the family tomb + temple visit in the rice fields

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(part one, feb 21st)
definitely one of the most heart-blowing experiences of the trip!! discovering my roots in the rice fields.

visiting the family tomb + temple. an epic experience. i walked on the earth that my great ancestors walked on. and not only that...i visited a town where my great grandfather + uncle were very well-respected and loved individual in the province. let me back up.

so that 13 hour bus ride was in fact worthwhile. it got us to the family tomb! once we arrived in hoi an, we slept long and hard...then hired a taxi to take us to the family tomb. my uncle vinh had been there 5 years earlier.

we embarked on a journey into the rice fields. ahhhh. i settled into the calm. after asking some local villagers where the pham phu tomb was...we pulled over on a side road. walked along a narrow path, a back alley of small houses used by a few women carrying poles over their shoulder balancing baskets of fruit or rice. after a 4 minute walk down this back alley....the most BEAUTIFUL and breath-taking view appeared. a vast wide open view of the rice fields. this time not from a car. directly in front of me was a thin path that lead to the center of the fields....and at the center of the field was the pham phu tomb of my grandfather's brother.

a bright sunny day. blue skies. not a cloud in the sky. rice field workers randomly scattered as far as the eye can see. i heard nothing but the wind blowing between the blades of grass. i waited. i sipped in my breath. this was YOGA! i watched my mom, uncle, and aunt continue on the path to the tomb. wow! i'm in the fields + village where my great granduncle's family lived, worked, played, made babies! i've arrived.

this is why i took this trip with my mother. this is why i knew it was not wise to bail on traveling with my mother, uncle + aunt. if i traveled on my own there is no way i would have experienced this scene. and earlier that morning when i told my mother i would stay and journey on with her...i swear i thought i saw her eyes well up behind her glasses. mom didn't need to say..."i think you should," that look and this experience in the rice field confirmed it all. i was in the flow.

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Photos

tu duc temple - like the pham phu temple
okay so i'll get a digital for my next travels. but for now...this image is nothing compared to what i saw in the rice fields. close but not quite.