Ilona and I enjoying our wifi equipped bus!
We had planned stay at a homestay in the village of Thon Tha (about 10 minutes from the Ha Giang bus station) but we were not exactly sure how we were going to get there. (There turned out to be no shortage of taxi drivers!) When we got off the bus, taxi drivers swarmed us and invaded our personal space. I had to get very strict with them and tell them where to stand! I was grateful for having such a small compact bag because it was easier for me to be aware of my stuff. After we finally agreed on a price, Ilona and I were surprised to find out that the taxi and was a brand new Toyota Corolla. The driver dropped us off at a very dark road and told us to get out. We had no idea where we were going but we started walking down the road.
It was so dark and we had no idea where we were going!
When we finally saw a person, I showed her my iPhone with the name of the homestay and she pointed us in the right direction. After a bit of confusion we were taken to Mr. Cay’s home and got settled in.
Mr. Cay’s home
My bed
When we got to Mr. Cay’s home, we met Kay. She was another guest and she lived on the Big Island! We had fun talking about Hawaii and how small the world is! After eating a delicious dinner, Mr. Cay took us to another home where his wife, along with a bunch of other women were hanging out. All the women welcomed us, fed us a second dinner and insisted that we take shots of “happy water” or “rice wine” or in actuality, liquor!
Girls night out
Not sure what number we are on! We kept getting handed shot after shot and told to drink!
The environment was so nice and relaxing. The women sat around in a circle, ate, laughed, drank rice wine, breastfed, took care of the kids, and assisted with homework.There were only a couple men in the house and they were not part of the circle. They sat in the opposite side of the house, watched T.V, smoked cigarettes and drank tea.
I had fun playing cards with the kids.
Sweet cousins! The older one was so loving and protective.
It felt so good to be out of Hanoi and all the other big touristy cities I have been in!
