Northern Vietnam
High-elevation cloud forests and cool weather — home to many endemic pit vipers and amphibians.
My story
A lack of understanding breeds fear
Born in Saigon, like many Vietnamese people, I grew up with a deep fear of snakes. That fear took root before I had ever seen a real snake.
Everything changed when I was fourteen and curiosity led me to keep a snake. I quickly realized that the animal before me was very different from the villain I had learned to imagine.
I began entering nature to observe them: Dong Nai, Tam Dao, Hon Son, Fansipan, and the forests of Lam Dong. The farther I went, the more I understood that what I feared was not as frightening as I had believed — and the same could be true for millions of others.
