Hello all! The last couple of days have been pretty quiet, I’ve been on evening shifts on Tuesday and Wednesday. My last two days are morning and afternoon, which is nice – I’ll get to say goodbye to everyone properly before I go.
I forgot to mention that on the night of the party, I also went on a short scooter trip with one of the other volunteers (who had a scooter), through the park and to the Cave of the Prehistoric Man, discovered in 2012. The stairs up to the cave are very steep, and sad to say I gave up halfway, as I was a bit knackered from a long day. We could hear Tokay Geckos calling in the trees, and saw countless giant grasshoppers and other bugs on our trip. I’ve learned that in this part of Vietnam, if you think you hear a bird, it’s probably either a lizard or a bug. The ride through the forest was lovely – I was a biker for years, and the joy of riding through warm air, hearing the sounds of nature around you, is magical. The excitement was only improved by not wearing helmets (naughty!), and as I was riding pillion, using a torch to look for roosting birds, bats and other animals in the trees as we rode.
It was rapidly getting dark, so we turned around after the cave and headed back, in time for the party.
Today I’ve been on a normal rota of cleaning and evening feeding, with one highlight of having to wrangle a pangolin who had decided to poop in his nesting box, then sleep next to it. We needed to get him out to clean it, so after some quick advice from a more experienced volunteer, I leaned into the nest box and grabbed the pangolin out. He huffed and snorted a couple of times, but I managed to hold him under his armpits and move him up to a different nest box, so we could clean him out. I had a massive grin on my face for the rest of the morning, as evidenced by the photo below!
It seems to be a constant source of bemusement that I’ve come this far just to volunteer for two weeks at SVW, and also that my day job is working on websites for a bank. The other volunteers here at the moment are all long-term, and either young and on an organised volunteering placement, or professionals being paid to be here. I feel hugely lucky that I’ve been able to visit and work with the animals here, which I think the full-time staff appreciate. There’s nothing like a volunteer who actually wants to scoop poop and do night feeding!
I had originally planned to visit Ha Long Bay this weekend, but after looking at travel times and when I’d need to check out, and realising that there was no direct route… I changed my mind. I’ve booked a night at a really fancy hotel in Hanoi’s Old Quarter instead, and I’m going to wander around for a day, take photos and do my best Anthony Bourdain impression by eating delicious food while seated on tiny plastic chairs. Luckily, I managed to get a refund for my Ha Long Bay hotel too.
I’d like to come back to Vietnam in the future, for a more touristy visit, so I’m sure I’ll see the beautiful islands of Ha Long one day. Until then, time to stuff my face in Hanoi!
Pestering pangolins 
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