English
Time: Sunday, 21/07/2024
Hare: Cherry Ho, Thai Me Down, Just Thao
You gotta give credit to the Hares…..Not for the Trail. For imagination.
Imagine an Over-Reliever Run? I was thinking the whole trail, what/ who/ how was an Over Reliever? It was explained at the end of the trail. I will not go into it. To prevent offending those of God-Fearing sensibilities.
The Trail was billed as a bus-run.
Finally! A lovely-jubbly, cushy, comfy, big bus with arse-friendly suspension. Luxury!
It was a short 30 minute ride up the Hanoi Highway towards the end of the new under-construction Metro Line and down an empty, undeveloped, likely abandoned, dual-carriageway. Hard-standing and quiet. Ideal circle territory. Not exactly country-side. More like undeveloped suburbia.
We circled, met our Virgins and off we went. Strangely the bus had disappeared………Hmmm.
We have had rain the last week. So of course…..mud. Not a lot. But the slippery kind, the kind to break your neck. Enough to encourage caution and slow down the FRB's. (Front Running Bastards). Excellent for the young men running at the back.
Straight into the Bush, around the mud and………out the other side. To a lake! On the edge of Saigon. Big enough to sail a dinghy. Big enough to kayak. Big enough to BBQ beside. Big enough to swim in. As indeed were the more adventurous locals. Small enough to be off the tourist trail. That's why we Hash! To find the gems of suburbia as well as the countryside.
Was this fed from Song Saigon? Nope. Granite outcrops provides a hint to it's origin. A disused granite quarry in the tropical Mekong Sedimentary Basin of D2, which historically had been impossible to build, because everything sank. Not surprising it had been quarried. Not surprising it had not lasted long.
And on we pressed…….around the lake. Not so much following a paper trail as following the water's edge and avoiding tripping over more relaxing, bemused locals.
Black rain clouds were gathering. Mud was proving avoidable. Buffalo shit was absent. And the first Beer Stop was one of those Treasure Hunt types. The beer was found and drunk in dimming sunlight.
We pressed on. Away from the lake. Back onto the lake. Away from the lake. Getting lost? Sort of. Surely by design. That rain was ominously close. Then another flooded quarry. Another lake. In days of old, those guys were clearly trying to get as much of that stuff out of this area as they could. Then it happened.
The path was forward. It was clear, well the trail was. The Hash is a trail (before the beer) and the trail was now twelve inches deep with black foul smelling water and oily scum. No going back. Hashers go forward. Through shit and grin.
I'm not sure it would be a great idea to swim in that 2nd lake……….
But now we needed the rain. Clean precipitation to wash the detritus off before the second beer stop. And somebody was listening. The Heavens opened. Soaked, we arrived at the second beer stop, a bit cleaner. Before the walkers, of course.
The walkers are always late. And Just Hayley had managed walk into a counter-balance concrete block at head-level. Shielding from the downpour she hit her forehead and mouth (but not her nose – how can you do that?). Poor girl. Remember! Participation in the Hash has to be at your own risk. It's part of the fun they say.
"Not far now!" was the cry from the Hares. Sure!
Another lake. More mud.
The rain had ceased. We were in our stride and on the home straight. Heading for the beers and Banh Mi's.
And …. we were back at Point A. Or were we? Had we screwed-up? The Hash after all, is the epitome of organisation by accident.
We checked our GPS's and conferred with one another as the pack caught up with the FRB's. We were definitely at Point A. But where was the damn bus? That lovely sooper-dooper bus had done a runner! More to the point that bus had our beer!
Call the Bus Mistress. No answer.
Call the MMC! Oh shit! We are the MMC. Frustrations, driven by thirst mainly, were escalating.
Lucky for the bus, it hove into view. With beer, nicely chilled and survival rations prepped by Miss Money Penny.
Frustrations were slaked. Bad feelings forgotten. Post-trail libations ensued – what else to be expect?
The Over-Reliever Running Trail was 6.5km with FRB's clocking 7.5km. TBH a pleasant change from some of our longer runs and an area, closer to town that can provide more trails.
Highlights in the circle:
– Sexy Eyes's farewell after 8 years she's been coming in Saigon Hash. She deciced to leave her legacy dress to GE.
– 2 names were given: Just Thao now known as Witchful Thinking and Just Haley now known as Little Miss Fuck You (for the obvious reason that you can go ahead and ask Paddy fag if you want to know).
On, On,
3 Shitty Tits, Stand-In Scribe
& Cherry Ho