Hellooooooo
I decided this year to go to our home in the countryside (Tien Giang Province) for TET holiday to see my wife's family. We loaded up the car with those TET holiday food hampers for the family that most supermarkets supply and not forgetting the 'Lucky Money' envelopes for the kids... on arrival the neighbourhood which is normally quiet was buzzing with families reuniting an abundance of husbands and sons and daughters returning from HCMC where they spend so much time earning a living for their families back home...in the evening music and Karaoke drowned out the sounds of nature and live stock...tiger beer flowed and great local food was devoured...what struck me most was the unity of family and how important it was and the respect shown to the elders.
The children having had their 'Lucky money' envelopes and the shear joy of seeing their faces when they realise that they can afford to buy any sweets or a new item of clothing at the market...I enjoyed the evenings with the sky full of stars and sounds of traditional Vietnamese music playing and eating strips of cured pepper beef and cold tiger beer with my wife's brothers... I love the striking difference between the countryside and HCMC ...yesterday I spent time picking fresh mangoes, papaya, Coconuts Guava and bananas ...its almost a total detox of mind and body when I am here, however, today my utopia was shattered when I woke up to find a large group of Vietnamese men on the empty plot of land next to my home staging a 'Cock Fight' which is illegal in Vietnam..this is a regular occurrence in the countryside but I was not expecting it here, I was told by my family not to intervene but I am not a fan of this type of bloodsport and was pretty pissed off to see so many young children watching this spectacle...I wrote this post to encourage new expats to Vietnam to maybe someday take a trip into the countryside and experience the real Vietnam....
chúc mừng năm mới