May 22 2016

Then we were back on our bikes to continue along little foot- and cyclepaths, past houses whose fronts never see a motor car, through to the elephant- and tiger-fighting pit.

Grotesque in concept, the story goes that the king used to hold these entertaining fights for his subjects on the banks of a river while he and others watched from rafts. In one fight, the tiger was more interested in swimming over to the king than fighting the elephant. So, fearing a repeat, the king had the pit built so everyone could watch from the top.

Of course, because the elephant represents royalty, the elephant could never lose. They handicapped the poor tiger by cutting its claws off before the fight, and so the elephant always won. The fighting arena saw its last battle in 1919.

One of our last tours was the Cu Chi tunnels. Our guide for these was a man who’d worked for the wrong side during the Vietnam war, a communications guide for the US Army. His opinion of communism, the war, the people and the country brought a wider perspective to that of dear Thuy (our guide in the north).

Fourteen days was a long time to be on holiday and Thuy said the “non-family” tour of the same route took 10 days. I was glad for the extra space in the itinerary — one whole day lounging by the pool in Hoi An Silk Village Resort.

After travelling for a bit more than a week, a day of time-out with our swimming-mad child was just what the holiday needed.

When Thuy asked our little princess if she’d enjoyed Vietnam and if she’d return one day, she said, “Yes and no.” When quizzed about the no, she was delightfully to-thepoint: “The flight is too long.”

It was indeed a holiday of a lifetime. — © CindyMay Wang

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