Mi Na said she rode a motorbike with her grandmother to sightsee, learn about sea turtles, capture the moments when airplanes fly over the beach, visit Duc Me Cave in the primeval forest in the Con Dao National Park, overcome rapids, conquer Milestone A3, and visit a prison and museum.

Nguyen Thi Bich Van, 61, her grandmother, said they toured last year, when they ‘trekked’ 600 kilometers, went through five cities and provinces within eight days. They climbed a mountain in Gia Lai and sunbathed along the coast in the central region. 

They just had another memorable journey with a shorter travel distance but more challenges.

“Every time she (Mi Na) overcame difficulties and reached the finish line, I burst with joy. She was only sulky with me once, but the feeling stopped quickly,” Van recalled.

Van described herself as a grandmother passionate about traveling, jogging and mountain climbing, and as someone unafraid of challenging and adventurous activities. In the last eight years, she has driven a motorbike throughout the country and three other in Indochina, climbed to the 19 highest mountains in the northwest and 17 mountains in the Central Highlands and the south central region. 

In summer, Van spends time taking care of her granddaughter. Previously, Mi Na was shy and did not like physical exercise. Therefore, Van decided to teach her granddaughter to jog, run, swim, climb mountains, and travel to make new discoveries.

“My son was also shy and uncommunicative, but after a trans-Viet trip together with me, he became more open and active. And I think travel will also help my granddaughter become openhearted, practice physically, learn more life skills and have more memories,” Van said. 

In mid-May, Van began her journey by riding her motorbike from Gia Lai to HCM City. She stayed in Binh Dinh for some days to attend a 21 kilometer marathon tournament and conquered Chua Mountain at the height of 1,039 meters. In Ba Ria – Vung Tau, she met friends and they climbed Thi Vai and Toc Tien mountains.

Van arrived in HCM City just days before Mi Na attended her school year-ending ceremony. Soon when the summer holiday began, they set off to discover the Cat Tien National Park.

Within four days and three nights, they experienced three packages in Cat Tien. With the first package, they rode bikes for 5 kilometers and walked for 3 kilometers to see ancient trees, waterfall and the ecosystem nearby. The second package was looking for animals at night. And the third, which was challenging even for adults, was trekking to Bau Sau.

Bau Sau is located in the southern part of Cat Tien, which is home to freshwater crocodiles and many fauna and flora species listed in Vietnam’s and the world’s red books.

The total distance they covered was 11 kilometers of jogging and 7 kilometers of riding on motorbike.

After the trip, which lasted four days and three nights, they returned to HCM City to relax for a while before leaving again and flying to Con Dao Island.

During the one-week stay on the island, they enjoyed swimming in the sea, admiring coral reefs and trekking on many sections of roads.

The road to Duc Me Cave and down to Bang and Dat Tham beaches, round trip, has a total length of 11 kilometers. It is steep and difficult to walk.

The grandmother and granddaughter had a busy timetable. They followed forest rangers to learn about turtles one day and floated on the sea the other day to discover Bay Canh and Hon Cau Island, dove to admire coral reefs, visited the mangrove forest, and got up very early to welcome the dawn.

According to Van, the most memorable thing for both of them was the journey to conquer the A3 Landmark on Tai Lon Island, one of the 11 landmarks of Vietnamese territorial waters.

The appearance of Van, her granddaughter, and a friend of Van on Hon Tai surprised Hon Tai Forest Rangers because few travelers dare reach the point.

Linh Trang