Although we didn’t get up particularly early, we managed to improve by an hour compared to the last few days. Malte had already received a few calls from Chi Nga, Haiyen’s cousin from Hanoi, on the answering machine. She urgently wanted to reach us because she had an appointment in Thanh Hoa, which meant the planned dinner had to be canceled. Thanh Hoa is a city about 200 km south of Hanoi and the place where Haiyen’s father grew up. Chi Nga offered us an alternative to visit family, including Haiyen’s uncle’s family, with her. We were supposed to leave from her apartment in Hanoi in an hour.
At that time, we were still far from ready and still had to pack, so Malte decided to skip the three-hour drive while Leon was still sleeping. However, our morning routine went better than expected, and we decided on short notice to go along after all.
So, in no time, we tidied up, took out the trash, and packed the backpack. It took – believe it or not – only 30 minutes.
The ride towards “Big C” (or “Go”), where Haiyen’s cousin lives with her family, went well, although we were quite heavily loaded as two people on a motorcycle with luggage and various gifts. Upon arriving at the house, we could park our motorcycle in an underground garage designated exclusively for motorcycles. Cars were not allowed and had to be parked in front of the house.
After a brief confusion because the parking attendant sent us to the wrong of two identical buildings, we arrived and greeted Chi Nga, her two children, and her husband in their apartment. There was a brief discussion and sad faces because our ride in the car would have meant that the two children could not join. We offered to simply go with the motorcycle. In the end, however, a solution was found so that we all fit in the car, although it became a bit cozy. Before departure, we were invited to have a bite at a restaurant where Leon could try Banh Cuon and Bun Cha for the first time. Very delicious and definitely not the last time!
The car ride was long and exhausting, especially since we were both still quite tired. Malte usually drove this route in a darkened minibus and had a good view of the surroundings for the first time. Leon drove on a Vietnamese highway for the first time.
Along the way, Malte saw an area where almost exclusively pineapples were grown. The fields looked fantastic as the plants were densely packed and even grew on hillsides with tied-up leaves. Leon mostly slept during the ride.
We arrived in the late afternoon at the village a few kilometers from Thanh Hoa. The family of Haiyen’s uncle welcomed us warmly, and dinner was already being prepared by the hostess.
Malte took Leon on a short tour to show him the surroundings, including the large river, the neighboring village, and of course the village itself. Although the sunset had already passed, there was a beautiful, reddish, warm evening atmosphere.
We had a delicious, traditional dinner with the whole family. A large rice mat was laid out in the center, with various dishes in bowls placed in the middle. Together with a bowl of rice, we enjoyed spring rolls, vegetable soup, chicken, meat with vegetables, and the matching sauces, as well as the herbal schnapps – specially made by the host.
After dinner, we enjoyed the evening relaxed on the terrace with green tea from Chi Trang’s home region and chatted a bit with the translator and with the help of Chi Nga. We were completely exhausted and surprisingly fell asleep at 10 PM. We hope to finally get a handle on the jet lag.
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