June 9th

by - June 11, 2019

We woke up early to go to the local Sunday market that goes from 5 a.m. to10 a.m.  It was very busy and hard to navigate.  They were selling homemade rice wine by the barrel full and everyone seemed to be getting drunk on wine and energized by the Red Bull.  Then we went for a cup of coffee.  We ate at the same restaurant for breakfast...noodle soup again.  Then we showered and packed up.  We hit the road and after about 20 minutes we realized we were going in the wrong direction.  It was the most beautiful drive, but it was very crowded.  We saw tons of pot plants being grown right out in the open.  There were tons of locals traveling back home from the market and also many tourists driving the Ha Giang loop.  We stopped in a small town for lunch.  She used someone's math homework to wrap our bahn mi sandwiches.  Once we got to Du Gia we checked into our homestay.  I booked us a bungalo and then had to change the date, which caused much confusion.  Our bungalo was lost in the mix.  We stayed in a private room in a different house.  By house I mean a huge wooden building that was built on stilts.  Then we grabbed our swimming suits and headed to some waterfalls.  The drive there was stunning.  When we got there it was only locals.  Bart jumped off some cliffs with some of the guys.  The water was super clear, cold, and refreshing.  There was a lot of video taping going on(of us).  It was a bit awkward, but everyone was very friendly.  Then we headed back to get gas.  We relaxed and watched the locals picking the rice and then later feeding the rice into a machine that separates the rice from the plant.  We signed up for the family dinner.  We wanted to get the whole homestay experience.  The food was served on bamboo mats and everyone sat around on the floor.  We talked to a couple young guys front the states and shared a shot of rice wine.  It was an unbearably hot night as there was no AC.  We were glad to have the experience, but decided we woulnd't be doing again.  Hotels rooms are just as cheap, provide AC, and also allows us to avoid forced socializing.





















































You May Also Like

0 comments