Good day everyone!
When you are too busy to take a long leave, a weekend getaway in somewhere nearby is not bad idea, isn’t it? Today I will recommend you a place that you can consider (if you are currently in Hanoi) for your short trip to escape the city.
Didn’t have much time to go somewhere far away, I and my co-workers chose nearby places for our bonding trip. It was just a weekend trip, we rented a villa in Soc Son District to get away from the bustling Hanoi, just to get some fresh vibes after a hard-working week. Since check-in time was at noon, we still had a totally empty schedule for the whole morning. We decided to pay a short visit to Duong Lam ancient village located just 50km from Hanoi.
Duong Lam – a typical Viet old village
As my co-workers coming from different parts of the country, and some of them are even foreigners, they are not so familiar with the culture of North Vietnam and would love to get to know more about it. Being one of the oldest villages in Hanoi and well-known for its historical and cultural features, Duong Lam is definitely an ideal place where my colleagues can have great insights into what the north of Vietnam was like in the past. We started from Hanoi at 7am and arrived Duong Lam at 8.30 am. Our schedule was that we would explore the village for about 3 hours, have lunch at a local house, then depart to our villa to check in at noon.
Passing through several vast rice fields, the charming village appeared in front of us with a huge banyan tree and a village gate lied aside a green river. Village gate is an integral part of the Northern culture in the past. People here normally lived together in a closed space which was called a village. The village gate was not just a boundary that separates this village from another but also became what villagers took pride in - a symbol of the whole village. Behind the gate was the connection of the community of villagers with a distinct culture, customs, and lifestyle which were not mixed with any other places.
There were electric sightseeing car and bicycle renting services available right at the gate of the village for tourists, but we chose to stroll leisurely through the village. It sounded exhausted, especially in the heat of June. However, it was very enjoyable as we could swing by any place that we felt like.
We booked a local to tour us around. His house was also famous in the village as it was one of the oldest here. We also planned to have lunch at his house too. Generations of his family had been living here for hundreds of years, the same period of time since his house was built. That is why he is very knowledgeable about the village as well as its history and culture.
The village dating back hundreds of years was characterized by ancient houses of the north of Vietnam, with the typical architecture built from brick and stone. We could see that the locals really tried to preserve those ancient construction works although there was already a mix of several houses with modern style.
At first, we stopped by Mong Phu Communal House which was an important part of the spiritual life of the villagers. The ambiance look of the House and the vast square yard in front was interesting to gaze at. Here was where many festivals, rituals, community bonding activities taking place. In every Northern people’s mind, “banyan trees, wells, wharf, and communal house yard” is an iconic image of the unique culture of Northern Vietnam. Although hundreds of years had passed by, the communal house was still there, not only attached to the daily life of each villager but also became an invaluable part of the community.
We strolled down those narrow brick hamlets to go deeper into the village to visit some of the oldest houses which were built hundreds of years ago. The villagers were very hospitable and welcoming. They offered us tea, shared their family history, and let us tour around their house to admire the old style that was still well preserved. The whole village brought us a vibe of peace and tranquility.
I just wanted to take a picture in front of a lovely door of an old house. Then suddenly, the owner opened the door and invited us to come in and look around. How nice!
The village was also the birthplace of two kings, two national heroes of Vietnam: Phung Hung and Ngo Quyen. The villagers considered themselves as descendants of the two kings despite the fact that the two kings were not their true ancestors.
Duong Lam village is well-known for soybean sauce. We could see a lot of houses having those clay pots covered with lids in their front yard. Those pots contained soybean inside, as a part of the soybean sauce-making process. We did try some in our lunch. Its taste was not quite familiar to me but it was worth a try.
Chillax time
We had lunch at a local house with all the food that this village is well-known for. After lunch, we headed to our villa in Soc Son District – a suburb area of Hanoi city. The heat of summer was no kidding, and we really expected to cool down there. The whole villa rent for 1 night was $450 which was kind of expensive. But the riverside view and the facilities proved it’s definitely worth that much. Kayaking in the river, bicycling around, BBQ partying, enjoying swimming pool, etc. It was really the best way to chill out after an exhausting week.
If you are also looking for a getaway trip on the weekend, maybe you can schedule a trip as we did. We indeed had a very enjoyable time.
