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Story TRAN GIAP
Photos PHOTO TOUR 2024
After more than 73,000 tests and trials covering nearly 4 million kilometers, from the red dunes of Dubai to the Moad trails of Nevada, from the Nüibuigiing race track to the -60 degrees Celsius cold of the Arctic, the Defendei has proven itself up for the challenge.
“The Defender may not be my first car, but it is a true and emotional companion,” begins Mr. Hai Trieu, one of the most well-traveled men in Vietnam. Our conversation unfolds beneath the roof of a 120-year-old H’Mong stilt house in the Ha Giang stone plateau. Roads are made to connect one point to another, and along these roads, everything from goods and religion to culture and race gradually disperses. This is one of the reasons why Mr. Trieu embarked on a global exploration, driven by his passion for the history of the continents. His journey took him from Saigon to London, around Europe, along the ancient Silk Road through Central Asia, then Mongolia and across vast Russia, before hitchhiking through Xinjiang, China, and returning to Hanoi. Today, we are meeting on what I call the Journey of Heritage.
The first heritage is perhaps the car that Mr. Trieu drove thousands of miles, the 2011 Defender, a renowned model that continues the illustrious history of the Land Rover brand. This legacy lives on today with its two descendants, the Defender 110 and Defender 130. We brought these three vehicles to roam the land and sky of the stone plateau, a place considered to hold much heritage for future generations. Crossing the Bac Sum pass and Cong Troi pass, we pause for a while at a flax weaving house in Lung Tam. For generations, H’Mong women have woven countless clothes for their husbands and children and painted millions of patterns on dresses which are still worn to the market. From the flax plant, the H’Mong have created a unique heritage amid the harsh cat-ear stone mountains on the border of Vietnam. And on the seats of our new Defenders today, details are made from the unique Robust fabric, which has excellent abrasion resistance.
Guided by our hearts, we then drive along the Mien River and cross the Tham Ma slope, where people of the past used to test the strength of their horses. We find ourselves lost in Pho Cao, Sung La, drawn in by the intoxicating fragrance of peach, plum, pear and cotton tree flowers that light up a corner of the sky.
With our Defender off-road warriors, we throttle up and experience the thrill of climbing the slope to Pho Bang, Pho La where the green Cunninghamia lanceolata trees stand amidst the wheat fields. We continue to Sang Tung, where a unique stone desert reveals the harsh nature found alongside the strong vitality of the H’Mong people.
Emotion and excitement are what Mr. Trieu finds with the Defenders: “When driving it, the adventurous blood stirs, and I can drive for a whole month continuously,” he says, and I agree. The heritage of the northern border area is the series of mountains on which the H’Mong people have taken handfuls of soil and put them into each hole in the rock, and then planted corn seeds to make a living through the ups and downs of history.
The H’Mong create living heritages amid the colorful textiles, silver rings and sounds of the flute echoing in the middle of bustling Khau Vai market. Here on these highest mountains, the H’Mong are living symbols of resilience – that’s why we say: “there is no mountain higher than the knees of the H’Mong.” And the Defender is one of very few cars that can climb those mountains. Winding down the Happiness Road, we reach Meo Vac after extremely sharp hairpin bends on muddy passes. As I sit under the roof of the 120-year-old rammed earth house, I see images rewinding in my head. I’m already thinking about where to go next with the Defender, connecting the heritages of humanity.
