Bac Giang

Today was amazing! I went to sleep somewhat early last night so that I could be somewhat awake when one of my new friends picked me up at my hotel at 6:30 am. While I was totally not excited to wake up so early, I couldn’t wait for the rest of the day.

To start off, me and one of my students’ uncle had pho and bananas at a sidewalk restaurant. It was very delicious, but I woke up with a slightly strange feeling in my stomach, so I was a little weary of eating street food today. All is fine though (for now at least), so it was a good call. After we finished breakfast, we drove to his house (which was beautiful!!!) and met up with his wife and two sons (1 year old and 7 years old). Vietnamese houses are incredibly different than western houses. For starters, they are very narrow – basically all of them are only one room wide. There is definitely a French feel to the architecture – but is also clearly Chinese inspired as well.

Anyway, after my tour of the house, we drove for about 1.5 hours to a village called Bac Giang, which is the home town of my student’s mother and 8 sisters and brothers. Along the way, the 7 year old son and I chatted in English, and he tried his best to teach me some Vietnamese. All I can really remember is “thank you,” “hello,” and “goodbye” though haha.

Bac Giang was amazing! It’s not the kind of place you’d find on any tourist maps of Vietnam, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see what real Vietnamese life is like. First, I was introduced to many of my student’s aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, grandparents, etc… Then, my student’s mother gave me a tour of the village pagoda – which the grandmother is in charge of. It was really great!

After we walked back to the house (passing a variety of cows, chickens, and other livestock along the way), we had a HUGE lunch. Apparently, Vietnamese families often gather up the extended family and have elaborate meals whenever there is a special guest. I really felt very honored, and everyone was so nice and friendly to me.

The lunch consisted of many different dishes. There was a rice noodle soup, sticky rice with corn, strips of some kind of pork, tofu, fried tofu, greens, chicken (with the bone, skin, and marrow still attached), big chunks of pork with the skin on, and the most interesting dish I’ve ever eaten… Now, I know what you are saying – how much more interesting can you get than beating cobra heart?! Well – I definitely topped it today when I ate a sort of soup made out of congealed pig blood, some sort of meat, and peanuts. I was definitely nervous, but being the guest of honor, it would have been rude not to try it – so, I did! It actually wasn’t half bad. (but I don’t plan on going back for seconds any time soon :)

While lunch was taking place, my student’s mother informed me of a special Vietnamese tradition – apparently, it was her job to take me around to each of the 6 or so seating areas and get introduced and have a drink of wine with each person! Now, I learned earlier in my trip that what the Vietnamese call wine, is actually VODKA! Luckily, it turned out to be a shot per area – not per person. Thank goodness. 25 shots of vodka would surely kill me haha.

Anyway, after lunch, we all chatted a bit more, and then my student’s mother had her driver (she is a very important business owner) drive me, her, and her brother and sister in law to the airport so I could catch me flight to Laos. I am so thankful to her for the amazing experience she provided me – I really feel like I made about 25 new friends here! My student’s aunt has also arranged for one of her friends to show me around Ho Chi Minh City when I get there later in my trip.

So – after the goodbyes and a few photo ops at the airport, I boarded my 1 hour flight on Lao Airlines to Luang Prabang. The flight was okay – It was a very small twin propeller plane, so you really could feel the turbulence and the movement of the plane more. But, the flight crew were very friendly, and I was impressed with the meal they served – especially since it was only a 1 hour flight!

So, now I’m in Luang Prabang! My guest house is pretty basic, but my room has a nice balcony that looks right into a temple across the street, has cable tv, and a good working air con (which is most important in Southeast Asia in Apirl/May!) I already went exploring a bit and stumbled upon the night market, which was really cool. (I saw lots of souvenirs that I have my eye on.)

There are lots of various tours, treks, boat rides, elephant rides, etc… available, but I think I will spend tomorrow just wandering around and exploring all of the local temples and sights. I’ll save some of the tours for days 2 and 3 here.

Anyway, it’s getting late now and I should get some rest for tomorrow. I LOVE THIS TRIP!