Bag all packed up and ready to withstand the elements -- good thing
too since we got out fair share of rain over the course of the trip. Mr.
Sao and I spent 3 days touring the Vietnamese central highlands. Most
of the time was spent in the little explored countryside, a gift that! I didn't know what to say about this experience, there was just so much! So I decided to just share what it was like with a few of hundreds I took during the trip.
View from the road:
A local going about the important business of dish washing:
One of the many fruit stands at which Mr. Sao stopped for snacks. He was great at making sure I got to taste every fruit Vietnam current has to offer (unlike back home, depending on the season, different things are for sale):
One of my favorite stops: the orchid farm!
Seeing the overpacked motorcycles made me think of the Philippines:
A monkey-bridge! They call them that since you look like a monkey when you try to walk across it!
Beautiful scenery, shifting skies... I never got tired of just enjoying the ride:
One of the many man-made reservoirs used to power Hydro-Electric dams. Locals use these new bodies of water to create a living for themselves by fishing these waters. Many people from the Mekong Delta in the south move to such new spots -- they've got the skills to live on water! One of the many fun sights was seeing the unmistakable glow of a television in one such floating house. How did they get electricity there?!
A happy guide! It was so much fun to laugh with Mr. Sao:
He also had a great heart: we often stopped in villages populated by the hill tribes, minorities that live in Vietnam. These minorities tend to be very poor. Mr. Sao brought along gifts for the people who live there, I was very moved by this generosity:
"Hello!" is yelled out by waving children on their ways to and from school. Mr. Sao explained to me that kids only go to school for 4 hours a day here, so there are always children milling about on the road. He told me this was so that more kids could attend the same school. I also means that kids can help out around the house or farm when they aren't in school:
Share the road!
More road sharing:
Mr. Sao stopped a lot along to way to show me different plantations and factories so that I could learn how things are made and where they come from. These are red curry seeds:
We also stopped every day for some "morning exercise" which turned out to be jungle trekking! Lots of fun, and it wasn't too warm out since it was still early in the day:
My favorite time of day: meal time! Mr. Sao made sure to have me taste the best of the best of Vietnamese offerings. Yumm-mmy! My favorite was this restaurant on our last night, Banh xeo and fresh spring rolls:
Another minority village. This time Mr. Sao whipped out a bag of candy. The little guy in the middle has a great sweet tooth, he was positively glowing:
No comments:
Post a Comment