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Published: June 28th 2008
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man sleeping in a hammok
on our tour of hoi an, we walked around this village. the houses leave their doors open. we walked right into this man's house as he was sleeping. hoi an
our next stop after nha trang was hoi an, as our plan was to work our way up the coast of viet nam.
while in saigon, just after meeting tamsyn at the airport, we also got in contact with another ex-korea english teacher now living in saigon, quinn. the four of us got together and had a drink in a little booth on the side of the road, sitting in plastic chairs intended for kindergarteners. it is amazing that we english teachers seem to just sprout up everywhere. we had the opportunity to meet a bunch of the kids quinn works with at the boys' shelter nearby, who were selling gum and tissues and books and such, as has been a common sight so far in SE asia.
quinn recommended that we go to hoi an, and suggested a great little tour given by a man who hangs out at a particular restaurant in hoi an, and takes you on a small and personal tour of his village.
so we arrived in hoi an, after a long and miserable overnight bus ride in a "sleeper bus" which was probably thus named because it made various
parts of your body fall asleep. amazingly, as things seemed to have been working out, greg and tamsyn met a man at a restaurant who started talking about a tour he offered, and tamsyn noticed that they were at the exact restaurant quinn had mentioned.
the next day, we went on this tour. mr. phong picked us up at 9:30 in a van, and we were joined by an absolutely endearinly amusing couple in their 50s from south africa, colin and maureen.
the tour started when we arrived at his house. the village where he lives is a large network of brightly painted houses in blues and oranges and yellows, interspersed with rice paddies and a temple and a market, all connected with dirt roads. it is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else, and kids are free to run around together out of their parents' sight.
at mr. phong's house we were served tea and a short history lesson, including personalized history of his town. a dam in his village had been bombed by the americans, which he showed us later. he explained that not everyone loves communism, nor does everyone love ho chi minh, but that they must hang a picture of him in their homes, or risk interrogation. he also explained that only people in the communist party can get leadership positions in vietnam. for instance, his daughter is a teacher but she can never become a principal. being religious meant not being communist. also, if a close family member lived in a democratic country like the US, they could not be communist. he was a lovely man and showed us various gifts and photos and postcards from foreign friends he had made. then he showed us his collection of tourist books from countries all over the world, handling each one with great care as he said the name of each country. "holland. canada. sweden. italy..." and then said, "i travel all over the world through my books."
after tea and history, we walked around his village with him, free to take photographs. he showed us where they made the village's rice wine, and described the process. huge plastic trash cans filled with rice mixed with yeast filled a concrete room. he showed us where the village dried their tobacco. he showed us his family's temple, with pictures of his deceased family members. he showed us rice paddies, and a war memorial with the names of villagers who had died in the recent wars. some buildings in the town still have pock marks from bullets. it is amazing how calm and welcoming this village seemed after having been personally ravaged by a war it didnt want. mr. phong had an uncle who had fought for 50 years in the various wars.
walking around was such a beautifully pleasant atmosphere. i felt like i was actually getting submerged in the culture just a tiny bit, rather than looking at it from so far away. the people were so friendly and welcoming, and no one was asking for money as we walked down the streets. the kids that ran around in little swarms were also friendly and seemed to love the camera. like kids everywhere so far, they loved the fact that they could see themselves in pictures.
after a long (and very hot) walking tour of the village, we went back to mr. phong's house for lunch. he served an absolutely amazing meal that had been cooked by his wife and daughter-in-law, with greens, rice, spring rolls, tuna, soup, and lemonade. he gave us more spring rolls to take home for later.
all in all, it was one of the best experiences so far, and an amazing way to feel like i was seeing the culture and helping to give back to the actual people rather than a tour agency.
after we got back, we decided to check out the beach. greg and tamsyn rented a motorbike and i took a bicycle since it was only 4 km away. we tried some sort of system connecting the bicycle to the bike, but it was altogether too difficult to maneuver in traffic like that, so i just powered myself there. it was actually a lot of fun to bike through traffic, dodging the other bicycles, motorbikes, cars, and pedestrians that comically occupy the same space.
the beach was gorgeous, probably the most spacious beach we've been to yet, with a lot of local people just hanging out as well as a few foreigners.
next stop, ha long bay
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