The Gardener, Ms Banana and Rowdy Water (aided by a navigator, translator and two woodsmen) - and we were not disappointed!
The weather was much cooler than usual, which was good news because it was a long 30-minute walk from our dismounting point near the end of the sealed road to the start of a gruelling 200 metres climb to "The Stone" (the highest point in Ba Ria-Vung Tau at 502 metres), followed by a very tricky descent that tested everyone's "downhill skiing" techniques!
We had held the Chalk Talk near the lake without Chippy, Yu Bok and Ms Ngoc because they were nowhere to be seen - and in fact didn't show up until the finish, despite Ronald Reagan and Ms Banana's best efforts at finding them. They must surely be the most successful "SCBs" in the history of Hashing!
The climb was a good trail in general, but not easy for anyone "out of practise" because there were many narrow stairs covered with slippery rocks and leaves. We turned left at the top and followed an escarpment/ridge to the next mountain, which is the highest one. Up what was, by then, little more than a small hillock, and then you're on a rocky "top of the world" - or at least those who managed to find the way despite many missing markers were! The Hares were in great demand and each took a small group to "The Stone" - with lots of whistle-blowing and shouts of "On On" to guide the way!
Much discussion took place about "the mysterious disappearing markers", with the consensus being that they must have been removed by the "predator" from two weeks ago ("Get To Da Choppa") when it realised The Terminator was back on the prowl!
A couple of small groups managed to "regroup" - and gingerly descended the steep, slippery hill that was also covered in thorny vines for good measure! They made it to the coffee shop by the lake as darkness began to gather - to be greeted by the "missing" Chippy, Yu Bok and Ms Ngoc who had brought some potato chips and nuts to complement the delicious Russian snacks and ice-cold San Migs and softies!
The Circle was called without delay and Hard Drive awarded 8.5/10 for the "difficult and long" trail, but then deducted a point for the missing markers - "boo, hiss"!
Returnee Som Tum (aka "Mrs Taffy") was welcomed, and Alex and Anna were farewelled after a short but enthusiastic stay with VTH3. No sinners today (despite the aforementioned SCBs!), so duty Ring Master Rowdy Water called for an "honest"(!) show of hands from those who slipped most of the way down the mountain and Ms Van Anh, Ronald Reagan and Mountain Goat were duly toasted as "honest slippers". The "slipper" tag caught on, and Ms Van Anh's proposed Hashtag was embellished at the last minute to become "Eco slipper" - which will take quite a bit of explaining in times to come!
And so ended an excellent, interesting and very challenging day on Nui Dinh - at the "top of the world". All that was left now was for our driver (the first we've ever had to successfully negotiate the dirt road to the lake) to earn himself a good tip by getting us home safely in the blackness - which he promptly did!
STOP PRESS: Our hosting arrangement with Offshore Bar 1 has been discontinued. Our new host venue, effective immediately, is the lovely waterside Sao Bien 3 restaurant in the cable car complex at 1A Tran Phu (about 400 metres west of Royal Hotel, SOS Clinic, etc). Hares The Gardener, Ms Banana and Rowdy Water have set a new trail on Small Mountain for Sunday.
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On On!