I spent almost 5 years of my life living in the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi for school and after 1 month of working there, I gave up. The vibe of that city just never fit me, I never belong to that place. Grew up in a countryside village nearby the Red River, I had the most beautiful childhood that I could think of. We were always out, we tried to sneak out of our house, we had all the freedom we wanted. The only thing that kids from the countryside like me did know at that time is the world outside of our bubble. I started to backpack non-stop when I was at the second year at university as the first step of my dream to become a nomad. The memory is still so freaking vivid, I only got $100 left in my pocket after booked the cheapest train tickets. Even when I graduated and make a little more money, I still love backpacking.
My last trip as a broke student was right before the hardcore lockdown in Vietnam, and it was Pleiku, the red-soiled highland of Vietnam. After I quit my office job, I went back to this city with my partner. But this time, my feeling for Pleiku totally changed. I wanted to stay long-term here, so did we.
Where is the village am I talking about?
Kids watching the cows on a terrace rice field that already harvested.
Most of people might know Pleiku, Gia Lai as one of the largest coffee in Vietnam and the lake call "Bien Ho". But we were not really into the city center. The real ethnic area must be 8km from there and our favorite village, Ia Sao is about 15km, that is where all the ethnic tribe living in.
We went to Ia Sao lake at least one time every week. Ia Sao is not that big compared to Bien Ho but so much more quiet and peaceful. We could sit there the whole day without seeing anyone comes.
That sounds funny but the thing I like the most is when I met those kids were riding bicycle home from school, some of them stopped on the road to steal fruits from the farm nearby. It just reminds me so much about my childhood, kids is exactly the same every rural village.
On the other side, there are some kids quit school really early to work on the farm with their parents. Some of the other kids may have left the village to go to the city to look for a job to help their parents earn money to send them to school. I feel lucky because I don't have to work hard at an age where I'm still playful and haven't had much experience, although if I were to choose again, I wouldn't be passionate about going to school even though I used to be a very competitive kid while studying.
I notice many farmers go back and forth all day busy themselves with the farms. Sometimes they carry fertilizer, sometimes water for irrigation, sometimes they pick up other people. They all drive the oldest bike I have ever seen, no helmet, no mask in the dust of summer days. I felt kinda awkward to be the only one wearing the mask so I just took it off and convinced myself that who knows breathing in the dust would make me stronger.
An idea popped up in my head that maybe sometimes too scared of something is not a good thing, too scared of what is right or wrong might waste too much energy. I should just focus on living for today and the moment that I'm still alive.
We had a hammock coffee on the road on the way back. Lots of people came here to take a quick nap after their long long drive. I am pretty sure this is a Vietnamese thing since none of the westerners I know ever think that this exists in other countries. I barely tried this one or two time in my life even I saw this everywhere on the main road because the way the hammock stringing give me the car sick feeling. And I do not like it.
But the lockdown really changed my mindset for lots of things that I thought they were just typical and not special. Things that I wished I could do more. And who knows we finally can road trip without any restrictions, I will sleep at the coffee hammock feeling happy.
Thank you for your time of reading and support!