From Hanoi, I head northwest towards Mai Chau where I
want to do a homestay visit with a local Hill Tribe family.
Lan, my Hanoi interview is joining me for the trip,
to help with translations.
She has never been to this region of Vietnam,
so it is a new experience for both of us.
There are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.
Most are located in the remote highlands.
I love the legend of how all the ethnic groups came about.
A Dragon King, from the Southern Lowlands, married a
beautiful Princess, from the Northern Highlands.
They made their home in the mountains, where the
Princess gave birth to 100 sons.
After a while, the Dragon King pined for his watery
low land home, and decided to return, taking with
him 50 of his sons.
The remaining 50 sons are said to be the ancestors
of the current Hill Tribe minorities.
The village of Ban Luc, where we stayed, was made
up of an ethnic group called White Thai.
Four hundred years ago, this group moved to Vietnam
from Thailand, turning marshlands into fields along
the rivers and mountainous valleys.
It was a great experience to stay with a family in their
traditional stilt house, with bamboo slate floor and
palm leaf roof.
To see how they cook,
to wander the idyllic village and get a glimpse of rural life.
We got to try local specialities like bamboo rice
and a home made alcoholic beverage
drank through bamboo straws.
Trang, our host, explains more what a homestay involves.
First of all, we are very friendly. Deep in our souls,
we are very welcoming. You will never come to stay
with a Thai family and be left sleeping cold at nights
or eating bad food even though you stay with the poorest.
That is the love.
Secondly, people come here for our culture.
Most Thai people are farmers, and we have to work in the fields.
We compose songs by ourselves to sing & perform
to us and to the people around, to encourage
ourselves and all the others.
All the dance moves, musical instruments, by that,
we can entertain us and tourists, and by that,
we believe in ourselves more. That is our culture.
I must say, the song and dance show was fantastic.
The people appeared proud of their culture and tourism
seemed to be helping in keeping it alive.
Tourism has brought here many good things.
We feel more open, and it has helped better our lives
either in a material way or in a spiritual way.
However, tourism has some effects on environment, our daily life.
WeÕll have to educate our children better so that they will
understand the importance of traditions and keeping it.