Travelogue 12/12: Explosives and Tea Parties
Last night: I was speaking to the owner of the homestay I was in about dinner. A BOOM went off in the surrounding mountains.
What was that? I asked.
A bomb. He replied so casually that I could tell this was a common occurrence and then he picked up where he had left off in our conversation about dinner.
The homestay is situated in Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park, which has the world’s highest concentration of unexploded ordnance. I asked if the explosion was from one of these bombs, left over from war. No, he explained that bombs are used to cut through the rocks of the mountains.
First tea party of the day: After biking through farms looking for cemeteries, I came up on a small resort. I went inside to try to find water and a western bathroom (soap++). The resort seemed to be vacant of guests and the water was overpriced, so I left. Outside the path to the resort, Vietnamese men were sleeping in hammocks and playing cards. Beyond them women sat together, in red plastic chairs, drinking tea next to carts from which they sold drinks. They tried to overcharge me for water as well, but when I offered the correct price, they didn’t argue. Instead they pulled out a red chair inviting me to join them. The chair was the size you might find in a kindergarten classroom. I sat down and they asked where I was from. When my pronunciations of “America” and “USA” failed, I pulled up a map of the US on my phone and they nodded in clear recognition. They asked me if I was married, pointing to my ring finger. Their fingers wore no rings either, but they told me that they were each married and had 2 children. One of them was the mother of the woman who had sold me the water — a youthful looking grandmother. We covered a few more topics with gestures and Vietnamese names of places and then they returned to conversing among themselves. The grandmother clearly had strong opinions that the others respected.
After several minutes like this, another woman drove up on a motorbike. She began what seemed like a heated discussion with them. I wondered if my presence was the issue, but if it was, they were too polite to look towards me. So I thanked my hosts, shook their hands, and rode away.
Well paved roads: It felt like a surprise treat when I found a quiet road through farmland that was well paved. Most other roads through sparse areas like this were dirt or riddled with potholes and were uncomfortable to ride on. The maintenance of the road was explained when it ended in a pocket of under-construction or deserted resorts. This place may be changing soon.
2nd tea party of the day: It was lunch time. A woman called out for me to come eat at her roadside restaurant. It was an outdoor establishment with one plastic table, a portable stove, and some pets. She had two customers, Vietnamese men, and the meal they were sharing looked good so I sat down next to them. We exchanged introductory nods and I ordered the vegetable portion of what they were eating. The two men were drinking from white cups with a blue floral pattern that were the size of shot glasses. They offered me my own filled cup, but I declined because I thought it was a shot of rice liquor and I planned to hike afterwards.
The men spoke no English but we still held a light conversation about food and bicycles. They laughed when I handled more than a typical share of fermented chili topping on my food. When they found out I was unmarried by inquiring about my ring finger, one suggested I marry the other. Haha. We joked about this several more times because it was the only joke we could share.
When we finished eating, they lit cigarettes, which they offered to share as well, and then pulled out a teapot. They refilled their tiny cups and I realized I had misjudged them before. When they again offered me one of the tiny cups on the table, I took it. Two more men arrived and joined us. We sat in silence. They smoked. We all sipped from out shot glass sized cups. It was a tea party.
Climax of the day: climbing to the top of the cavernous cliff that houses the Bich Dong Pagoda. The caves and ridges of the cliff are lined with shrines and above them there’s a view of the surrounding rice patties.
