(Backup) Rice Patty Farm and Relaxation!

What a week it has been!

Rice Patty farms were among the next of our excursions.  This day gabs a true insight into what it takes to be a Vietnamese farm worker.  First off, the amount of time and energy that goes into harvesting rice is just unexplainable.  Rice is such a major exportation for Vietnam, it is no wonder their culture works so hard.  People who work in the rice fields have little education and hope for a future.  It was explained to us that unless families can provide the necessary funds (about $50 a month per child), the children have to work as well and create a vicious cycle for this work and lack of education.

Kim and I had a first hand experience doing this work.  According to our itinerary, we were to leave around 2 to work.  Because of the impossible heat, we were called upon our arrival at the Golden Sand Resort (still unclear how they knew to connect with us as we were checking in-- this happened numerous times on our trip), to see if we could come around 8, being picked up at 7:45 am from our hotel.  We agreed.  The morning that Viet, our amazingly well-spoken and outgoing tour guide, picked us up, we went to a neighboring hotel, where we met Jack, a New Yorker here on a month-long adventure through Asia.  We were on our way to our 1/2 day Rice Patty adventure and so excited about what was to come!  Kim, Jack, and I were all dropped off at our bicycles around 8:15 where we biked through small concrete streets surrounded by rice patty fields. This was the first moment Kim and I realized that the streets were narrow and motorbikes could do anything.  I am shocked one of us didn't end up inside the muddy rice fields.  This was also the moment that Kim and I realized they were MUDDY! Rice is grown on weeds in wet fields, curated by buffalos and humans to be sure they are harvested properly.  We also found out in this moment we would be harvesting barefoot because the mud would be up to our knees, at least.  This trips motto should be "expect the unexpected..."

The bike ride was long and hot to say the least.  We got to see a man blow torching pig heads in the streets, endless workers harvesting rice around us, random marble headed gravestone epitaphs, and many tour groups connecting rice patties all around us.  It was a sight to be seen.  The tour group, Jack Tours, led us to a small house connected by rice patties where we dropped our bikes and were able to see a local daycare.  As teachers, Kim and I were excited to get this opportunity to connect with children.  First noticing, the children were behind bars.  Secondly, the children had barely any toys in a one-room home with a cold, lamanent floor, where they slept on only a pillow. Thirdly, they were all so excited ay the visitors.  Our tour guide shared with us how excited the kids got every time a tour group would come through.  The kids loved holding our hands, blowing raspberries, and making silly faces.  Amazing how laughter and love could be portrayed despite the language barrier.

We then were taken to the Rice Patty farm!  This was a little pavilion across from the house connected to a field that was newly harvested for the rice.  The first thing that the men and Viet brought over was the water buffalo.  The water buffalo, costing $1000, is a sacred animal to the Vietnamese people because of it's importance to the rice industry.  The water buffalo's job is so important to setting up the farm to make sure rice can be planted properly.  We rode the buffalo (and stood on them), raked the mud, used a tool to get rid of the water from the muddy waters, and then were able to plant the seeds, harvest the rice and see how a tool separates the rice from the greens.  So much goes into making sure rice is harvested and then we found out the broken rice (it was ALL broken!) goes to rice milk and rice paper-- not the actual rice we boil! We were shocked.  We put the broken rice into a stone tool that turned it into rice milk and proceed to cook it into these pancakes that Kim and I pray we will remember to make. 

They taught us out to make the pancakes out of the fresh made rice milk, egg, shrimp, sprouts, and I hope nothing else. We each made our own food and then we're brought into the house in order to enjoy it. The kids were taking a nap from the daycare so we got to enjoy watching a Vietnamese child take a nap at daycare. No cot. No blanket. Small pillow. Adorable. And so simple. We ate, enjoyed our time with Jack, and we were on our way back. 

This day truly gave us insight into life as a farm worker in Vietnam. It was quite experiential. This is the hardest worked people We have seen. You just do. No complaints. Nothing. 

 

 

Day 4....

After 3 days in Ho Chi Minh, we were on our way to Hoi An, an ancient town outside of Da Nang. Suzanne from Allambie met us at the breakfast buffet at our hotel to say goodbye and we departed saying "see you later..." and not goodbye. I think both of us, especially Kim, have this desire to come back in the near further to spend more time with the children of Allambie and be more involved in the orphanages.

We packed our bags and got into a taxi to take us to the airport. First question... the international airport, the taxi driver asked? Kim and I assumed but really had no clue. This taxi driver was probably the first time we had a serious language and communication barrier. So we were frustrated to say the least. It was about a 30 minute drive to the airport. Traffic was horrendous. Kim and I just were in awe of how many people were in the streets... where were they going? What were they doing? People don't work jobs like we do in america and other first world countries so it's always so busy during the day. Just fascinating. 

The taxi driver dropped us off in front of the airport, demanding 1,000,000 dong. The meter read 134,000... so either he had a language barrier or we got played. I didn't have enough money. This was the first moment kim and I panicked. I had to go to the ATM and I told her to get out of the car with the bags so he couldn't drive off. We clearly were paying way too much for the taxi ($50) but it didn't matter at this point. People here expect payment up front. Everything costs money. Kim and I have even ridden a water buffalo on the beach and when we were done the man kindly said, "money?"  To go to the doctor/hospital, you have to pay up front to receive service. How scary in a medical emergency for these people to need to pay, as poor as they are, in order to get help...

So... we paid and we're safely at the airport... 

The day was full of travel. We got to the Ho Chi Minh airport and went to the domestic airline terminal. It was cool bc this was our equivalent to flying to Baltimore fro CT. Many, many more tourists or "white people" around. We deducted that Hoi An was that much more of a tourist destination based on the families we saw. Many Australians, British, and very little Americans. Our flight was slightly delayed but we found others on our flight and stuck together so we all knew what we were doing. One thing culturally we noticed is the pushing and shoving. Kim is getting extra frustrated. No lines, and if there are, the Korean people (lots of tourists) just push in front. It too, is interesting to watch. Makes you wonder why and how this can be acceptable. But how important to understand about other cultures and why they behave the way that they do. 

Kim and I got on the plane after riding a bus through the tarmac and getting on from there. Kind of fun to do so! We waited another hour before take off and we were on our way... ir was only about a 1 hour flight to Da Nang... when we arrived, it was flawless. Grabbed our baggage, found our driver from the resort we would stay at next and we were on our way to Hoi An, a little fishing town right outside of Da Nang. 

The drive was incredible... we drove along the beach to our left and villagers to our right. The poverty here is still so rampant. When I looked out my window to the left, we passed tens of resorts, some private and some with some bigger name hotel names like Sheridan and Crowne... on the other side of the street, were the real, authentic people of Da Nang and Hoi An (the resorts spanned the entire 30 min drive). People were cooking and cleaning dishes on the ground, many local, small restaurants, homes with 1 room (no doors so you could see in)... garbage everywhere. But a happy people. I'll say it again, they live simply and family values are so strong here. They don't know what they don't have and they truly want to see others happy which is probably why the industry here is so reliant on gifts/souvenirs and food. Everyone eats. All the time. It costs about $1 (20,000 dong) to feed one person all day... 

Kim and I arrived at hotel and were awe. The next few hours, before bedtime, were spent walking around, admiring the unbeleivable view of the islands, and getting our excursion situated for the next day. We were happy to be in a place where we wouldn't have to move for 5 days so we could focus on our observations of the culture and soak in the beautiful sun. 

Thank you for following us :) Pics will come later when I add them. It has been troublesome trying to do this on our wifi from the hotel. But we hope you can imagine what we are experiencing here!