RAINFORESTS OF NORTHERN VIETNAM

The People's Committee of the Na Hang area of northern Vietnam asked a wildlife biologist to help them create an ecotourism project to try to preservethe rainforest. They approached Top Guides Treks and Tours and invited them tovisit the rainforest with the biologist and to meet with the people's committee,the forestry department and local villagers to discuss tourism development. Thegoal was to preserve the primary rainforest and the 200 endangered langurmonkeys (Rhinopithecus avunculus) living there. At the same time, it was hopedthat ecotourism would generate some income for the local people. Tworepresentatives from Top Guides visited and by the next year sent their firstguests over.

The clients stay in the Ministry of Defense Guest House in Hanoi, builtin the old style and with lots of historical connections. They travel to the rainforest by Mekong jeep owned by the IEBR (Institute of Environmental and Biological Research) with their guide, Dr. Le Xuan Canh, a Vietnamese researcher who speaks excellent English, Russian, German and French in addition to hisnative language. They cross rivers on ferries and finally on bamboo rafts to theresearch area. At base camp they sleep in small tents on pads, in sleeping bagsand use pit toilets. They also spend a night sleeping in a Tai village, in ahouse on stilts with a split bamboo floor. Individual mosquito nets are hungfrom the ceiling of the house for them, but that is their only privacy (anunusual experience for an American).

All the food for their time in the rainforest is bought in the localmarket in Na Hang and prepared by the Forestry Department Liaison Officer who accompanies the travelers into the forest.

Because we are looking for animals in the rainforest we must travelquietly in small groups and wear clothing that protects us from rattan and leeches and blends with our forest surroundings. We also need to be in smallgroups to sleep in the village house so that we do not outnumber our hosts.

We play with the village children and let them show us around thevillage. We do not hand out toys, balloons or candy as this encourages begging.We do join in a game of soccer with the kids and show them photos of animalsfrom our country and photos of our family. We ask permission to take photographs and offer to send them copies of the pictures. We pack back out allthe garbage that we create during our time in the rainforest.

Back in Hanoi, we meet with the representative for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and talk about what steps are being taken to preserve rainforest in Vietnam and stop traffic in endangered species. For each tour that Top Guides sends to the Na Hang rainforest, they donate about $800 US tothe research project on the Snub Nose Langur monkey.