Lang Ke Mon

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There have been many visible changes throughout Hue and Da Nang. The most refreshing difference - nearly 99% of every motorcyclist (along with their passengers) were wearing helmets. The village however, still seemed to be stuck in time and hasn’t changed much since the last time we were here, 4 years ago.

Some of the narrow roads are made with concrete, others with dirt surrounded by patches of dehydrated grass that stretches for miles. Some of the houses are modern and made with bricks with the only difference between here and home being the front/back yard scenery. There are acres of rice paddies with beautiful mountains on the horizon in the front and mounds upon mounds of sand with tombstones of relatives in the back. Cemeteries have always been oddly fascinating to me, but sleeping so close to the departed is a little too strange, though no one here seems to be bothered in the least bit.

We began the first day of the religious ceremonies yesterday, which started at 5:30 AM and ended at 5:00 PM, with lunch breaks and nap sessions in-between. I’m not sure how to explain the purpose, but we’re essentially praying for every single member of the BUI-clan from our village so that their souls can remain at peace. It’s pretty remarkable how well preserved the record system has been here. We are praying for 200+ souls – each with names retrieved from records kept over many generations. I keep meeting people that are somehow related to me. I find it difficult to keep track of the lineage, so I just use the various pronouns interchangeably between people, but even that is confusing because there are different pronouns used depending on how they’re related to you.

Because of the religious ceremony going on, everything cooked has been a vegetarian delight. All the meals are traditional Vietnamese home cooking, only infinitely better (and perhaps safer) because it’s tofu/soy based. Banh It, which is a white glutinous rice cake wrapped in banana leaves and steamed has been my favorite. The traditional filling of shrimp and pork has been replaced with shitake mushrooms and perfectly seasoned tofu skin. Everything has been slow, but peaceful.

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