Going Native

The students chartered a bus and everybody went to Cuc Phuong National Park (the site of our visitor survey).  We collected some data and had fun too.  Hey, I get paid to study tourists.  Therefore, I MUST visit them in some of the world's most exotic locations.  How else am I supposed to understand the situation?  Tough life, I know. 

Our task was to survey indigenous people (an ethnic minority) who live inside the park.  I wanted to find out what the tribe thought about tourism and get visitor perceptions on the same issue.  For a fee, tourists can stay overnight at the culture village and participate in some of the activities.  Therefore, we HAD to watch a cultural performance that evening and some of us, including myself, took a bamboo raft trip down the river.

The cultural performance included both song and dance.  The natives were not professional actors, only local villagers.  But they were proud of their culture and I was delighted that they wanted to share it with us.  The bamboo raft trip was fabulous.  It reminded me of a cross between Huckleberry Finn and Tarzan of the Apes.  What an adventure! 

We ate three meals with the villagers.  When they say whole hog, they literally mean it.  I avoided all the parts that looked like internal organs.  I've never eaten so many greens, sprigs, sprouts, roots, and tubers in all my life.  Vegetarianism didn't seem so bad after all.  Surprisingly, my digestive system passed the test. 

After sunset, it got dark very quickly - imagine that.  Thank goodness I had a flashlight, but could not remember which house I was staying at, so I askled the tour guide.  He said, go down the path and turn right at the coconut tree.  So, that's exactly what I did.  We "slept" on a bamboo floor inside the houses.  At least I tried to, but the cock started to crow before sunrise.  Suddenly, I felt a strange connection with Peter, although I had done nothing wrong.  However, I did consider killing the rooster.