The Inaugural R*n, 30th of July 2005

The National Day R*n, 3rd of September 2005

The Full Moon Hash, 15th of September

The Reunification Hash, 1st of October 2005

The End of the Rainy Season R*n, 5th of November 2005

The Christmas R*n, 3rd of December 2005

The Tet R*n, 21st of January 2006

The Goodbye Winter, Hello Summer R*n, 11th of February 2006

The Shiggy R*n, 11th of March 2006

The 10th Anniversary R*n, 15th of April 2006

The Double-One R*n, 17th of July 2006

The Swiss National Day R*n, 5th of August 2006

The Phan Thiet Inaugural R*n, 15th of December 2007

The Smelly R*n, 26th of January 2008

The April Fools Day R*n, 5th of April 2008

The First Full Moon R*n, 21st of May 2008

R*n No. 5: The Away R*n, 16th of July 2008

R*n No. 5: The Away R*n

16th of July 2008

As part of our annual staff outing, the r*n was set by Stefan and me in Da Lat.

As usual, all the Hash marks and SOP's had to be explained again. General case of short-term memories with the good folks from Phan Thiet.

Then there are, of course, always a few smart-asses who think they can get out of r*nning the Hash.

Stefan with friends.

A highly motivated lot, especially the Filipino Mafia.

Beer Halt.

When will people here learn to wear comfortable shoes on the r*n?

R*n No. 4: The First Full Moon R*n

21st of May 2008

The restaurant owner trying to explain why he ran out of beer.

It was basically a pub crawl.

A long crawl at that....

The ladies don't seem too impressed.

Beer everywhere, I like this town.

Photo-shy.

Hanaken?????

Stefan resorted to violence to get the girl.

R*n No. 3: The April Fools Day R*n

5th of April 2008

This one easily has to go down as the hottest Hash in Phan Thiet yet, it was absolutely boiling. After setting the run for three hours in the morning and a hard run in the afternoon, heat exhaustion and Tiger took its toll; most of the hash is just a blur and I let the photos do the talking. What did stick in mind that large parts of the run passed through what was effectively the public toilet of Mui Ne. Lovely!!!

I did not know what this guy was cooking, but sincerely hoped it wasn't lunch.

Specialty of Mui Ne: sun-dried squid.

Mui Ne Port: photo opportunity for the guys....

...and gals.

 Not a terrorist, a sun-shy fisherman.

Quick stop at the squid factory.

Guys drinking.

Ladies shopping.

The R*n went through the cemetary.

Loooong r*n.

R*n No. 2: The Smelly R*n

26th of January 2008

Whilst there were not quite as many Hares as on the first r*n, almost 40 people did show up to go r*nning on a nice and sunny day.

The Hash almost didn't happen as, true to hashing form, the setting of the r*n was a complete shambles. Until that very morning, we hadn't even decided where we would set the r*n! Vuong was supposed to have gone with me the previous day, but forgot, so Saturday saw Stefan, Tien, Vuong, Hai and myself head for an area near a local attraction; the "Fairy Stream". The area has a lot of potential, bit it took some serious explaining to Vuong before he understood that a Hash r*n does not normally follow roads only.

The area where we set the Hash consists primarily of dunes and would have been bloody hot had it not been for a very strong breeze. No worries with the powers that be here; the people were extremely friendly if not a little curious. We had to decline a number of invitations to drink rice wine.

Two hours of pretty hard slogging saw us back at the car where Vuong redeemed himself buy having thought not only of cold beer but even cold face towels.

During the quick circle-up in the afternoon it quickly became apparent that the Hash has a long way to go in Mui Ne. People showed up in pretty unsuitable attire and I have never seen so many Flip-flops (not a few worn with socks) and mobile phones. Never mind, we boarded every car that the Victoria Phan Thiet Resort had to offer and headed off.

Not much to say about the r*n itself, everybody had a pretty good time, except the group that stuck with the Grand Master (and hare): I managed to get completely lost. Luckily, the wind carried the smell of cold Tiger beers across and, following that heavenly smell, we did manage to make it back to the beer halt eventually. Overall, it was a pretty short r*n, I don't want to scare off all the virgins right at the beginning.

Dinner was a disaster, but at least there was plenty of cold beer. Somehow I doubt though that we will be going back to that restaurant any time soon.

The Phan Thiet Inaugural R*n

15th of December 2007

It took a little while, 7 months to be exact, but we finally got the Phan Thiet Hash House Harriers under way last Saturday. Incidentally, this has nothing to do with drug abuse, but is rather a drinking, sorry running, club with over 1800 hash groups in almost 180 countries, more information is here: World Hash House Harriers Page.

 The one here in Phan Thiet was almost a non-starter: contrary to my usual practice, I made the mistake of asking the local authorities for permission. They promptly refused, citing a) a law that prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people (how do they explain the regular gatherings of their ilk in “Karaoke oms”?) and b) concerns over the participation of foreigners. After some discussion, we decided to set the run and risk all getting arrested.

 Thus it was that Tien, Stefan, and I met at the Xuan Vang Restaurant the next morning. The weather was great and the beer cold, little wonder we didn’t actually start setting the run 2 hours later. But set it we did, winding through back alleys and along the beach before heading back to the restaurant to have some lunch and wait for the runners to arrive.

Some heavy lobbying in the Victoria Phan Thiet Beach Resort & Spa resulted in an amazing 50 potential Hashers showing up. There was no way we were going to do a circle; the restaurant would have run out of beer before we had given half of the “down downs”. As they were all hash virgins, nobody wore hash gear; there were plenty of new shoes (and sandals), and there was an attempt at “Sex on the hash”! Therefore, rules were quickly explained, and the pack was off.

All the explaining of the hash marks was a waste of time, instructions were forgotten about 2 meters into the run. Thus, we hares had our hands full ensuring that everybody made it to the first beer halt, nicely located on the beach. 

It was actually pretty warm, and I was as happy as anybody to make it back to the restaurant were we had dinner and loads of cold beers. Pretty much everybody considered the inaugural hash a roaring success; I guess we will have plenty of runners for our next hash in January 2008.

R*n #12, The Swiss National Day R*n

5th of August 2006

Apparently, it was the Swiss National Day on the 1st of August. Not that we have any Swiss in Can Tho, to the best of my knowledge, but we had to come up with some name for this Hash.

For once, it wasn't the same old Hares as usual, a new Hare made the appearance in the form of Flower Power. This gave the GM a chance to duck out of setting the r*n, with the pretense of a heavy work load (more likely the bad weather had something to do with it, Ed.)

Anyway, the run was set and the Pack found itself outside the Victoria Can Tho Hotel, as usual. Many of the "old" Hares had a no-show, but this was more than made up for by appearance of loads of virgins, not least at all by our new sponsor, Mr. Thung, representing METRO. We also welcomed another Saigon-based Hasher, Peckerhead, who would come away from the Hash quite impressed, mostly we had plenty of real beer, not the p*ss they serve at the Saigon Hash. After everyone was duly welcomed to the Can Tho Hash, it was off to the boat, which we made just in time before it started pissing down. Luckily, the rain stopped soon after the actual r*n started.

Not much to write about the Hash, as it was bloody short. Apparently, the Hares had tucked into the booze early, and just couldn't be bothered to make any effort, which suited me fine. The Beer Halt was longer than the r*n!!!! One of the hotel staff, Mrs. Y Khoa, was welcoming back some long-lost relatives and did the decent thing: she invited the Hash to have dinner at her place. Hashers, not being known for turning down a freebie, quickly accepted and raided the place in true Hash fashion (probably the last time we get invited anywhere).

Before joining the party, the obligatory circle had to be held and, with more than half the pack being virgins, many sins were atoned for. When will people learn that wearing new shoes to the Hash is not a good idea, particularly during the rainy season? We also had a naming: Hoang is now known as "Ca va?".

And that was pretty much it, with many a down-down consumed at the wedding.

On on.

R*n #11, The Double-One R*n

17th of July 2006

It is the middle of the rainy season down here in the Delta, and the idea was to have a real Shiggy r*n. Omo had found a place on the other side of the Mekong where they are currently constructing the access road to the new Can Tho bridge, and that sounded promising.

Thus, Omo, Echo, and yours truly headed there in the morning to set the r*n. The area was indeed very nice, but too dry. Luckily, it started raining whilst we were setting and the paths immediately turned into the most slippery much I have ever seen. Excellent.

As we had to attend a wedding later in the day, the start time was moved to 14:00. (everybody had been informed about but, in true Hasher tradition, some r*nners turned up at 15:00, by which the pack had long gone). Some visitors were welcomed, notably Alkasleazer and Rehana of the Hanoi Hash House Harriers, and two local lasses. Wouldn't have been the Can Tho Hash if one of them hadn't managed to turn up in Slippers. Quick introductions, explanation of Hash marks, and we were off to the boat.

Arriving in the predominantly Khmer area, the friendliest people around (even if they do think we are a bit strange), the GM warned people about how slippery it would be. Obviously, it was the GM who promptly was the first to fall a*se over t*ts. A lengthy beer halt was had ,before we braved the mud again.

The circle at the end of the run was somewhat abbreviated (the wedding, with free booze and food beckoned), but the circle was nevertheless long enough for Dong (who still needs a Hash handle, suggestions welcome) to go for an involuntary swim whilst trying to clean his shoes (OK, someone helped him along).

And that was pretty much it, with many a down-down consumed at the wedding.

On on.

R*n #10, The Anniversary R*n

15th of April 2006

Due to the GM's busy schedule (laziness), there was no time to rece the r*n. Thus, we found ourselves with absolutely no plan (What else is new) outside the Victoria Hotel. As no transportation had be organized, and as it was really hot, we decided to just take a stroll through the lovely town of Can Tho and sample beers on the way.

Very first on the agenda was testing the strength of the new bridge under construction near the hotel. It is not really open for traffic yet, but since when has that stopped an intrepid Hasher? Our scientific approach, in the service of the community, was to jump up and down on the bridge, much to the amusement of the construction workers. I am happy to report that the bridge did withstand this test, and that no Hashers were lost (yet).

On on it was to the "Moulin Rouge". It does not have much to do with its famous name-sake in Paris, no Can-Can-dancing, high-kicking, drop-dead-gorgeous girls were spotted, but at least the beer was cold. On to the next place, one of the many micro-breweries that recently seem to pop up all over Can Tho. Not much difference between them, but at least the beer is considerably better than the local "bia hoi". At this stage, nobody could be arsed to walk any more, and a few Xe loi were procured.

A last stop at a local hotel, before it was on to the food at the "So Hom" restaurant. Just before, the circle was held outside the Can Tho market, which met a lot of disapproval by the security guards. We packed up and headed for the feed before they could kick us out.

Well-nourished, we decided to head off to a Karaoke for a bout of singing. It was then that we realized that we had lost "Madagascar", our new trainee. Rumor has it that he was desperately looking for his motorbike, with which he was convinced he had come.

On on.

R*n #9, The Shiggy R*n

11th of March 2006

Did I not feel like setting, or r*nning, this Hash. It was hotter than hell and, by the time this day was over, yours truly was the opposite of a Roast beef: pink on the outside, crispy on the inside. Omo, Echo, and Short Stump headed across the ferry, near an area were we had r*n before, and where there is no grief from the locals or authorities.

A fair number of virgins showed up for this r*n, but the hard-core drinkers, eh r*ners, made a good showing too, with a fair number not having missed a single r*n so far. Even Niagara made a showing, rumor had it that his better half was off visiting the family. Obviously, all the rules, or lack of same, and markings had to be explained all over again, before it was onto the boat to take us across

Amidst plenty of complaints regarding the heat, the pack set off, at a somewhat leisurely pace. Only the promise of a beer halt got the hounds going at all. For once, everybody actually made it to the halt, even though there was the usual confusion about X's, marks, etc. This scribe ended up carrying one of the Tykes for most of the second part (Ole and Hanh: you owe me a couple of cold ones). Luckily, the little one's bladder lasted until the circle, before human nature kicked in.

Sinners were plentiful, including a virgin that decided to run in 30+ degree heat in Jeans! A dangerous circle it was, we were in the middle of the r*n-way of the local kite-fliers, trying to get their contraptions airborne off the back of their trusty Honda Dreams. Lots of beers were quaffed to combat dehydration, before it was on to a local micro-brewery for yet more cold ones and a well-deserved meal.

On on.

R*n #8, The "Bye-bye Winter, hello Summer" R*n

11th of February 2006

Once again it was Omo and Echo setting, once again, we'd be going by boat. The day started badly for this here scribe: invited to a birthday party, the odd glass of rice wine had to be drunk even before I actually got to the Hash.

As usual, we met at the Victoria Can Tho Resort. Due to the low tide, or something like that, we first took a car to the Jetty where the boat was waiting for us. That after the usual down-downs, for Hares, newcomers, returnees, etc.

The local people were excellent (something you couldn't say of the local dogs), at the half-way stop not only did we have plenty of cold beer, with the ice motorbiked in from God knows where, but also delicious sweet-water snails. At least, the Vietnamese runners told me they were delicious, I preferred to stick to a strict, low-fat, high carb, liquid diet.

As the beer-halt was a rather lengthy affair, the rest of the r*n is somewhat blurred, except that we had another naming, the victim now known as "Niagara" for his inability to keep the beers down.

On on.

R*n #7, The Tet R*n

21st of January 2006

God, it was hot! Supposedly, January is the cool season, but it must have been 40+ degrees out there. Omo, Echo, and yours truly took off in the morning to set the r*n. We hadn't even crossed the ferry yet and were already drenched. Ah well, I suppose it beats Winter in other parts of the world, but not by much.

When doing the recce last week, we all thought incorporating a few "monkey bridges" into the r*n would be a great idea, but it sure looks different when you are standing on one of those flimsy things. They are certainly not made for a huge, lumbering, foreign bast@rd like me. To add insult to injury, the locals would flit across those bridges like nobody's business, from Toddler to Granny. Ah well......

ith Tet (Vietnamese New Year) just round the corner, turn-up was somewhat less than on past Hashes, but that did not deter the hardcore 14 of us that showed up (A shout to Ole here: loser!!!!). Quickly quaffed a few beers, the rules were explained to the newcomers, and it was off by boat.

Even if I say it myself: the area was beautiful. We went to a predominantly Khmer area, and the locals proved to be extraordinarily friendly and good-spirited. Certainly potential for future r*ns. No flour swept up, no angry words, no coppers; Hash heaven.

On to the r*n. Even though it was pointed out that the first monkey bridge would be a bitch to cross a few brave (fools?) souls decided to take the option. Unfortunately, I have to report that everybody made it across, with knees trembling to varying degrees. The couple of more bridges we had to cross were a piece of cake after that. The r*nners quickly decided that it was just too bloody hot to r*n, we were all walking soon enough. Plenty of opportunity for sex on the Hash thus; with Echo and Hang leading the way in this department.

We made it to the Beer halt not a minute to soon, everybody being close to dehydration by this stage. Omo had managed for ice-cold beer in the middle of nowhere, and we even had chairs and tables. This obviously dragged out the halt considerably. Fortunately, the hares, in all their wisdom, had decided to cut short the second half, and we where on to the circle in no time. The usual charges were levied, the usual down-downs were had, the usual entertainment was provided to the locals.

As everybody was starving, and still thirsty, we took the boat almost to the doorstep of a new restaurant that has just opened here in Can Tho. Apart from good food, they also brew their own German-style beer, the latter playing no small part in the two latest hash-namings: "Flower Power" and "Beer Abuse".

On on.

Run #6, The Christmas R*n

3rd of December 2005

As we will be busy during the actual festive season, the Christmas R*n was held on December 3rd. Echo had scouted a suitable site, and in the morning Echo, Stumper Jumper, and yours truly headed off to set the r*n. It quickly turned out that Echo had been a little bit too ambitious, after 1.5 hours of slogging through ferocious heat, we had not even reached the half-way point! Thus, the r*n was adjusted on the fly, and shortened considerably. Echo let it slip that he wanted to set the r*n by motorbike (which is a big Hash offence), just as he and Stumper Jumper had done the last time!!!! Obviously, this little tidbit was  noted by this scribe, for later punishment.

As it is "winter" at the moment, i.e. the days are a little shorter, we started the r*n a little earlier. God, was it hot!!! On the other hand, it did not rain for once, after serious soakings on the last few r*ns. A good number of people turned up, the exception being Tuan, who was beaten by his wife the previous night (he claims to have hurt himself playing football, but that, of course, is utter rubbish). The Hares quickly explained the markings, newcomers were welcomed with a down-down, and it was onto the boat to take us to the run. This r*n was not a T-Shirt run, instead everyone got a lovely "Father Christmas" hat. This Hash is getting bloody organized: apart from beer (of course), we also had varying snacks to sustain us (and to drink more beer).

The r*nners set of at a furious pace, with some gentle prodding by the Grand Master (German heritage coming through), and we soon lost sight of the walkers, the lazy bastards. The r*n was moderately long, hardly any Shiggy, but hot. The beer halt half-way was welcome, except that we realized that we had completely lost the walkers. Some borrowing of mobile phones, and frantic calling later, it was determined that Stumper Jumper, the walking hare, had completely blown through the trail, and they were already at the end, digging into the beer. When queried about this later, the walkers first were adamant about the fact that they had indeed r*n on flour; some hard questioning quickly established this as a lie.

Thus, the r*nners quickly downed a couple of cold ones, packed the rest of the booze, and headed to the end. The circle was a very solemn affair (not), what the local population must have thought about all this idiots standing in the blazing heat, wearing red hats, and drinking out of their shoes, is anybodies guess.

The combination of beer and heat had quite a few of us hanging in the ropes, we decided to retire to a very nice restaurant with delicious food, traditional music, and a couple of cold ones.

On on.

R*n #5, The End of the Rainy Season R*n

5th of November 2005

End of the Rainy Season Run???? Boy, was it not! I don't think that I have ever been that wet in my life. It was pouring/pissing/hammering down as if it was the end of the world.

The setting of the hash did not bode well. As I didn't have time to set the r*n all week, laying the trail was a last-minute thing. First surprise: no flour. After some frantic phone calls, flour was procured. Turned out it was Cassava flour, more little rocks than flour (not that it mattered in the end, by the time we started the hash, all trail marks were covered in anywhere from a couple of inches to a foot of water). Second surprise: the boat we had planned to pick us up at the end of the trail couldn't make it; the tide was too high for the boat to clear the bridges. Less of a surprise was that less people showed up than had signed up, any half-way sane person would have stayed in bed, given the weather conditions (Ed.: since when are there sane people on a Hash?).

As usual, we met outside the Victoria Can Tho Resort, ranks were bolstered by visiting Hashers from Sai Gon, and Ole and Hanh, who were brave enough to bring their small children. Things got under way very quickly as we were r*nning late, and some serious weather was rolling in.

What can I say about the Hash itself? As soon as we were on the boat to take us there, the skies let loose with a vengeance. Was the scenery nice? No idea, as the rain reduced visibility to about 5 Inches. Was the trail well laid? No idea, see above. R*nning actually stopped very quickly. Apart from the atrocious weather, Hashers had to take turns carrying the two Tykes, as they would have drowned otherwise. There was a Beer Halt somewhere along the line, but by then everybody was so soaked and miserable that even the cold beers weren't appreciated much.

At the end of the r*n, it was mutually agreed that the circle would be held at the On On, we all just wanted to get out of the rain. Plenty of food and beer was had at the Hoa Su Restaurant, all agreed that this would be a r*n (swim?) to remember.

P.S.: Many of the attending Vietnamese assured me that this would be the last day of this year's rainy season, considering the ferocity of the downpour. Wrong, it rained at least that hard the very next day.

On on.

R*n #4, The Reunification R*n

1st of October 2005
 

The Grand Master being a flag-waving, patriotic German (not), the German Reunification Day on the 3rd of October was a good excuse to have yet another r*n. Not many Germans in Can Tho, but the usual Vietnamese suspects largely made up for it.

As usual, we gathered at the Victoria Can Tho Hotel to let the Hares tell us what the deal was. It soon became apparent that they were very confused, which is par for the course at the Can Tho Hash. They did not even have flour to show all the Virgins the Hash marks. With the Hares quickly getting their Down-downs, the tone for the Hash was set. Tuan, the guy who chucked up in a spectacular fashion last time, obviously had orders from his better half to not attend any more Hashes, but he was soon convinced otherwise.

This being in the middle of the Delta and all, we set off by boat for the short trip to the site. The area certainly looked like it held a lot of hashing potential, but we quickly ran into a problem: no flour!!!! The Hares tried to convince everybody that it was because of the 5-second drizzle earlier in the day, but this was obviously rubbish. I know for a fact that the hares set off with 10 kilos of flour, and came back with 9.5 kilos!!!!!!

Anyway, the scenery was indeed nice, and the hares were thoughtful enough to provide a beer halt (hint for future hares: do not place the beer wagon in such a way that it can be seen from five miles away).

The circle was a messy affair. Apart from the Hares getting numerous down-downs for setting a lousy r*n, not using flour (did you ever hear of "checks" and "X's?), and front-r*nning, there was also the usual number of no hash attire, fashion on the hash, and new shoes. We actually have one member who has been on all 4 r*ns, and drank out of his shoe each and every time! I figure he either has a very zealous wife, or actually really likes the taste. We also had the first naming on the Can Tho Hash. Whilst "Echo" only has four runs under his belt, his outstanding lungs have ensured that all of Can Tho, as well as the surrounding Provinces, are well aware every time we have a Hash.

On on.