Journey to Hoàng Su Phì (to Vietnam's terraced rice fields) 12 A banquet with the Red Dao people

Travel is full of all kinds of encounters, one extraordinary moment after another. My mind and body are taking in stimulation big and small. This time, for the final stretch of the trek, the plan was to drop in on a local indigenous family's home for lunch. After that, we were to head to a nearby hot spring... Honestly, I was already more than satisfied after the observation deck in the first half, but the main event starts here. At the point where we came down the mountain path, there stood a small single-story house, and when I was shown inside, there was a spacious earthen-floored room.

There is a hearth in the center

It looks like tea is being brewed. Along the walls and corners, a small but tidy kitchen

The spacious house feels clean and refreshing

They're apparently importing rice-terrace rice to China, so big straw bales sit thump-thump in the room

Rice is apparently also delivered to the second floor, reached by ladder. When welcomed inside with warm invitations

First, the father (probably younger than us) welcomes us by brewing tea. The Red Dao family is a household of five, headed by the 82-year-old mother, and also including the young married couple and their grandchild. Their smiles are wonderful, and they treat us warmly. According to Vy, our Vietnamese companion, they converse in their ethnic language, so there are apparently many words even she doesn't understand. Because Vietnam has 54 ethnic groups, it's not so much a matter of dialects — the languages themselves seem to be entirely different. She laughs, saying, "Even as a Vietnamese, I don't understand it~." Even so, while we make full use of gestures and body language to communicate, the young couple prepares a meal for us.

This is the lunch I was looking forward to. A big feast! We all sit in a circle and eat together

Rolled omelet, simmered winter melon, sautéed and simmered green beans, winter melon salad, sautéed pork and wild boar, steamed dishes, and deep-fried fish without batter.

As expected, the main dish this time was the deep-fried carp (probably crucian carp). Crispy on the outside and fluffy inside! The seasoning was light overall and absolutely delicious. What impressed me the most was the winter melon salad.

Slice the winter melon thinly, then add herbs and nuts and mix them together. It's a dish with a slightly sweet-and-savory seasoning (not too strong), a crisp, crunchy texture, and the fun, hearty mouthfeel of the chunky nuts. This is something I'll definitely be trying to copy often. Well, the banquet is really starting to liven up, and the women of the Red Dao ethnic group wrap their scarves around their heads as they join in.

When you eat in a lively gathering like this, naturally the local sake comes out... It's sake made from rice. The homemade shochu kind. (The stuff kept in a plastic bottle.) It's really quite dangerous, you know. You knock it back in little sake cups, and since it goes down so smoothly, you get carried away and keep gulping it down, glass after glass. The way this young couple could drink... The young wife, still only 20 years old, apparently had been drinking since she was 15 or 16. She really seemed to love her alcohol.

Your son's carefree smile. Without any shyness, he offers everyone a smile and a rose... This auntie is completely smitten. It's almost frightening to think how he'll grow up... The party suddenly livens up with the appearance of the 82-year-old grandmother.

Glug glug glug... glug glug glug... glug glug glug... The men and the women alike ate well, drank well, and chatted away.

Even though we couldn't understand each other's language, and I have no idea what was said, it was so much fun. Maybe I was just drunk? No—it was that indescribably warm atmosphere flowing through that space. A meal shared while exchanging smiles and saying, "This is delicious, isn't it?

Time spent eating together, happy time. We drank a lot... truly

The men are toasting up a storm too. Um, we're headed to the hot spring next, right? lol

Of course it was hard later. But this too is part of the journey, precious time. Migration Life Ranking