Vantai24h – 06/27/2015 - The road leading to Quan Ba District from Ha Giang City is about 46 kilometers long. Minh told me: “From here, the road will get more dangerous because the car must get over high slopes with many dangerous sleeve -curves. We must try for poor children in Bat Dai Son.”
His sentence was a soulful motivation for me. I believe that with his experience, there is nothing preventing us from the completion of our job. It was very fortunate that it did not rain any longer and the road started getting dry. Going about 10 kilometers, Minh asked me: “Do you know why it is called sleeve-curve?” I answered: “Because it is as narrow as sleeve. Is this right?”. He said: “ Not only narrow but it is also very steep. Why don’t you fold your sleeves and raise the folded up high? You can imagine the scene.” I did what he said and felt so surprised that I asked him: “Is it like that, Minh?”. He turned on me to take a look and replied calmly: “Yes, my niece.” From Ha Giang City, we followed Highway 4C and got over Hills Bac Sum for about 45 kilometers, then reached Tam Son Town, Quan Ba District. Over Can Ty Village, driving along Mien River, we turned left over Bridge 67 to get to Bat Dai Son. From here, the road was more and more hazardous.
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After the journey of 2 kilometers, Minh said: “ Here is it! You can try the sleeve-curve now!”. The curve appeared clearly before my eyes and it looked exactly like our sleeves. At first, I did not think it could be that dangerous but after the curve, there was a slope in front of us. Minh manipulated carefully to make sure the wheels were always in the middle of the road. This is a combination of hands, feet and eyes. Because if there may be an error, wheels will not go as you want. In the whole process, I had to hold my breath. When we left the curve behind, I felt so relieved and said to Minh: “ Oh my God, it is so dangerous!”. Minh smiled, calmly told me: “ It’s just the beginning. Everything is still waiting for us.” Then, it started raining again. Suddenly, one car overtook us in the start of another curve. Minh had to move the car off the road and everything was out of control. Once Minh took his handbrake, the car started drifting. Therefore, Minh must stop the car but he could not prevent it from a swamp. At that time, we had to rely on the help of the local border soldiers. It was not until 10pm that the car was taken out of the swamp. When we got to the final destination, the clock struck 2 am. We felt very relieved because blankets, winter jackets and other stuff can be presented to local children in Bat Dai Son Village the next day. We finished our assigned job with many valuable and realistic experiences.
After one day of rest, we returned to Hanoi. The sky now is very clear and sunlight has dried the wet road. We reached to Hanoi at around 3 pm and finished the interesting journey. Minh told me: “ Driving is more dangerous than what people usually think of. Every driver must practice a lot to combine skillfully of eyes, hands and feet to ensure the safety and economic efficiency for each transport journey.”
(The end)
PR: Thuy Lien
Translator: Thanh Hoa
