Video: Vietnam in Two(ish) Minutes

Dave Bowden

“There are quiet pleasures to be found in a rice paddy full of workers and in the subtle gentleness of the people, which I think was lost on me until last year,” says B&R Guide Erin Reed, who shot this great clip on B&R’s Vietnam Biking Expedition with her Co-Guide Tim Richardson. “I have changed because of my time spent there, and because of that, to me, Vietnam will always be a very special place.”

While some moments in Vietnam can be life-changing, many can be fun—and funny. “The funniest thing that happened on trip (for me, anyway) was Tim getting lost and having to get a motor biker to show him the way, as Tim biked as fast as he could to keep up behind him,” Erin recalls. (Tim, it should be noted, declined to comment.)

“Another amazing moment was eating a silk worm,” she continues, “and then realizing that A) I am a vegetarian, even in Asia, and B) They are really disgusting!!”

Disgusting enough to keep her from going back? Not even close.

“I am more and more surprised after each trip, and my desire to go back seems to grow with time,” Erin says. “Last  year was my third year there, and as I get more comfortable and the layers of the culture unfold to me, I  discover the true mystery and beauty behind the myth of Vietnam.”

UPDATE:

Tim has broken his silence to issue an important correction to this story.

“Erin was incorrect in saying the funniest thing was me ‘getting lost,'” he claims. “I was merely doing some route work!”

His top contender for the trip’s funniest moment?

“I thought it was a laugh when this old guy in the countryside fed silk worms to Erin. She loved them—until realizing that she has been a vegetarian for the last 20 years! Vietnam continually keeps you intrigued and entertained.”