Bắc Ninh

Yesterday, I visited Anh Hung in Bac Ninh province. He was one of the first Vietnamese friends that I made in Hanoi in 2006. I try to meet him and his family each time I return to Vietnam. I consider him like a brother and he asked me to be godfather to his daughter, Quynh. It was my second time meeting her.

Once I arrived, Quynh was scared of me for most of the afternoon (who can blame her when a random, foreign stranger suddenly turns up). Finally she became more comfortable and I was so chuffed when she wanted to share her milk with me.

In the evening, we had a small gathering with Hung's family and neighbours. It was great seeing familiar faces and it made me feel like I was a 19 year old, on my gap year all over again. They have some animals in their courtyard, so the chicken was definitely fresh! There was so much food, including fish, soup, chicken, tofu, spring rolls and vegetables.

The next morning, I was able to spend more time with Hung and his family. For breakfast we ate trứng vịt lộn, or balut (duck embryo). We also had homemade bún chả and nem.

Quynh loves to sweep up around the house. After she tidied up, she enjoyed watching some videos and looking at pictures on mobile phones. One of the best feelings was counting in Vietnamese with her.

Hung's wife, Chung asked me to help her make spaghetti. After eating, it was a resounding "the spaghetti is bland and not salty enough" for the Vietnamese palate. Luckily, they had also prepared pho cuon.

I love spending time in Bac Ninh. Hung's courtyard now has a bathroom with hot water and he has a small area for his salon so that he can work from home.

Driving through the streets of Bac Ninh Province, you get a real sense of the countryside life; tropical trees lining the roads and workers in conical hats in and around the rice paddies. There are absolutely no tourists in the area where Hung lives, so there are some shocked expressions when the see me and the word "tây" (Westerner) can regularly be  heard.

Hung and his family may not have a great deal in terms of physical possessions, but they do have kind hearts. They treat me, an outsider who often has no idea what is going on, as one of their family. I have many treasured memories here and hope to have more in the future.

Hôm qua, tôi đã đi nhà Anh Hùng ơ Bắc Ninh.
Tôi coi anh ấy như anh trai của mình. Con gái Anh Hùng rất dễ thương. Em bé này là con gái đỡ đầu của tôi.

Nghĩ về gia đình Anh Hùng, lòng tôi dâng lên những cảm xúc tuyệt vời.

Cuộc sống nơi vùng quê thì ít ồn ào vội vã.