Colorful and educational Sunday market, Flat tire woes, Lots of rain and then some sun

The morning started off at our Dao Homestay. Their lifestyle is agricultural and our meals were farm to table. While we were there I noticed how sustainably they live, from composting, to feeding scrap herbs to the fish, to the way they collect rainwater, to field irrigation, and more. I wish I could have learned more, but it was market day (Sunday) so we all left early to go. First, we went for a short hike to a beautiful waterfall near our homestay.

Feeding scrap greens to the fish at Don Dao Homestay 

Veggie pho for breakfast 

A waterfall was a short hike from our homestay

I'm standing on very slippery rocks

Don Dao Homestay 

A Vietnamese school - many children board because they live too far away from school 

Next stop was the Sunday market in Tam Son. It is a market where many different ethnic minorities go to buy and sell goods. One of the main ways you can tell which ethnic minority someone is from is by their headdress. I loved looking at the different clothing that people were wearing based on which hill tribe they are from. The colors and patterns are striking. This market is for locals (not tourists), so Fallon and I were the only white people that we saw. 

Besides learning about some of the different ethnic minorities, it was very educational to see the different relationship that people in VietNam have with animals. Meat is very fresh here and in order for that to happen, they are transported in many different ways - being carried by foot, on the bicycles, on motorbike - people are very resourceful. We also saw a variety of animals (alive and dead) being sold. I even saw cooked dog (but I didn't put the photo in the blog). Interestingly, I decided before I even came to VietNam that I would be a vegetarian for my trip.

Dao people heading to the Sunday market 

A chicken bag - that's one way to carry you chickens home from the market 

Spices for sale at the market 

A woman doing some hand stitching at the market 

So many veggies that are new to me

A young boy selling some dried dish and the woman in blue is squatting in a way that is super common in VietNam - it makes my knees hurt just looking.

Duck to go - they were still quacking 

A woman selling chickens

Lots of poultry for sale

Pigs for sale 

Pigs in bags

A Dao woman selling fabric, yarn, etc

Dao women making a transaction 

A group of Dao people buying seeds

The food court at the market 

Where the food is cooked at the market 

Such beautiful handiwork 

Dao people buying vegetables 

Dao people selling lots of different kinds of rice

I think the logs have been inoculated with mushroom spores

The town of Tam Son

A Dao woman with a tire basket

After we left the market, we hit the rode as we had a lot of kilometers to travel. The weather was suboptimal as in rained a lot. My $.25 poncho was not very durable, but I found a sweet plastic option in the plastic bag from Mama's House - score. All day it would downpour and then stop and then downpour and then stop - this meant that we spent a lot of time taking off our rain gear and putting it back on. We got to the point where we felt like we could control the weather - if we took off our rain gear, it would guarantee that it would rain.

Waiting out the monsoon in front of a communist party meeting house 

My super sweet rain gear 

Lunch at a roadside place to wait out the monsoon 

A town tucked into a valley

There are crops planted everywhere - even on the super steep hillsides

There are people everywhere in VietNam. You can look out into the mountain hillsides and there are people harvesting crops. Even in places that seems super remote, there are people working. The work looks backbreaking. We saw countless people of all ages walking up steep slopes with heavy loads. The youngest children seem to be left to their own devices. They play independently (and sometimes very close to the road). 

H'mong flower girls of Lau Chi on the Sung La pass

Check out the road that we rode our motorbikes

So many families just pack onto motorbikes.

Our motorbikes

H'mong flower baskets

Playing in creeks is universally enjoyed by children across the globe 

A H'mong young boy with a traditional instrument 

A H'mong woman hauling a heavy load 

Rice noodles 

Scenic visits along the motorbiking route are everywhere 

Snacks along the side of the road - we ducked under cover to wait out the downpour.

Snacks along the side of the road 

The off and on rain was making us a little bit chilly and it would not be daylight for too long, so we decided to just head straight to Dong Van where our hostel was rather than take a longer more scenic route. It was shortly after this decision that Fallon got a flat tire - a screw was to blame. Luckily there was a mechanic that was not too far away. He was able to motorbike to us and fix the tire lickety split. We were back on the road in no time.

Sight of the flat tire 

Sitting by the side of the road eating fruit waiting for the mechanic to arrive.

The mechanic fixing the tire right in the road

Once we were back on the road, the scenery towards Dong Van was outstanding. It was the first time we had seen the sun all day.

The sunlight on the mountains 

Landsides are common along the road. I think this guardrail has a limited lifespan.

Our hotel room cost $10

Dinner so delicious 

Overall, it was a great day. I'm getting better at motorbiking so it is less stressful. The market was unique and we capped off the day with a big and tasty vegetarian meal.