Vacation in Viet Nam--back to Ninh Binh and Hanoi (11-5)

Tuesday morning I took a walk around our area of the village while breakfast was being prepared. I was especially glad to have done this because we needed to leave after breakfast rather than have a walk around the village as planned. Rain was forecast and our driver was concerned about leaving and getting to better roads before the rain. So we headed down the mountain at 8:00. 

Instead of retracing our route, we took the shortcut down, walking along a stream that we had to cross a couple times. 

Again, we walked through the rice fields where people were harvesting their rice. 

The quiet morning scenery was lovely. I had thought about asking to stop at one of the schools on the way back, but, as we were in a bit of a hurry to get driving before the rain, I didn’t.

The driver met us at the end of the road at 10:30, which shortened our walk a little. We drove for an hour and a half and then stopped at the same café for lunch and had the same delicious noodle soup. Again, Jackie and I walked down the street while the others finished eating. Then we had two more hours in the car before arriving at the guesthouse at 4:00. In all that time, we had rain for about ten minutes.

Riding in a car was interesting. Horns are used frequently to warn others that a car is coming or passing or to let them know to get out of the way. The car had three types of horns. The most frequently used is a little musical, beating a few times but not harshly. Our driver also has a horn like the police use. He used it only a few times and people recognized it as a police horn and always turned to look. Both on the way out and on the way back, we stopped at a certain point so the driver and Nam could put on their seatbelts, as that was an area that was often policed. The rest of the time they didn’t use them. (Photo: driver washing the car after coming out of the mountains)

At lunch time we passed hoards of students riding their bicycles from school to home for their lunch break, which Nam said is an hour and a half to two hours long because they often have a long ride.

We learned that all young men have mandatory military service for 18 months. They usually do this at age 18, after secondary school. But sometimes they wait until they are 24 or 25. He is 24 and has already completed his service.

Political slogans and signs were common, especially in populated areas.

Back in Ninh Binh, we went for a walk before dinner. There is a pagoda near the guesthouse; so we headed there. Since it was early evening, many people were sitting outside enjoying the cooler air. They were friendly and enjoyed having photos taken. 

At the pagoda, three women were sitting in front of the altar chanting/praying. It reminded me of the monks doing this at that time of day. There was a lot of food being brought into the room. We didn’t know if something special was happening. I read later that the full moon and new moon are special days at the temples; so, perhaps, this is what was happening that evening, as it was the night of the new moon.

Wednesday morning we took a walk around Ninh Binh for a couple hours. We were glad to have the morning to walk around and see some of the city before leaving. The back of the guesthouse card has a small map with a walking tour. 

We went to another pagoda that was closed. We found another pagoda that is being built and was open. We went past a place displaying a lot of porcelain and went to look at it. It is probably made there as well. We both ended out purchasing something there; so that was a treat.

Then it was back to the guesthouse for lunch. They don’t usually serve lunch, but Kim had offered to make lunch for us. She prepared a lovely and delicious noodles and chicken dish. Then we were on our way back to Hanoi. First we stopped at a hotel so Jackie could put her part of the bill on her credit card, as Kim can’t do that yet.

We had decided to take a train for a different experience. There was a distinct, strong, unpleasant odor in our car. I was lucky that my nose is not as sensitive as Jackie’s. She thought it was rotting meat. When the people across from us got out and took their many boxes, the odor left. Other than that, the trip was uneventful. The train route was pretty much the same as the bus route, paralleling the road.

We were so warmly welcomed back at Hotel Gecko that it felt like returning home. We even had the same room. Our tour guide on the way to Ninh Binh had suggested that we go to the ancient house not far from our hotel. Since we were both interested in that, we headed out quickly. The ancient house is the Traditional House that is over a hundred years old that is now a Vietnam Heritage Center. In addition to displaying artifacts from its original period, there are also displays of beautiful things for sale. Since the quality was good and prices were good and the money goes to a good place, we both bought several items. It was a good place to leave the last of my cash.

The first day in Hanoi I had changed my Thai bahts to Vietnam dong; so I needed to spend the last of them. I also had American dollars with me. Prices in most places that deal with tourists were in dollars.

A restaurant the hotel women had recommended is on the same street as the Traditional House; so we went there for dinner. We were lucky to be early, as it was packed with people waiting to get in when we left.

Written Vietnamese uses the Western alphabet.  This was very convenient, as it made it easy to read signs even though we didn’t know the words.

Thursday morning we left at 6:00 to get to the airport for our flight back to Bangkok.  I enjoyed my brief time in Vietnam and want to return to see more of the country.

Vacation in Vietnam--mountain village (11-4)

Nam had told us that breakfast would be at 8:00 Monday morning. Since we woke up earlier, I walked around the hotel garden and down the road a bit. Jackie also took a walk before breakfast. It was a nice place to relax and get ready for the day.

We talked with Nam about our plan for the day, knowing that we would walk slower than he was used to and would probably need a lot of time to walk the 15 km to the village where we would stay. We had tried to get him to leave earlier in the morning, but he said the restaurant would open at 8:00. We suggested a picnic lunch so we would not have to wait for food to be cooked and served and could save some time. He agreed to buy some food to take with us.

After an hour on the road, we stopped to take photos of the rice drying on the road where vehicles drove over it. I’d been told in other places that driving over the rice helped to thresh it. This was a very pleasant little village. People were sitting near a tree, and Jackie gravitated toward them to chat and take photos. I joined her there after a bit. The women were very pleased to have their photos taken. One woman was selling vegetables under a tree, and Nam bought some for our dinner.

At 10:30, we arrived in a town where Nam would look for food for lunch while we walked around. He pointed us toward the river. When we got there, Jackie did not want to go on the bridge; so she walked along the river while I went on the bridge. I knew it would be a great place to photograph the surrounding area. And it was. A woman was sweeping her rice grains, mixing them up so they would all dry. When I left the bridge, I didn’t see Jackie; so I returned to where the car was parked. We hadn’t made an arrangement to meet, and it was only one block back to the car; so I knew she would get there and thought she had already left the river. 

Since no one was at the car, I continued to walk around the area and found the market. People were very willing to have photos taken. Some even asked me to take a photo when they saw that I was carrying my camera. They always wanted to know how old I am and told me their age using fingers to show the two numbers. The old women were in their 80s. When I returned to the car again, everyone was there. Nam said that we would eat there because he couldn’t find much food for lunch and didn’t find any bread. So we had an early lunch—noodles that were very tasty. After Jackie and I ate, we took a short walk while Nam and the driver ate, since their food had just arrived. I took her to the market and everyone had a good time meeting her.

Now it was 11:30 and we were getting concerned about starting our walk. We talked to Nam about this again and decided that we would not stop to see the special cave fish, as that would take about an hour and a half. Fish are fish, and we really wanted to get walking. Also, I think these are the same kind of fish I saw in Mae Hong Son last year. Interesting but not spectacular, especially when there is beautiful walking to do. And we enjoyed our time in the village and the town more than we would enjoy the fish, even if they were in a beautiful garden.

At 1:15 we finally arrived at the starting point for our walk. In the morning, we had no idea it would take so long to get there. We parked the car at a house, and the driver stayed there. This village and some of the villages we walked through are Muong villages. I’d seen this hill tribe mentioned as the destination of home-stays and thought it was an unusual spelling of “Hmong/Mong.” Nam pronounces it the same way we pronounce the latter. When I returned home, I looked on the Internet for Vietnamese ethnic groups and learned that Muong is the group in the provinces we were in.

The walk was wonderful. It was harvest time; so the rice fields were golden and many people were working in the fields harvesting rice. 

People working as well as those relaxing at home welcomed our taking photos. 

For a while it was rather noisy, as the threshing machines were being used. 

When we were about half way, we stopped to have tea with Nam’s friend, who was expecting us. She sometimes does home-stays, and Jackie reported that the toilet there was quite nice. 

We also passed water wheels that take water from the streams to the fields.

We passed a school for children 6-15 years old. They travel by bicycle or motorcycle with a parent or walk 5-10 km to get to the school. It was closed at 2:00 when we went by. Later, at 3:45, we passed a school for children 6-10 years old. 

School was over, but there were some young students hanging out who were very happy to entertain us with smiles so we would photograph them.

We reached our home-stay village at 5:00. Nam said the walk was 11-12 km, not the described 15 km, because we took a shortcut. This was fine with us. The walk was lovely and just long enough. We arrived in time to shower and relax while Nam and the family cooked dinner for us. 

The bathroom building has two sides—one with a toilet—Western style, I think because it is a home-stay—and one with a shower. The shower has a hot water heater, also probably installed for home-stay guests.

The family we stayed with included a husband and wife (age 30), his mother (age 55), and their daughter (age 9). All were very pleasant. 

The neighbor children hung out near us before dinner. One girl was brave enough to ask me, “What is your name?” We exchanged names and ages, and that was the limit of her English.

Dinner was amazing. Nam had brought food for everyone. We were told that we would eat with the family. I had a feeling meant that we would eat with the men, which was the case. Several male neighbors came for the special occasion. The women served and sat in the family living area. Food was spread out on floor mats. Jackie and I were given pillows to sit on while everyone else sat on the floor. When we moved to sit elsewhere, the pillows were brought to us. One special dish prepared just for us—not served at the other half of the table—was fried potatoes. Whiskey was served in shot glasses and toasts were frequent. After a tiny taste, I decided that it was too strong for me and toasted with my water glass. Jackie was able to drink small amounts of the whiskey. 

After eating, some of the men went home and some went to the rice wine barrel that is in the room with long reed straws. I tasted it, and it was sweet and potent. 

While Jackie hung out with them, I joined the women and our male host in the family living area where they were watching TV. 

We took photos of us together and took more when Jackie joined us. 

The grandmother gave me a piece of betal, which is what the old women chew.

The living area is quite large. Our sleeping quarters were set up on one end by hanging a cloth on lines to make a tent for us. Inside the tent were a mosquito net and pad for us. The family slept in the other part of the room. We had eaten dinner in the middle area, and Nam slept there. 

There are a few chests and cabinets for clothing and blankets. The top of one has a shrine for the man’s father, who died about ten years ago.

A new kitchen is being built. It is being added on to the end of the house. They are proud that it has a wooden floor, not a bamboo floor like the rest of the house.

This village is a Thai/Tai hill tribe village. This is one of the 54 ethnic groups in Viet Nam. It is these people who migrated to what is now Thailand many years ago. They speak a variant of the Thai language as well as Vietnamese. About 400 families live in the village. Since it is in the mountains with a lot of trees, we saw only a small part of the village. Nam told us that girls marry when they are about 16. I chatted with the young woman in the house next to the home-stay and learned that she is 20 and has a son who is about a year old. People marry only in their ethnic group. Parents look for a husband or wife in their village and in nearby Thai villages. When she marries, the girl moves to the home of her husband. There was abundant water flowing in many places near the home we stayed at. Nam said there was a lot of rain this year, but in years when there isn’t much rain, the water supply is not adequate.