4 December,
Muong Kim to Ban Po, 60km
Rong Vang Guest House 200,000VND
As in other parts of Asia, many Vietnamese operate a
business from their homes. We dined tonight at a shop-house restaurant,
arriving just as the extended family was sitting down to a meal. Four
generations sat on a green and yellow reed mat on the floor. Spread before them,
a sumptuous repast comprising at least a dozen dishes. At one end of the room a
TV distracted them now and then from the serious business of eating and
talking. The family cat roamed the outer edge of the family circle, now and
then being thrown a tidbit. Earlier, while several family members got up to
provide us with food, the cat had grabbed a whole barbecued fish from a dish on
the mat; mom had grabbed it back and replaced it on the plate. A stray dog came
into the restaurant, politely hanging back awaiting a nonchalantly tossed
something, a random act of kindness. Usually the sleeping quarters are
upstairs, but in most shop-houses the evening activities – cooking, eating,
watching TV, doing homework, playing with the kids – happens at shop level.
Here, hard-working Vietnamese live lives of little privacy, ready at any moment
to drop what they are doing and service a client. Ban Po is just 5km from the
road we had originally intended to travel. Tomorrow we turn right there and
climb Vietnam’s highest pass.
Between Muong Kim and Ban Po
Between Muong Kim and Ban Po
Between Muong Kim and Ban Po
Between Muong Kim and Ban Po
Between Muong Kim and Ban Po