By Gary Corbett
With a population of 92 million people, 70 per cent of whom live traditional lives in tiny towns or rural areas, Vietnam is a country balancing precariously between an agricultural, rural past and a runaway urban future.
But while the relentless march of progress and emerging western influences are obvious in cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang, fortunately when you get out of the cities and into rural areas you can still see the ‘real’ Vietnam.
Out in the countryside time appears to have stood still. Paddy fields continue to be tilled by bullocks as they have been for centuries, villagers toil for long hours using hoes and spades and the main form of transport is the humble bicycle …life in general just seems to move at a much slower pace.
For any visitor to Vietnam it is here in small villages and towns that you experience firsthand the real charm and hospitality of the Vietnamese people and marvel at natural beauty of the countryside, as I discovered recently while enjoying the SpiceRoads Cycle Tours ‘Vietnam Heritage by Bicycle’ tour from Hue to Hoi An in central Vietnam.
It was here in the countryside where I started to fully understand why Vietnam is recognised worldwide as a dream location for photographers.
Quite literally there is a photo opportunity of an amazing landscape at every turn. But more than that, it is the people themselves who are the main photographic attraction. Smiling, happy children, women selling fruit and vegetables at the local market, villagers’ working in paddy fields… just about everyone has a face that almost demands to be photographed.
The contrast between the faces of the innocent young children running out of their homes to say “hello” as we cycled past to the weather beaten faces of elderly men and women still working in the paddy fields was amazing.
Each and every one was a photograph waiting to be taken – especially the craggy, lined and weather-beaten faces of many of the elderly who had worked outdoors for all of their lives.
Clearly we didn’t need to know the details of the difficulties they have faced over the years such as war, hunger, drought, flood and back-breaking hard work – the whole story was there on their faces.
According to the ancient Chinese tradition of face reading, our faces reveal not only the type of life we have lived, but also how long we will live. Clearly it would be fascinating for a face reading expert to study some of the faces we saw during our travels – each one would be an epic of War and Peace proportions!
It was also out in the rural villages that we experienced firsthand the genuine hospitality of the Vietnamese people. Offers of food and drink were common as were the number of people who showed genuine concern that we were lost – or had simply gone mad.
While we couldn’t understand what they were saying, the looks on their faces and the pointing said it all, “what the hell are you doing riding in the rain when you have a perfectly good van following you!”
It was equally as heart-warming when we were invited by the parents of a just married bride and groom to join the wedding reception that was in full swing.
My only wish was that the moment could have been caught on video. It clearly wasn’t, so I will have to make do with words.
The Scene: Five bedraggled, wet and mud-splattered cycle tourists – plus one grinning tour guide – stop outside a marquee adorned with pink and red ribbons and bows and a picture of the bride and groom.
Question from cycle tourists, “Do you mind if we take a few photographs”
Reply from guest who speaks English, “Not at all come in and join us, do you all want beers?”
Collective reply from cycle tourists, “That is an incredibly generous offer, but look at us we are filthy.”
Reply from English speaking guest, “No problem, you are still more than welcome what do you want to drink?”
With at least 100 people at the reception in the marquee by now looking on, it was at this point that we thanked everyone for their generosity and hospitality and reluctantly bid our farewells after snapping a few photographs.
Maybe on another day when we weren’t so wet and filthy we might have stayed and enjoyed the hospitality on offer, but at the time it seemed the right thing to do to leave.
Nonetheless the experienced helped to serve as a good illustration of the generosity and hospitality of the vast majority of the Vietnamese people we encountered during our SpiceRoads cycling tour.
