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Photo 2
The best way to have coffee. Very, very slowly.I know I was impatient to get out of Hue, but BOY I had no idea what was in store for me. Finally, we said goodbye to that hotel in Hue where we stayed for way too long and boarded a bus. This time, not a sleeper like the others, just a little converted minivan where we squeezed in with about 200 Vietnamese people. Before we left we had to sit in this weird bus stop, the first place where no one spoke English, where a woman was so entranced with our wavy brown hair that she just had to sneak up behind us and touch it. The ride was long and stinky. Vietnam is the land of a thousand smells. About 95% of them I could live without, but at one point I swear it smelled like wafer cookies and that was delightful. Smells come and go almost before you can recognize them. Mostly it's of burning paper, burning cow poop, burning tires, fish sauce (ugh), and my own sweat.
The place we were going to was not on this bus' route, or any bus' route for that matter. Also, we had no idea where it was either. We
Photo 3
The view from the farmstay. tried to explain with gestures and pointing at a business card where we needed to get to, gave the guy a little extra money (he totally ripped us off- $10 for a 5 hour ride!) and hoped we'd get there. Not like we could ask where we were or how long to get there. It was probably the most beautiful bus ride I've taken so far, and if it weren't so hot it would have been nice.
We drive out into the middle of nowhere. And when I say middle of nowhere, imagine the middle of nowhere, and then drive 2 hours past that. The bus pulls up to the only 2 story house we've seen for hours and I guess we're here. Across the dirt road are a few acres of rice paddies beautifully framed by the most quintessentially Asian mountains you can imagine. It's hot and lush here, and the mountains are greener than I could have imagined. It really does the place no justice to try or describe it in words or pictures, so I won't try too hard. Just know that it's really astounding. It was raining the day we got there, so the heat
Photo 4
Rural life. wasn't too bad. It was dinnertime and everyone else was just sitting around chatting. The owner Ben, an Aussie, and his wife Bich, Vietnamese and various friends of theirs are lounging around on the front wraparound porch area. There's a big common area with couches, a TV, pool table, darts and some tables for eating (and later drinking rice wine). We settle in and hang out with these 2 Dutch boys for the night. It is comfortable here and looks like we'll be meeting a lot of people.
The next day, we head out for a tour of the nearby National Park and Paradise Cave. I hop on the back of a motorbike (glad it was the one Vietnamese guy with us- I figure he has the most experience). Steve insists on riding his own, but there's no way I'm trusting enough to get on the back of his bike. We drive through the village and toward the park. I really have taken a liking to these little motorbikes. The wind keeps you cool, and it's like taking your life in your hands every time you get on one. We're a group of about 8, (the biggest group we've
Photo 5
Inside the biggest cave I've been in. done so far) and drive up into the mountains. Ben arranges everything and my job was to just sit there, lean, and take in the scenery. And like I said, I'll never be able to express it if I tried. You're just going to have to come here. The scenery was beautiful and then we went to a temple that was built near this cave that 8 people were trapped and died in during the war. Seeing where the war was really fought and hearing stories of what happened in this place is incredible. It gives me new respect for anyone who was here then- both sides. Then we went to Paradise Cave and while it was pretty at times, it was a big cave. I've seen big caves. No big whoop. Then we bushwhacked through some jungle and overflown rivers for a bit and headed home.
The next day I hung around while other people went out, but it was good to have a lazy day. I have been reading a lot. Another time we went out on an unofficial tour of the mountains and drove up the HoChiMinh Trail toward Khe San. We are probably the only
Photo 6
On the motorbike tour. white people to be on that stretch of road in decades. True, we weren't supposed to be there- we were warned by Ben, but who can resist a good ol' fashioned adventure in Nam?
That night we left to go to a Gay Party, (literally translated), which turned out to be a sort of county fair with drag performers. It was...interesting.
4th of July was the best day, because it is Bich's birthday. There was a huge party with tons of BBQ and more importantly, rice wine. Rice wine is not truly wine, it's more like rice jetfuel. It's what they call an honest drink, because you're fully aware of what you're getting into when you drink it. We stayed up all night drinking and dancing and playing in the pool. It was one of the best 4th of Julys in recent memory.
And here we are today, all lazy and hot. Everyone is just lounging around and I'm about to go have another dip in the pool before I take my second nap in the hammock. We're supposed to leave tonight for Hanoi and while it will be nice to have A/C again, maybe we'll just
Photo 7
Cow traffic jam!!!!!! stay another few nights here.
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mom
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4th of july
keep them coming ! loving it !missing you sweetpea