Villages and Countryside of Vietnam

Although Vietnam’s cities continue to grow rapidly, the majority of the country’s population (about 65%) still lives in rural areas. Fortunately, we had a chance to observe life in villages and the countryside. 

One of the first rural areas we visited was in the north of the country, where crops grown included bananas, papayas, kumquats, and, of course, several varieties of rice. I was surprised to learn that Vietnam is the world’s second largest producer of rice (after Thailand). There are two annual rice harvests in the northern part of the country and three annual rice harvests in the south. 

We stopped at a village located between Hanoi and Ha Long to meet a family and to learn about the steps involved in rice processing. Banners at the entrance to the village proclaimed its status as a “model” or “civilized” village. An explained that this official designation meant the village met certain requirements, such as no alcoholism, basic sanitation, all children enrolled in school, etc. As part of the program, inspiring patriotic messages from the government are broadcast on loudspeakers placed throughout the village at 6 o’clock every morning. Judging from the houses we saw, the village seemed quite prosperous. 

Entrance to the "civilized" village in the north

Processing rice

While we were staying on the central coast in Hoi An, we also had a chance to get a close look at the rural side of Vietnam when we boarded cyclo-rickshaws and set out on narrow roads through the rice paddies. 

In the midst of the fields, we came across a group of people gathered at a family shrine in the local cemetery. Later, An told us that it is customary for the Vietnamese to rebury their dead after 3 years. Families turn to a shaman to determine the optimal final resting place according to feng shui principles. Failure to adhere to these principles supposedly can create problems for the descendants of the deceased. 

In Cam Thanh, a small village along the Thu Bon River, we saw many spacious modern two-story homes as well as several smaller and older dwellings. The village often experiences flooding during the rainy season. 

We stopped to visit an elderly resident of Cam Thanh, a woman in her 90s, who lives in a very flimsy-looking structure formerly used for storage. An explained that her husband had been killed in the French War and her son had been killed in the American War. Since both had served the South Vietnamese army, the woman was not entitled to any government pension and survives on the charity of the other villagers. She has a television but no telephone. When she needs help, she summons her neighbors by striking a gong. 

We watched as she prepared betel leaves to chew by smearing them first with a white paste made of slaked lime. Her longtime addiction to chewing betel leaves accounts for the rotten condition of her teeth. This is not an uncommon practice in Vietnam and other Asian countries, particularly in rural areas. 

As we walked along the Thu Bon River, we met a farmer who introduced us to his water buffalo, a gentle creature named Binh. 

During our stay in the southern coastal city of Nha Trang, we donned helmets and hopped onto motorbikes for a thrilling ride through the countryside. Don’t worry – I was the passenger, not the driver! 

In the bamboo village of Xom Gio, we met the village chief and learned about his interesting background (drafted into the South Vietnamese army, sent to a re-education camp after the North Vietnamese victory, and later achieving this position of importance). He and three generations of his family live in a simple but comfortable home. In addition to weaving bamboo baskets, they raise fighting cocks and scrawny chickens. 

With the village chief and his wife in Xom Gio

In the kitchen, we prepared lunch under the direction of the chief’s Amerasian wife. Our meal, which we ate outdoors in the shade, included soup, rice, white tuna with tomatoes, baby bok choy, mixed vegetables and squid, and a selection of tropical fruits (custard apples/cherimoya, longans/dragon eyes, guava, jackfruit, rambutans).   

And since the village is known for its bamboo basketwork, we got a lesson in basket weaving. 

Afterwards, we made a quick stop at a roadside family enterprise that produces bamboo chopsticks. 

Up in the mountains outside of Dalat, we followed a series of switchbacks through the scenic countryside on our way to a coffee plantation and an isolated “banana village.” Both were located not far from the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Coffee plantation

This area of Vietnam has rich volcanic soil, which makes it ideal for growing coffee. I was surprised to learn that Vietnam is the world’s second largest coffee producer, after Brazil. Robusta beans account for approximately 97% of the production. Along with a guide from one of the hill tribes, we visited a coffee plantation where we sampled the most exotic – and expensive – type of coffee the country produces. 

I’d never heard of weasel coffee before I came to Vietnam, but I soon heard the story of how this delicacy is produced. The weasels eat the choicest ripe coffee fruit, and these coffee berries, which pass through the digestive systems of the animals, are retrieved from the weasel poop. Supposedly, the digestive enzymes alter the taste of the coffee berries. In fact, some claim that weasel coffee has a distinctive red wine taste. Others make the claim that it helps burn fat. Even if there was some truth to these claims, I wasn’t at all sure that I wanted to let weasel coffee come into contact with my lips.

The season for harvesting coffee is October through January. Since it was mid-February, we saw only a few coffee berries remaining on the trees, along with some fragrant white blossoms. However, on the ground was large shallow basket filled with bright, shiny coffee berries. In an identical basket, we noticed curls of unprocessed weasel poop.  

I took a deep breath before entering the weasel house. In a dimly lit room, I peered through the bars of the cages at about a dozen animals of all ages. I hate to say it, but even baby weasels are not cute. 

After the weasel viewing, we went into the home of the family that owns the coffee farm. First, our guide told us more about the weasels (their diet consists of bananas and raw beef in addition to coffee fruit) and quizzed us on coffee trivia (Q: Where was coffee first grown? A: Ethiopia). 

At the coffee farm: members of the hill tribe family

Our guide preparing weasel coffee  

Then came the moment of truth. A dozen or so small glasses were arrayed on a tray. Our guide poured a small amount of weasel coffee into each glass. I was the first to take a sip of the deep, dark brew. Everyone looked at me, waiting for my reaction. “It’s okay,” I announced with relief. In fact, it tasted just like coffee, with no “extra” flavors. And although it was quite good, I’ve decided that drinking weasel coffee is so special that it deserves to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

In the nearby “banana village,” officially known as Buon Chuoi, we got an up-close look at the lifestyle of the K’ho Chil tribe, one of several hill tribes that make their home in the central highlands of Vietnam. The hill tribes, known collectively as Montagnards, have had an uneasy relationship with the Vietnamese government for several decades. Many tribes who originally lived in the north were forcibly resettled in this area. Although they were provided with land, houses and schools, the Montagnards waged an unsuccessful struggle for an independent state from 1990 to 2014. Today, the government strictly controls access to the region.

The K’ho Chil people who live in Buon Chuoi practice subsistence farming. Like many of the Montagnard tribes, they embraced Christianity while maintaining some of their traditional animist beliefs and practices. In the photo below, you can see a traditional pre-Christian totem in the foreground and the local Catholic church in the background. 

The village chief, an 86-year old man, welcomed us into his home. His wife was seated on the floor, weaving a piece of cloth in the traditional style on a simple loom. The couple has 9 children, the youngest of whom is 35 and still living at home. Interestingly, Chil tradition dictates that when a son marries, he leaves his parents’ house and moves in with his wife’s family. 

A member of the chief’s family gave us a guided tour of the village and the surrounding fields by pulling us along on a flatbed hooked to the back of his tractor. While the views were quite interesting, the roads weren’t paved, resulting in an incredibly bumpy ride. In addition, it was the dry season, so when we climbed out of the flatbed, we were covered head to tie in a layer of fine red dust. 

  

The route back to the city of Dalat brought us once again through the lush countryside of Vietnam’s central highlands. And at a stop along the way, I enjoyed a cup of coffee (the non-weasel variety) and purchased a hand-woven souvenir of my visit to the hill tribes. 

Weaving done by hill tribeswomen