we needed to ride on the other side
as this side was flooded. The road
we were on was narrow and quite
slippery, one wrong move and into
the canal we’d go. Our guide, Jason,
slipped, I held my breath hoping he
wouldn’t fall in. Luckily he didn’t and
was able to continue leading the way.
Water buffalo seemed to be every-
where in fields as we rode along. Lo-
cals buy these buffalo quite young
when they are more affordable. They
then treat the buffalo like a member
of their family with the knowledge it
will eventually be with them in the
field’s every day; helping with the
farming. What rare and wonderful
connection between animal and hu-
man.
Pressing on we crossed a floating
bridge where we saw a boy no older
than nine years of age, fishing; his
TRAVERSE
65
water buffalo not too far from his
field of vision. The days catch was
small yet bountiful enough to feed
his entire family . These small de-
tails greatly enriched the ride, being
amongst the local people going about
their day. Hilltop stops, panoram-
ic views spread out before us. Riv-
ers, fields and mountains, the quiet
breeze, a welcome change from the
organised chaos of Hoi An. Breath-