Our Visit To "An Tru"
Where is "An Tru" you ask? Or... maybe you didn't ask! Anyway, "An Tru" is about 75 km from Hanoi. It is a 1:30 hour ride by auto; 2 hour ride by motor bike; and a three day ride by water buffalo. We opted for the motor bike. "An Tru" is a small (by Vietnamese standards) village. Most of the people who live there were born, raised and will probably die there. Their main business is farming and specifically rice farming. We ventured there because it is the home of a friend of mine who I met in 2005. He used to work in a book store in Hanoi, but now works for a Japanese company in the city of Hai Duong which is only about 35 km from An Tru.
It was a real adventure for our family because it was our first time outside the city limits on our motor bikes. Because we were wearing our helmets I don't think we were stared at too much. Our only mishap was a flat on Robin's bike. Fortunately, the flat occured within about 20 feet of a repair shop. Of course in Vietnam there are motor bike repair shops about every 100 ft! Once we met our friend on the main road, we followed him the rest of the way to his home. It was a traditional Vietnamese countryside home. The traditional home has a main house where people sleep and where the family altar is located. Outside there is another building where food is prepared. There is also a well for water and a garden in the back along with a few livestock. I will not describe the other necessary room or hole!
Tru's family welcomed us with open arms. His mother retired this year from teaching school. She had taught her entire career in the same village. Tru, his wife and daughter and his younger brother lived with his mom in the same house. Tru's family had prepared a delicious meal for us and before the day was over a number of the neighbors had come by to see the foreigners. I asked Tru's mother if she could ever remember a foreigner, much less an American, visiting their village in the past... she could not! Who knows maybe we were the first! As you can see from the pics, we had a great time.
Where is "An Tru" you ask? Or... maybe you didn't ask! Anyway, "An Tru" is about 75 km from Hanoi. It is a 1:30 hour ride by auto; 2 hour ride by motor bike; and a three day ride by water buffalo. We opted for the motor bike. "An Tru" is a small (by Vietnamese standards) village. Most of the people who live there were born, raised and will probably die there. Their main business is farming and specifically rice farming. We ventured there because it is the home of a friend of mine who I met in 2005. He used to work in a book store in Hanoi, but now works for a Japanese company in the city of Hai Duong which is only about 35 km from An Tru.
It was a real adventure for our family because it was our first time outside the city limits on our motor bikes. Because we were wearing our helmets I don't think we were stared at too much. Our only mishap was a flat on Robin's bike. Fortunately, the flat occured within about 20 feet of a repair shop. Of course in Vietnam there are motor bike repair shops about every 100 ft! Once we met our friend on the main road, we followed him the rest of the way to his home. It was a traditional Vietnamese countryside home. The traditional home has a main house where people sleep and where the family altar is located. Outside there is another building where food is prepared. There is also a well for water and a garden in the back along with a few livestock. I will not describe the other necessary room or hole!
Tru's family welcomed us with open arms. His mother retired this year from teaching school. She had taught her entire career in the same village. Tru, his wife and daughter and his younger brother lived with his mom in the same house. Tru's family had prepared a delicious meal for us and before the day was over a number of the neighbors had come by to see the foreigners. I asked Tru's mother if she could ever remember a foreigner, much less an American, visiting their village in the past... she could not! Who knows maybe we were the first! As you can see from the pics, we had a great time.
posted by millerclanseasia | 6:01 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home