Birthday and Beyond

I woke up in a very comfy 3 dollar bed with Zoe singing Happy Birthday, a tiger balloon (the only variety available since it is the year of the tiger), and silly neon flower decorations scattered. We then headed off with a guide on motorbikes stopping at various points throughout the day.

Stop one: an insect farm that mass produces and sells crickets, flies, and scorpions. After a little deep frying or being soaked in rice wine these bugs are considered delicacies. This stop also included a sampling of some saturated and burnt tasting deep fried crickets. This marks birthday treat number one.

Stop two brought us a market which was of course bustling for Tet. The scary items of the market where finally identified to us and we discovered why some older people here have pitch black teeth that look like they are about to fall out. It is actually done on purpose as it is believed that by chewing on this one certain plant actually will strengthen you teeth despite turning them pitch black.

The next few stops brought us to a silk factory, a waterfall and then a rural Cham village. We were welcomed into one women's home and she was very open to answering any questions and despite this we all left somewhat heart broken. This women had birthed three children, two completely by herself and while pregnant with her third her husband was taken away by his family. The village is matriarchal so the women have to pay for their husbands and when her husbands family came for money or a gift she had an unsatisfactory amount to give and he was taken to be married off again. At 30 and supporting 3 kids and a blind father she will now most certainly live alone for the rest of her life as paying for a husband again would be virtually impossible. Money is made by weaving fabric which takes 3 days per piece and then sells for 5 dollars, if it does sell. I also can't see the meager situations in the village improving for generations because although school is paid for by the government because they are a minority, the children still work to support their families before they ever reach a level of education that could actually send them to a real job.

The last stops we tried tons of fruits that we always see but never knew how to eat or pick out in the market. We now are very fond of some funky fruits that hopefully can be found in Seattle. A Tet treat was also passed around with a sweet inside and a greenish outside that tasted mildly grassy. It turns out the green goo was baby cow poop. Our guide kept saying, "Oh but only baby cow- good poop." And, that marks birthday treat number two. There was also a tarp shack that housed rows of mushrooms we visited before motorbiking home.

Once back in Dalat I then lived it up in your traditional birthday sense thanks to mom. Zoe and I got 90 minute oil massages and a fancy dinner with four desserts.