VI
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Forests always exude an aura of hidden potential, growling, and sometimes even threat, which greatly stimulates those with an adventurous spirit, a penchant for exploration, and a dislike of monotony and boredom. Forests and rivers are the source of human life. I prefer forests and mountains to the sea, perhaps partly because the sea, though vast and powerful, quickly brings a sense of calm; the sea contains countless beautiful, precious, and fascinating things… but the sea hides all of these things within, not openly displaying them, sincerely and readily offering everything like the forest.
Forests always exude an aura of mystery, growling, and sometimes even threat, which greatly excites those with a spirit of adventure, a desire for exploration, and a dislike of monotony and boredom.
I've long harbored a desire, though I don't know how far I'll be able to achieve it, to visit all 34 of this country's National Parks. Cat Tien is the 16th place on my journey to "optimize" this plan.
Cat Tien Forest, once famous for its Javan one-horned rhinoceros, has recently gained even more recognition after the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) officially recognized Cat Tien National Park on June 21, 2024, as the 72nd protected area in the world to receive the IUCN Green List after a comprehensive assessment supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Biodiversity Conservation Component of the Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation Project (VFBC).
The southern part of Cat Tien National Park is surrounded by the Dong Nai River, so when traveling from Tan Phu district (Dong Nai province), we had to cross a ferry. It was the rainy season, so the river was full and flowing slowly, its reddish-brown color full of silt, very promising. The river wasn't wide, but the old ferry moved so slowly that I sometimes wondered why it was standing still, waiting for someone, even though we were already in the middle of the river.
Cat Tien is the 16th location in the journey to "optimize" this plan.
Our first day's journey involved entering the forest, climbing into a truck with seats similar to those found on electric trams, and then traveling along the right-hand side of the road. Our first stop was an ancient Tung tree, estimated to be over 400 years old. Its weak roots couldn't penetrate deep into the forest, instead spreading out to find nutrients. Therefore, the trunk is measured from about 30 meters above the ground. Looking at this Tung tree reminded me of the ancient trees that grew in the temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, their trunks and root systems resembling giant serpents emerging from the crumbling walls of abandoned temples deep in the forest for over 700 years!
The ancient white crape myrtle tree has five trunks that are close together but separate from each other. The forest ranger, who was our guide, showed us how to take a photo: use the selfie mode, place the camera in the middle of the tree trunk, and press the shutter button to get a picture that looks like a cave.
This trip to Cat Tien only just revealed that crape myrtle has another name: the "sang le" tree. I'd read about it in novels about the Vietnam War by many famous writers, but only learned this information today. Ancient sang le trees usually have white trunks, so in the past, soldiers who got lost in the forest, contracted malaria, or fell behind would use them to locate their units and rejoin their comrades.
The banyan tree has a hundred trunks, and it's hard to tell where the main trunk is. Only after listening to the explanation from the Cat Tien Forest Ranger did I learn that banyan trees, or fig trees, are originally parasitic plants. They grow on the trunk of a host tree, gradually absorbing nutrients, growing, covering, and suffocating the host tree until it dies, then spreading out and reigning supreme. Those spiky trunks are actually root systems like octopus tentacles sucking blood. That's why they have names like: the unfaithful banyan tree, the strangling banyan tree.
The battles between plants seem just as fierce as those between animals. The banyan tree, initially like a wolf's paw, is a formidable opponent. And as for humans, well, there's no need to even mention it; the war between humans is arguably the most brutal on Earth. The ancient banyan tree, viewed from afar, looks like a scene from the movie Avatar. The forest ranger said this banyan tree is about 900 years old, meaning it dates back to the Ly Dynasty! Everyone joked: "If we come back in 100 years, it'll probably still be like this." Standing and gazing at this ancient banyan tree, one realizes just how insignificant and short the lives of higher primates (humans), who constantly self-proclaim themselves as "this" and "that," truly are compared to the vastness of Nature and the Earth.
Enjoy a leisurely bike ride in Cat Tien.
We went wildlife viewing that night. The whole group sat in the rented truck from the afternoon. Everyone was asked to sit still, a driver was at the wheel, and behind him sat a tall chair where a park ranger sat cross-legged, holding a high-powered flashlight (I don't know the wattage, but each time it swept across my face, it looked like a flash of lightning), scanning left, right, left, up, and down for wild animals to show the visitors and elicit their admiration. These park rangers were incredibly sharp-eyed; with a quick scan, they'd spot anything moving. Several times they spotted pythons, civets, and even a pair of tiny birds huddled together sleeping in the trees. The ranger had to use a bright green laser pointer to pinpoint the location, letting the visitors know it was an animal, not a plant.
The wild animals we encountered were mostly deer and muntjacs, foraging in the grasslands—I don't know what kind of grass it was, but it was probably as tall as an adult's chest. While sweeping the area with his flashlight, the forest ranger explained, his voice clear and articulate despite the howling wind: "Now do you understand why this province is called Dong Nai Province?"
Cat Tien National Park is the only national park in Vietnam that offers nighttime wildlife viewing tours like this. It's said that there are still 28 Asian elephants left, and around 70 to 80 wild oxen.
The following morning in Cat Tien, we rented bicycles at the forest entrance and were given a hat woven from rattan/bamboo or something similar. We cycled 12.5 km round trip. I'd never cycled through such breathtaking scenery before. Truly, those were truly unforgettable moments!
The bridge is covered in green moss.
About 5 km from the forest entrance, we came across a bridge covered in green moss – not the typical verdant green, but a vibrant, lush green. The moss, grass, and shrubs covering the bridge reminded me of the most thriving vegetable gardens in Da Lat. The bridge was truly special, looking somewhat surreal and characteristic of a tropical forest. The abundance of green moss likely came from two sources: the wide canopy of trees allowing rainwater to collect and evaporate more slowly than in more open areas, and the moisture rising from the stream beneath the bridge.
Cycling from the forest edge to the end of the paved road was 7.2 km. Everyone in the group urged me to turn back, and I tried to pedal further down the dirt road for another kilometer, but I had to turn around because the surroundings were eerily silent, even though it was mid-morning. The forest stretched endlessly, with only the sounds of birds singing and small animals scurrying across the grass. Occasionally, I'd spot a langur swinging from branch to branch or a squirrel running across the path. I regretted turning back because if I had been too eager to keep pedaling, who knows, a python might have leaped from a large tree – and I'd become famous the next day.
This marks the boundary between the paved section of the forest road and the beginning of the dirt road. Looking inside, you see how deep and vast it is, and you truly understand what "old forest" and "deep forest" mean. A whole clump of wild guava trees grows right beside the path, making me imagine a ripe guava falling and its seeds simultaneously sprouting and growing into trees. Next to it is a termite mound, which at first glance looks like a pile of earth, but after a while, looking at it closely, it reminds me of some Cham statue carved with the image of an Apsara dancer.
Cycling through the dense forest canopy, butterflies fluttered down the paths as I went. If it's like this in summer, I'm sure there will be even more butterflies in spring. Passing through places like this, the lyrics of the song "Green Fields" (by the Brothers Four) suddenly came to mind: "Green Fields is here, a paradise of plants and trees, where wild animals frolic in the sun. Here are the quiet streams lying beside the trees, here are the cool waters gently reaching out to the valley..."
While cycling, I passed through stretches of forest as beautiful as something out of a Korean drama. But this must be a planted forest, because the trees are so evenly spaced and the trunks aren't crooked. It reminded me of the ginkgo trees on Nami Island, where the famous drama "Winter Sonata" was filmed, a film that captivated the hearts of many young Vietnamese people for a time.
I really enjoy watching these healthy, cheerful, agile boys, their faces and shirts drenched in sweat but full of enthusiasm, cycling through the forest like this. For them, participating in trips like this is a wonderful experience, a civilized and effective form of education. They will improve their physical fitness, learn about Biology (animals and plants), Geography and History, and acquire soft skills to become well-rounded individuals in the future.
Near the Cat Tien National Park administrative area, I saw two rows of houses like this, villa/homestay style houses built for tourists to rent during their holidays. Each villa is named after a type of tree/flower or bird/animal, which is very cute. Some villas have very relaxing entrances.
Leaving Nam Cat Tien and getting on the bus back to Saigon to catch my Sunday evening flight to Hanoi, I still felt the same carefree, exhilarating feeling of "a day worth living," of my first time spending an entire afternoon swimming in the forest on a weekend with "absolutely perfect" weather.
The same blissful feeling remains from cycling through Cat Tien forest on a Sunday morning, my whole body enveloped in the scent of grass, flowers, and leaves still lingering in the pristine dawn, breathing in the pure oxygen that I've been breathing day after day, year after year; my vision unconstrained by any signs or electronic devices, free to admire the blue sky and white clouds, to wander with the breeze through every treetop and patch of forest and grassland shimmering with the vibrant green of leaves in the bright morning sun.
It's truly like bathing in the forest, completely enveloped and soaked in the vast, pure, beautiful, verdant greenery, overflowing with miraculous vitality...
