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Oryza Sativa per Bubalus Bubalis
By No Reservations Crew on March 9, 2009 10:59 AM | Permalink | 27 Comments
By Jared Andrukanis, Segment Producer
It's a foggy morning in the near-perfect village situated by the sea in central Vietnam known as Hoi An. I am standing in a rice paddy and my New Balance sneakers are covered in brown clay from the saturated ground. Staring off into the distance, I notice Todd shooting b-roll.
My socks are wet, but I don't notice because of the view - it is one of complete calm, with green growth, grey water and paddies stretching out for what seems like miles in each direction ...an open playing field of agriculture at its most base. In my view, there are three women in conical hats slowly pulling at the stalks with the country's most prevalent foodstuff at their ends - it is a delicate process, compounded to almost an art as the women's hands move with uncanny deftness, repeating the same process that most likely has been done by them for many years.
In the center of an adjacent paddy there is a water buffalo pulling a plow with a farmer on its back. The beast is looking downright joyous, dragging its heavy load behind it, taking time to lower its snout into the gray water below and then splashing to the left and right while plodding down a line of rice grass. I am nearly mesmerized by this, as the massive animal reaches the end of a line of green, it turns completely around and begins the process on another endless string of rice plants.
I am surrounded by tradition - The tradition of the rice pickers in the field, the tradition of the farmer riding his plow and the tradition of the buffalo doing its daily walk. This is all common ground for them ...I feel almost as if I am invading their space.
I turn to Todd, who has his face buried in the sunshade of the viewfinder, most likely in a shooter's paradise of amazing footage to be had all around him. I ask, "Did you get that water buffalo?"
He looks up from his viewfinder, "Yes ...a few different sizes. You see anything else that we should get out here?"
I do a 360-degree scan of the area, and my eyes set on another, yet another water buffalo moving slowly up the narrow shelf of clay. Todd and I chose to wander out, on to shoot the paddies. The strip we are standing on is about 3 feet wide and stands nearly a foot above the flooded plane where the rice is planted.
After a quick calculation, it becomes very clear that either Todd or I, or the approaching water buffalo, is going to have to get off this shelf and into the half submerged paddies for this to work out. And she is not looking like she will be getting out of our way - I feel like I am playing chicken with a massive, grayish-black, horned, and motivated beast ...but in super slow motion.
I then notice the two calves behind her.
Now this is interesting. A mom and two calves, walking towards Todd and I, with nowhere to go but through or around us. It is basic knowledge that in the wild (or elsewhere) it is never a good idea to upset a mother when her offspring are nearby - it is just bad business, and even the most docile and cute animals tend to get nasty when you mess with the kids. Naturally that rule is compounded when the mother in question has horns spanning nearly 6 feet, and the neck muscles are capable of tossing my 190-pound frame into the air like a wet tissue wearing a backpack.
I tell Todd, "Well, here is another one of them heading right for us. And she's got her kids with her."
Todd, looks up, looks at me and then starts filming our approaching guests. She is not paying any attention to us, and walks up the narrow stretch of land toward our position. Twenty-five feet ...20 ...15 ...10 ... and then, the mother heads off the clay shelf into the paddies to our left, and the calves branch off to paddies on our right.
Now Todd and I are standing right between a mother and her children.
Yikes.
At that moment she notices us - and her body language shifts immediately from the trundling mass of a docile farm animal to a different sort altogether. She stands upright and completely still, looks directly at me and starts breathing in a not-so-friendly fashion. It sounds like half-stifled coughs, but with a lung capacity of, well, a buffalo, behind the brays. Her eyes do not look kind, to say the least.
I hear Todd say, "I don't think she likes you.
"I get that feeling too."
I pull my camera out of my pocket and start firing off some still photos, "Hey Todd, just so you know, I am documenting this in case we both get gored by a water buffalo. Hopefully they will find the camera."
I realize that this is not a funny comment and put the camera away. She is still breathing like a goddamn freight train and staring me right in the eye.
"Not sure what the protocol is for handling this sort of thing. Stand still and hope for the best, huh?"
And as the last word falls out of my mouth, she forgets about me and starts giddily splashing away to rejoin her calves. Just like that.
I remember to breathe in ...and ask Todd, "Did you get that?"
Todd nods his head.
JA
27 Comments
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Aside from the unbelievable talent you all have for getting the scenes that we tune in for each week, you also have a great talent for putting down the words that make another kind of picture for us. I believe that this tv moment coming tonight will be the heart stopper for all of us. Thank you for taking the time to frame this picture for us. We will miss you until the next season starts. It also sounds as if you are in love with Vietnam as much as Mr. B.
Thank you again for a wonderful show.
Gotta love it!! I've had similar encounters with these beasts in Cambodia & Laos as well as Viet Nam & they can be pretty intimidating. I don't think they like the scent of white people!
What's with the swastika on the deceased Vietnamese lady's little memorial alter (3/9/09 Vietnam show)?
@ Jim Buckley: that's the Buddhist symbol for the wheel of lives (dharma), called "vạn" in vietnamese. Not to be confused with the Nazi swastika.
@ The crew: my compliments to you, guys. great work! thanks a lot.
Man, I was captivated by reading your experience with the water buffalo. You are nuts and brave at the same time. (That's probably why you ended between the beast and her little ones.) Hope the shots come out well, and I need to find a way to find the show in Barcelona, where I live. Loved it in the States, but they don't seem know what a great show you guys have here. Best of luck with show, and keep taking great shots!
The swastika is an old Buddhist symbol, originally intended to be a positive symbol before that Austrian vegetarian twisted it into something perverse.
Reading this is teary poetry. You brought back wonderful memories that are a part of who I am and where I came from.
I was born in Central VietNam, a magical place of beautiful mountains bliss, hidden caves, roaring ocean waves full of ocean bounty and sublime regional dishes unique to the warm, honest people.
I invite you to join me at my Grandmothers home, nestled close to the waters of Central Vietnam, where my family has found inspiration for their amazing regional cooking. I'll show you where & why each region is exquisitely delicious and different.
Cam on rat nhieu. Duyen.
Just to mess with you....
Does anyone remember the old Mutual of Omaha nature shows with Marlon Perkins? We always used to find them hilarious because he'd send his cameraman (I don't remember the name, Bill or something) out to take footage of outrageously dangerous things. It really was screamingly funny to hear a line like, "Bob (or whatever) will now stand in the path of the stampeding elephants so that you can see just how dangerous this can be!"
Poor Bob! Every time the show aired, we kept waiting - almost hoping because kids are really bloodthirsty individuals - for Bob (or whoever) to get squashed or eaten by one of the beasts ("Here's Bob, standing in front of the great African lioness...can you pet the cubs, there, Bob?) that Marlon sent him to film.
There is a second point here, though. Marlon Perkins died when he leaped out of his Jeep to see a herd of...water buffalo. At least I'm pretty sure it was water buffalo....could have been Cape Buffalo I guess, but that would mess up the story...unless you guys go to Africa again...
Sigh. Time for more coffee.
I love how your show tries to blend in with the local culture. Anthony might be tall, but he doesn't have the "tourist" look or way about him... And your writing is more thoughtful than tourist-y, if you get what I mean.
hey jared.. love ur poetic prose..makes me realise too that am "surrounded by tradition" here in timor..
great dedication there for your craft.. keep it all up people! :)
What the PHO?
Generally, I am skeptical and stereotype New Yorkers. I guess it’s because I am from New York, (got kicked out of the Culinary Institute as well). So naturally I did not like Anthony at first, (my name is Anthony too). A few episodes and punk rock tee shirts (I sang in punk rock bands for years) he shows up in Viet Nam where I have been living for a few years.
Note to self: next time I am in New York I am going to make it a point to eat at his restaurant and ensure I have read all his work.
You kick dude and a big up to the crew as well.
Funny thing is my Viet Namese wife is a big fan too. Loosely translated she refers to Anthony as “way cooler then the other guy”… and I’m like what other guy? You know the worm? the maggot! She refers to the Bizarre Food host as the human maggot.
You see Tony, not only New Yorkers can cut on characters. Yep Saigon’s got attitude too.
Keep up the good fine work kids and stay out of Las Vegas if you can help it. Now get the PHO outa here and get back to producing more entertainment.
"the protocol" ahaha. Great story.
I think I heard this story once before... Right around Christmas actually. The pictures and the description all make sense now. Can't wait to see where you turn up next time Jared. btw, watching the Sri Lanka episode right now.
I had an epiphany last nite while reading The nasty Bits. It was the chapter where you were all in Saigon(i think) and everthing was out of control. hadn't been to the hotel, hit the ground running, sick and jet lagged, but you all kept going. I realized then that this is what I want to do. Everything from the horrible experiences to the unbelievably breathtaking things you see. i live in a small town and there is nothing here to experience and nothing to get exp. from. I look up to you all as gods b/c you get to do what you love. thanks for giving me hope! if there is any advice you have, i'd love to hear it.
michelle
Hello,
This is going to seem like an odd request but how could I get a letter to Anthony or someone on the crew about some sort of partnership? I work with The Territory Ahead and we are a purveyor of clothing that I feel would be a wonderful fit for Anthony. We carry many tall sizes and there is a unique travelesque flair to our apparel that seem like a perfect match for Anthony. This was just a wild haired idea but we're open to numerous concepts from sponships of Anthony's apparel on the show to even perhaps having Anthony co-develop a line of apparel in a licensing arrangement.
My email is in this post. I would love to talk to someone further about this. If there was ever a person that embodied the Territory Ahead spirit, it would be Anthony. Would be great to see if we can work anything out that is mutually beneficial.
Mr. Andrukanis,
I am sorry to bother you like this but I was wondering if I may ask you a question. I have tried very diligently for the past year and a half but have had zero success. I was wondering if there is any way that I may be able to email Mr. Bourdain or have one of your producers forward him an email from me just to be able to tell him how much his work is appreciated and followed almost religiously.
I am in the U.S. ARMY and have already completed two tours in Iraq. I am facing my third deployment and nothing would set the mood better than to be able to contact Mr.Bourdain once before I leave. I have followed his work for the last five years but missed out on a large majority of it due to where I have been out of the U.S. I have tried to contact your crew for the last year and a half with zero success.
I have come to idolize his works and have found that it has helped me with the times I faced in the past deployments as well as the ones I am facing in the future. Is there any way that I may mail you a shirt that is the same shirt that we wear in our unit as a gift that I have been trying to get to him since my return to the U.S. in December?
I appreciate any help that you may be able to give and I'm sorry for contacting you this way. My email address is kelly_y8s@yahoo.com
Sincerely,
SGT Kelly Yates
U.S. ARMY
Dear Crew:
This is probably ancient history now, but we just saw your episode on Los Angeles and were so disappointed!
As Angelenos, we also love New York and thought your treatment of your home town was wonderful. (We can't wait to go to Prune!)
Like NY, L.A. is a town that offers the opportunity to travel the world without ever leaving central Los Angeles.
What about wonderful central "foodie" areas like amazing:
Koreatown
Little Ethiopia
Little Tokyo East
Japantown West
Mashti Malone's Persian ice cream shops
Little Armenia
Nigerian restaurants of Inglewood
... and much more? (We were grateful you did include Thai Town; did you know there's also a Thai Elvis and a Thai Bob Dylan that plays in that same Plaza?)
Please come back, skip the inexplicable montages of oil dereks, shooting ranges and interviews with gang members in a city an hour north of L.A., and spend some time in the amazing multicultural districts right in central L.A.
We have many weird, wonderful, delicious areas that need your attention!!
Much love,
Pablo
That is hilarious. It is nice to hear the inside stories
Great to hear the inside stories! thanks.
Jared, your post was beautifully written and just a great story. Thanks for passing it on. I guess sometimes the cameraman can get so absorbed in composing the shot that he/she can lose awareness of any danger that might be lurking near.
@Jim Buckley: I remember running across a series of swastikas at at Buddhist temple in Taiwan, on my first visit there to meet my wife's family. She filled me in but one thing I noticed is that they are typically left facing rather than the Nazi right facing. They started doing that after the War to distinguish themselves as different, though in the Nazi flag the symbol was actually both right and left facing, depending on which side of the flag you were seeing. However, the typical "flagpole on the left" shot had it as right facing.
I just looked it up on Wiki and apparently the direction changes the meaning. When facing right, it represents dharma, universal harmony and the balance of opposites. When facing left, it represents love and mercy.
Of course , that swastika got nothing to do with Nazis. Google it for more info. As the people commented above its ancient Budhist symbol. Also some khans on the Balkans used it as symbol of their fame. People should read more and not always associate it with Nazis and Hitler !
A breathtaking experienced indeed. If I'm in your shoes, I might run for my life (lol). But anyhow, your story showed your strenght and your wisdom in a thrilling situation like this.
I'm a starting editor from the Netherlands, and I love how you guys take the footage and make it more than the sum of it's parts. You do a great job and give the show ANOTHER layer of awesomeness; it's always a pleasure to watch the show, wether I'm in seventh heaven digesting a great meal, or on the verge of vomiting from a horrible hangover -- No Reservations makes it better. Keep up the good work, you got a fan the Netherlands! You're always welcome to eat a Frietje Oorlog when you guys are over!
Ah, folks, the Swastika-looking symbol is more than a Buddhist one. It was also used by early American Indians and you can find it among their work (weavings, pottery, etc.)
heaven digesting a great meal, or on the verge of vomiting from a horrible hangover -- No Reservations makes it better. Keep up the good work, you got a fan the Netherlands! You're always welcome to eat a Frietje Oorlog when you guys are over!
I might run for my life (lol). But anyhow, your story showed your strenght and your wisdom in a thrilling situation like this.
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