The Oldest Village In Vietnam

(PICTURE: The fourth oldest house in the oldest village in Vietnam.)

The second stop on our tour of Son Tay was to the oldest village in Vietnam. We strolled around the village while getting an excellent guided tour by Mai. After asking some locals, we headed towards the fourth oldest house in the village.

The owner of the house invited us inside and told us about the history of the house and his family. He is the 10th generation of his family to live in the house. His children are the 11th generation to live in the house.

(PICTURE: The home owner smoking from a traditional Vietnamese tobacco bong.)

The owner is actually a journalist and lives in Hanoi during the week and comes back to his village home on the weekend. His wife, the art teacher at the school in the village, and his children stay in the village year round. Here's a picture the wife drew of her husband:


As I was walking around the village a strange man wearing a leopard print winter hat gestured for me to come into his house.


I followed him inside and he led me to a little gallery where there were tons of picture of Ho Chi Minh and other famous Vietnamese officials. It turned out that this man was the grandson of the former Vice Prime Minister of Vietnam.

The other strange thing that I saw in THE OLDEST VILLAGE IN VIETNAM WAS this:


(PICTURE: Engraved above the entrance to one of the houses in the oldest village in Vietnam).