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The bike journey through Vietnam in 2012
The Green Journey (Hành Trình Xanh) was founded in 2008 and it's working till today,
the organization has become under the Cultural Institute of the East.
It belongs to the Scientific Association of South East Asia, Vietnam.
It's also sponsored for legal status and supported financially by the Ministry of Transport,
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,
Association for Victims of Agent Orange in Vietnam and many other organizations.
We work for purposes to Unity community,
share the pain,
help the poor,
protect the environment
and promote the traffic safety.
Through 5 years of operation, the green journey across 32 provinces
and had successfully organized 5 journeys through Vietnam.
Especially in 2011 there was the journey on foot from the Sen village - where Ho Chi Minh President was born
to Nha Rong port .
In addition in 2008, 2009 and 2010 there were 3 tiress journeys through the country of Vietnam on iron horses.
In this summer, with a longer distance and renewal trends of working,
focus on training students and more actives in rural areas,
cycling journey through Vietnam from Ca Mau to Hanoi had brought many challenges and new experiences for students .
While enjoying the triumph after the 36-day journey, and saying farewell to those newly-met-yet-so-close friends
Let's look back at
the journey,
what we have done
and what we have learnt...
Our Journey
36 days and nights to eat in a hurry, sleep quickly, work hard and ride hard,
the green journey members had passed 26 provinces of the three large areas:
Southwest, Central Coast and the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
With the meaning like a training course, the journey through Vietnam in 2012 had brought to students
knowledge of geography, culture, and people in all parts of the country.
At the beginning of the journey, the group rallied at Ca Mau- the Southen point of the country and then went through seven Southwest provinces.
The students were surprised by the dense mangrove forests, rich fruit gardens, and wide green fields.
The are many bridges in Southwest, which reduced the speed of our students a lot.
CanTho Bridge, My Thuan Bridge, Phu My Bridge can be mentioned as a wonderful and majestic landscape,
but they were actually the most difficult challenges in the Southwest.
South Central Coast journeys were undoubtedly difficult when appeared the mountain pass longer than 10 km, slopes up to 6% - 10%.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau welcomed us to the Central Coast with the golden sunshine , blue sea, strong winds and high mountainpass.
In the way to Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, our whole team knew about harsh climate and difficult terrain here.
To pass 170km slope road from the Binh Thuan Ninh Thuan, the Group had to started operations from 3am.
Luckily weather was favorable, the group came four hours earlier before expectation.
From Nha Trang to Phu Yen, the passes were longer and steeper.
The untouched beauty of the mountains and the vastness of the sea is the driving force to overcome the difficulty of cycling over the passes.
The " iron horse" took rest in Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Da Nang, where there are less steep terrain and easier pass's.
Eagerly preparing to reach Hue, Hai Van Pass suddenly appeared that made the young people had little flinch.
ARE YOU WELL-DETERMINED?
YESS! WE AREEEEEEEE
OKAY, LETS DO THISSSSSS!
With the carful preparation and virtuosity cycling overcome pass technical learnt from previous trips,
the students had overcome together the pass in two hours in the boundless happiness.
After conquering the most wonder of country-Hai Van, the group had a rest then went to visit the ancient capital Hue
to be relaxed and ready for trip to Truong Son forest.
12 days and nights when we eat in the forest, sleep on the mountain is really big challenge for us.
The way in Quang Binh, Quang Tri, the group had to go 50km continuously with speeds above 25km/hr through the difficult passes.
To avoid the heat and Laos winds, the group often began from 4 am and arrived at 9pm.
Though we were sleepy and tired, we still tried to open eyes, keep hand strong and cycling fast over hills.
Few small accidents happen but fortunately no one was seriously injured.
Reaching to Hoa Binh after more than 30 days and nights, there were some members became wounded and sick soldiers,
but they still have smiling face to greet the beloved capital.
More than 100 volunteers has written new history of traveling to 2600km, 26 provinces, crossed a South Western, Central Coast and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
What we have done
2600km, the longest distance in the history of cycling journey through Viet Nam
from Ca Mau to Hanoi gave the young people chance to across 26 provinces.
Group had left good impression in the heart of the local people where we had to crossed.
For the delightful purpose :
To unite the community,
share the pain,
help the poor,
protect the environment
and promote traffic safety.
The Green Journey contributed to the community by doing realistic and meaningful activities.
The Group had planted 10,000 trees in seven rural area's
and painted four schools,
dredged 15km canal of which 10km concrete canal,
100 gifts for 100 policies and victims of Agent Orange families,
held cultural exchanges in 20 provinces and cities.
Still it is not a great job, but the Green Journey students worked with enthusiastic heart, mind, strength, youth
to help change people's awareness of people in the country.
What we have learnt
Joining Green Journey in position of a student, the young people were traveling all over the countryside with their green bike.
The things they had done including some imperfect results,
however the ways they past, the people they meet gave them many nice lesson of living life.
Thankful to taking part in a group, students learnt the role of solidarity.
From being strange guys from the North, Central, South,
we have different voices, habits, differenc's in the way to we eat, we think.
now we all were like family.
Solidarity was born from the acts of sharing of water, lunch, breakfast and sharing of blanket in the cold night.
It helped us overcome many high passes, deep area, sunshine and rain and wind storms.
We always say that "United we stand, divided we fall" or write "We stand united or we fall if divided".
With solidarity we can do everything
Besides solidarity, we learnt discipline and responsibility in journey.
Most of our students are very young, less experience in working,
so that in the organization, every members have their own job belong to their specific department .
Everyone need to be more responsible, responsible for the work of the department, and responsible for the work of the organization.
If a member delays the work, the activities of the organization may be delayed or canceled.
This journey can be said is a campaign, the students are the real soldiers and discipline is indispensable:
discipline on the road, in the social work discipline and discipline even in daily activities.
From being lazy student, now they become neat and organized.
Discipline is key to forge them and help them to become more mature.
"Travelling makes a young person into mature person", that's exactly right sentence to say about Green Journey.
From more than a month, we've matured a lot and learned a lot of things to help our present now future life...