PS: Going to Dong Nai for a run

Bien Hoa city welcomed me on an April day, the weather was beautiful with golden sunshine shining everywhere. Different from my thoughts, Bien Hoa is now modern with wide roads and rows of cool green trees. The feeling in Bien Hoa is gradually rising with a city that affirms itself and develops every day.

I promised myself that I would come to Dong Nai many more times, and of course it would still be jogging… I laughed at my strange thoughts. It was okay, because I had already fallen in love with Dong Nai!

Early in the morning, as usual, I woke up, put on my shoes and started running. It seemed like the weather was too kind to me because that day the sky was very beautiful with gentle yellow sunshine and a little wind. In Bien Hoa city, I ran along Hung Dao Vuong street and then turned into Bien Hung park. Along both sides of the street, green trees provided cool shade. The morning street was wide, airy and extremely peaceful.

Here and there I smelled the fragrant grilled meatloaf. “Chả lui” is a rustic and affectionate name, a specialty that everyone wants to eat when coming to Bien Hoa. It was interesting when I learned that the word “lùi” refers to the way of preparing bamboo skewers on the meatloaf and grilling it over charcoal. I had the opportunity to eat grilled meatloaf, while jogging, my mind immediately appeared to be filled with the rich, attractive flavor of the meatloaf with the filling including shrimp and minced pork belly placed in the middle of a soft, flexible rice paper, wrapped into bite-sized rectangular pieces.

I ran slower to enjoy everything here. My feet started to slow down, taking small steps, not because I forgot my running goal but because I wanted to enjoy every moment. I smiled with satisfaction, thinking that Dong Nai was probably the ideal place for explorers like me. Many times in that moment, I really wanted to go to Dong Nai to live.

While running, I suddenly remembered the book What I Think About When I Run by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. His sentences always contain many profound philosophies about life. I have sympathized with him, and ideas flashed when I ran. I learned from him about the lifestyle of focusing on the most important things according to my own values, about discipline, concentration and perseverance to maintain my writing style for decades. “I am at a normal level - or perhaps more like mediocre. But that is not the point. The point is whether I am more perfect than yesterday. In long distance running, the only opponent we have to defeat is ourselves, our old ways.”

Running in Dong Nai is not a challenging route, but a peaceful route, to run and enjoy the beauty of Vietnam and the friendliness of the people. It is not simply a normal run to improve health, but for me, it is also an experience, contemplating every moment and thought. I had quiet moments to listen to my body move, watching a city with so much love and affection. The people and landscape of Dong Nai have held me with simple things. So when I return, sometimes in my dreams I see myself running along the poetic roads of Dong Nai...

Mai Hoang

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202504/tai-but-den-dong-nai-chay-bo-0732e46/