15
December, Yen Lac to Binh Gia, 67km
Truong Nhan Guest House 200,000VND
Hello, hello, hello... Rural Vietnamese are totally in
touch with their environment, completely aware of what is happening in their
hamlets. In the mountain air, sound carries clearly, assisting their senses
pick up anything new or untoward. Our passing never goes unnoticed, therefore,
and just one “Hello” called out to us by just one villager alerts others to our
presence. Women step from their homes or shops to enthusiastically wave a
baby’s hand in greeting, the tots sometimes so young they cannot focus on us
before we move on by. Youngsters yell “Hello, hello, hello” as we approach and
“Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye” at our departing backs. Men call out more sedate
greetings. One cyclist blogger wrote about how exhausting it can be to answer
every “Hello”, saying he and his partner had begun to limit their daily
responses. This caused me to ask at what point one should stop bothering to
reply. My answer, shared by Charl: “Never”. It can be tiring to respond to a
hundred or more smiles and calls each day, and at times I can hear my responses
becoming strained. But each “Hello” from a Vietnamese child is unique and fresh
to him or her, and our response not only a politeness, but an exercise in
building good relations between east and west, host and guest. A good ride on a
narrow, isolated stretch of road. In Binh Gia we found only one guest house,
but good value for money, and dined on street food from two separate vendors.
Between Yen Lac and Binh Gia
Between Yen Lac and Binh Gia
Between Yen Lac and Binh Gia
Between Yen Lac and Binh Gia
Between Yen Lac and Binh Gia