Members of Hash House Harriers adventuring in Da Lat forest.

More than 300 members from 18 countries of the Hash House Harriers group convened in Da Lat city, in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, Vietnam in the last week of October 2007 to return to nature.

Most of them are between the ages of 25 and 44; they are businesspeople or successful politicians. Interestingly, all of them are called by their nicknames because the group’s concept is that all members are equal when they join the group.

Each member has a suitable nickname and if one calls another Mr., Ms. or Dr., other members will cry out “Down”.

Joan, 24, from Malaysia, said that she is working for an insurance firm. She is one of the five members from Malaysia and she is very glad to be a member of the Hash House Harriers. The most important goal for joining the group, according to Joan, is to relax and have fun.

Joan said that it is an opportunity to meet many friends from different countries and know more about foreign cultures. Every year, members of Hash House Harriers meet in a country.

There are five Hash House Harriers clubs in Vietnam now. All of them are in big cities, Hanoi, HCM City, Da Nang, Can Tho and Vung Tau. In Hanoi, members meet on Saturdays and in HCM City, they meet on Sundays.

Of the 300 participants in the get-together in Da Lat, there were 30 from Vietnam, including Terry Tsikleas, who works at the Australian Consulate in Vietnam and is one of the founders of the Hash House Harriers.

He said that Hash House Harriers is a new form of club, which brings fun, friendship and other benefits to its members.

Tsikleas explained that taking part in the group to have fun with other members to forget work and stress – that’s the greatest “benefit” that each participant gets from Hash House Harriers.

Though Hash House Harriers is established for relaxation and fun, many business deals and relationships originate from there.

Being a member of the group, whenever you go to a strange country, you should contact local members and you will receive a helping hand from them immediately.

All games organised by Hash House Harriers serve the same goal, returning to nature, because the group’s concept is that nature provides everything that man needs.

A man with nickname Lam Ngan, who is working for Tiger Beer in HCM City, said that joining the Hash House Harriers club in HCM City is a chance for him to study Vietnamese, so he uses a Vietnamese nickname.

“If you want to be good at foreign languages, have good health and friendship, join us!” he said.

Hash House is the familiar name of Selanggor club Chambers, a small bar in Selangor town in Malaysia. Hash House members often meet to dance, run, and do sport activities.

(Source: TN)