VTH3# 1013

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JUNE 19 2022
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LONG HAI

Hares: Mr. T, Secs, Have-A-Chat, Chippy, Bull Ant
Hash Flashers:  Chippy, Have-A-Chat
Ringmaster: Have-A-Chat
Report: Clarkes Lite

When we think of the great writers we think of people like Ernest Hemmingway, Mark Twain, Jane Austen, George Orwell, Rudyard Kipling, Charles Dickens who I am sure would leap at the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of The Vung Tau Hash literary greats like Secs, Chom Chom, Bull Ant, Have-A-Chat and Hot Lips (his was the first report I read and now I am binge reading the previous ones for inspiration).

So as you can tell there is an immense pressure upon one's shoulders to make or should I say create a report that covers all the facets of the day but make it entertaining and informative. Therefore I will give you my effort but from the perspective of a side of the VT Hash that is sometimes overlooked. That is of course the members of Hash Light.

Now when we think of Hash Light we think again of the trail blazing explorers of years gone by. Our mind is filled with thoughts and images of Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay (Mt Everest), Scott and Admundsen (the South Pole), Stanley and Livingstone (Africa), Marco and Polo (the Silk Road) (he didn’t have anyone else but wouldn’t be fair not to include him so I added the “and”) and like these famous explorers we have Vung Tau - Hash Light.

Now Hash Light as it is oft referred to is made up of 3 core members with those that think they can match the skills needed joining in from time to time but for the most part they do tend to fall by the wayside and leave completely shattered or rejoin the main group for their strolls in the mountains. It is certainly not a task for the fainthearted and the name is worn like a badge of honour amongst those who make it every week. 

Faulty Brakes our Irish representative, Reardo The Weirdo our Kiwi rep and myself your Aus rep. All of us may have seen better days but that has not blunted our thirst for new trails, adventures and travels nor slowed us down. Each week while the main party head to some tropical wonderland after wandering through a light jungle canopy away and being at one with nature and away from the heat of the day, Hash Light will be found in the full sun which often reaches into the mid-thirties where we set a pace that would and has left a lot of ordinary folk by the roadside. Treks often can reach 7 or 8 kilometres or more come rain or sun and to challenge ourselves even further we only carry basic necessities such as a bottle of water. Our rewards are the greetings and laughter of the local people who watch us march by and that ensures we return to the Down Down for a well deserved reward of Saigon Chill. Of course we face many dangers as we are not in the landscape the main group travels and not so long ago Faulty Brakes was almost taken out by a scooter but with a side step that would have made a tap dancer proud he avoided calamity and then with Herculean strength lifted the bike of the two girls trapped beneath it earning their undying thanks. So, there you have the basis of Hash Light. 

As for the Run Report I can only provide you with our side which goes thus:

We headed in the opposite direction to the main party as our compass (Faulty Brakes) took us back towards the main streets and after the first 20 yards we knew that the constant 36 degree heat would be our greatest challenge on the day. No shade was to be seen on either side of the street, the bitumen underfoot sweated its own version of the sun’s rays up at us while the Sun itself beat down on us. Our water supplies ran dangerously low at approximately the 5 klm mark at which time a decision was made to return thus cutting the journey somewhat earlier than normal but as the saying goes “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out into the midday sun” and as stated none of us are English. 

With the soles of our shoes almost melting, our skin peeling our lips dry like heavy grit sandpaper but our spirits undiminished we turned down a new road and headed back. On arrival we ensured that before taking a well deserved rest that we unloaded the bus and set up the site for when the picnickers returned so that they would have little to do. Not long after we had finished the first of their party arrived and a long, long time later the last arrived. Stories were shared, beers were taken, water was given out and food consumed before the return journey began. Our thirst for adventured once again fulfilled until the following Sunday.

RUN 1013 GALLERY