day 49 - exploring Mai Chau

Thursday, 12 December 2013

We slept pretty well at the home stay last night. While the walls were thin, we were given a thick, heavy duvet which kept the cold out and we were given a good breakfast to start the day. After breakfast, we made our way to the town and checked into the Mai Chau Valley View hotel for our second night in Mai Chau.

We were greeted by the owner, Mr Duong, and his friendly staff. We asked if they could arrange a tour guide for us for the afternoon and they said Mr Duong would take us himself. 

We set off with Mr Duong shortly after lunch and spent the next 3.5 hours walking through the surrounding villages and fields. Mr Duong grew up in a small village in the area and was a farmer before moving into the hospitality industry. He explained that farming is a difficult and inconsistent way to make a living which is why he decided to make the change. He now employs other people from his village so he can help them improve their lot. 

(Mr Duong leading us through the local's vegetable patches)

(A stilt house with a pond in which there are fish to eat)

(Puppies sleeping in a large rice basket outside of this home)

Mr Duong's English is excellent and it was wonderful to have the time to ask him all the questions that we had built up from the last few days alone. He explained to us that the villages we were walking through are those of the White Thai people which are an ethnic minority group who migrated here from China hundreds of years ago. There are many White Thai families scattered throughout Vietnam and Laos and they all share the same language and customs. 

(A typical village scene)

(Hardwood is stored in ponds to preserve it until it is needed for building)

(A local woman with a basket load of fabric)

We had noticed a large wedding function being set up on the outskirts of the village and Mr Duong explained that this time of year is seen as an auspicious time for weddings and building houses. As many local families know each other, there can often be three or four couples getting married at the same ceremony and there can be up to 1000 guests. 

Mr Duong explained that while the locals in some villages are now making a living from home stays and tourism, this would not have been possible before 1986. We were told that before 1986, life was much harder for the Vietnamese and many people did not have enough to eat. Everything was managed by the Party and people were not able to set up private businesses the way they can now. It was not until a new leader took over the Communist Party in 1986 that many of the rules were relaxed and greater Government assistance was given to the people. Land was divided up amongst families and people were then able to borrow money from the Government to buy animals. 

(A water buffalo owned by a local family is kept in a pen outside the home)

(A community house with a volleyball court out the front)

(A local man making chopsticks to sell at a market)

We asked why the houses are built on stills. He explained that there are different theories as to why this was done originally - one being that it was to keep families safe from the wild animals that roamed in the area, while the other theory is that it kept houses cooler in the warmer months. A house can often have three or four generations living under the one roof and we saw several houses that had coffins hanging in the ground floor area. 

Mr Duong explained that the people have a custom where if a member of the household falls ill, they will call the local priest to come over and pray for them. The following day, the neighbours will be invited around to dress the coffin and to eat a meal. The family will then tell the ill person that everyone has come around to say goodbye because that person is dying. This is meant to scare the person into getting better! Mr Duong said he had seen it work himself. But that it doesn't always have the right affect. 

(A coffin, still in the shape of a tree trunk, hangs below the main room of the house) 

The houses are often built with an odd number of steps to remind the families to work harder in order to afford to add an extra step and even out the number. Houses traditionally had thatched roofs which kept the house cool, until a local village was burnt down a few years ago as the result of a fire in a living area that got out of control. Many families now build a separate kitchen at the back of their houses and the roofs are now made of tin. 

(A house with a separate kitchen area added on to the back of the house)

(The man on the left bought a broken TV to sell the spare parts. The man on the right had stopped to inspect it.)

(Rice fields waiting to be ploughed)

(Women at work in the fields as many men leave the villages to work in construction)

We had a great time exploring the area with Mr Duong and felt we had a much better understanding of our surroundings. We had a wonderful three course meal at the hotel when we returned and with some advice from Mr Duong about where to find some accommodation on the road tomorrow, we feel we're set up for a good day ahead. 

Our next goal is to get to Cuc Phuong National Park which is south of Hanoi. We'll break up the journey with an overnight stay along the way and then spend two nights at the park before making our way north.