20th Anniversary Dream Trip Contest

Great Travel Moment

This photograph was taken in the rural outskirts of Hanoi on our way to Cu Phong, the first national park of Vietnam. The picture captures the essence of what made our journey to this once war-torn country unforgettable: the people. Indeed, during our three-hour trek through the jungle, we encountered a fellow group of Vietnamese hikers enjoying a picnic. They could tell from our dripping clothes and sweat-speckled faces that the heat and humidity were taking its toll. Although we could speak no Vietnamese and they could speak no English, we communicated in a language we could all understand. They generously shared fresh fruit and we, in turn, passed around our energy bars. We toasted our newfound but fleeting friendship with Vietnamese rice vodka, which they poured into the perfect makeshift communal shot glass--the hollowed-out end of a cucumber.