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00:00In my circuitous route to enlightenment, I find myself this time in herbal hot water in a stranger's
00:16house in Vietnam in a barrel. We're just gonna put a tap on it, just draw off a pipe of Bill Bailey's
00:29bath. Flog it. Five pound a pipe. Yeah, that's Bill Bailey's bath water. This time, I'm in
00:40the mountains of Sapa. Vietnam. Of course, it's a place of tea plantations, traffic, temples,
00:56but then it's something else entirely. Come with me on an unusual, unfiltered, unforgettable
01:10adventure. My mind's off on a whole bunch of other tangents. I'm thinking about a sandwich
01:18I had in 1982. As this nation commemorates 50 years since the end of the war. I'll explore
01:26this fertile land, ask the big questions. Am I in the right place? Embrace new experiences,
01:32even my own future. Prop them, you're smart and tested. Is there any, you know, good news? Navigate
01:41tight spaces. I'm not entirely sure how I'm gonna get out. Make some new friends. Separated at birth.
01:48This is a voyage of discovery, of strange encounters. This is your whole life in a plant. And kindred
01:54spirits. An enchanted stroll to one of the most fascinating places on earth. Welcome to Bill Bailey's
02:02Vietnam adventure.
02:20Sapa, the rooftop of Vietnam. This little town is perched high up in the Hoang Lien mountains, the
02:28south-eastern tip of the Himalayas, just a stone's throw from the Chinese border. It's in beautiful
02:35surroundings. Rice terraces wrapped around steep hills, clouds languidly drifting through the valleys.
02:43It's a lovely spot where time seems to slow and the roads are decidedly rural. But Sapa's not just about
02:54the views. Here is home to a patchwork of local cultures, each with their own language, dress and
03:01traditions. So over the next few days, I'll be trekking in these hills, staying in homestays, tasting the
03:08local food, trying to get a sense of what life is really like here in this remote stunning quarter of
03:15Vietnam. While trying to avoid the potholes.
03:20If I was to say to you that I was lured to Vietnam's idyllic north with the promise of the best bath a
03:31person can have, would you believe me? You would. All right. Great.
03:35Hello. Hi, I'm Bill. Nice to meet you. I'm Mei Chan. Mei Chan. Yes.
03:41Mei Chan is of the Red Tsao Hill Tribe. They originated from China, coming here from the 13th century.
03:48And what's quite amazing, given the turbulent history and rapid development of Vietnam, is that
03:54hill tribes still exist at all. So I went to see a priest in Hanoi and he said I need to take care of myself.
04:04Better. I see. So I'm interested in the fact that you collect herbs and plants for medicine and for
04:14remedies. Yeah. We use a plant around our village for our health problem. I show you the room. Yeah.
04:21So you can put the bag in the room. Great. Come in, please.
04:23Mei has generously opened her house to me as a homestay. For the next few days, I will live as they do in the
04:31mountains. No fancy room service or air con for me. And I'm happy as a lark.
04:39Mei and her mother-in-law are taking me foraging for herbs, bath herbs to be exact, 1500 metres above sea level.
04:46So now we are going to the forest to pick some plants. And then we come back and I show you how it's
04:54worked with the herbal bath for you to heal a little bit your body, get better, no flu, no
04:58coos anymore. That sounds great. All right. So you wear this one like us. Like a backpack. And now we go.
05:03Yes. All right. Local backpack. Yeah. Oh, there we go. It's okay for you? I think so. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
05:11Okay. Now we go this way. Okay. The operative word when talking about hill tribes is hill. Everything
05:18is a climb. It's not quite mountain goat territory. But for a flat-footed Englishman like me,
05:24every step is fraught.
05:28You okay?
05:30Hold on.
05:32What's going on?
05:34Some challenge.
05:36Okay.
05:38Hi.
05:39It's a bit slippery.
05:41Yeah.
05:42I nearly went.
05:44Yeah, we need to be careful.
05:45You saved me. Thanks. High five.
05:47I thought I'd worn the right shoes, but clearly not.
05:50Okay.
05:52I'm normally very sure-footed.
05:54I'm actually a Capricorn.
05:56You know, I'm a goat.
05:58That's my star sign.
06:00The goat is normally very sure-footed, but I don't know what happened there.
06:05I slipped in a quite alarming and undignified way.
06:10How far is it to the forest?
06:13We need to walk maybe three kilometres more.
06:17Okay.
06:20Okay.
06:21All right.
06:22Okay.
06:23I'm up for it.
06:24Let's go.
06:25Be careful.
06:26Three kilometres?
06:27I've never worked so hard for a bath in my life.
06:30But May assures me it's well worth the effort.
06:33So, lead on, I say.
06:35Your mother-in-law spotted something that we might collect.
06:39Ah, yes.
06:40She sees some plant here that we can collect for the bath.
06:43Right.
06:44We call red-style herbal bath because only our people, we have the knowledge about the
06:49plant.
06:50And we have been using this one for many, many generations.
06:55You know, what was the use for?
06:57Is it for health reasons?
06:59The herbal bath is special for healing our body.
07:02Hmm.
07:03For relaxing our muscle, relaxing our skin, relaxing our mind.
07:07So, we learn from mother, the knowledge passed from the mother to daughter.
07:10She know, like, around more than 200 different plants.
07:13Right.
07:14And she knows the recipe to combine the plant together.
07:17But to me, I know only even, not even 100.
07:20So, we need to learn a lot from the old generation.
07:23All right.
07:24So, what's, what is this she's picked up here?
07:26Having a snack?
07:27In the forest, yes.
07:29All right.
07:32What is that?
07:33A chute of something?
07:34You can eat.
07:35The young one like this, we can cook or we can eat like this.
07:37Yeah.
07:38So, when we go to the forest, we're hungry or something, we know what we can eat.
07:42So, just cook it.
07:43Mmm.
07:44It tastes like ginger.
07:47It's nice.
07:48Quite a little bit sweet.
07:49Lovely.
07:50You like it?
07:51Yeah.
07:52Great.
07:53Here we are, high in the remote mountains of North Vietnam, plucking leaves from the forest,
07:58prepping for a bath.
08:00This could be the best day ever.
08:01You try.
08:02Slowly.
08:03Perfect.
08:05Travel's a funny thing.
08:07We can go to extraordinary places and take a million selfies.
08:10But the simple wonder of eating a fresh ginger root in the forest will stay with me for a
08:15long time.
08:18As will the aftertaste.
08:23You have this life here.
08:24You're in the mountains and growing your food and being in this beautiful spot.
08:30You know, some people might envy you.
08:31You know, some people might think this is a lovely lifestyle.
08:35This is a lovely way to live.
08:36Yeah.
08:37But it's hard though.
08:38It's hard work.
08:39Yes.
08:40Yes.
08:41I think the people living around here, we have good health and we work a lot.
08:46People are more happy than compared to lots of people who live in the city.
08:51Maybe when you work with a computer or something in the city, for the company, you're always
08:56stressful.
08:57You need to find a solution for a lot of things.
09:00Yeah.
09:01We have no money.
09:02But we are more happy, I think.
09:04I think.
09:05May voice is something that in Western society we often aspire to but struggle to achieve.
09:11The idea of being surrounded by simple stuff like mountains and fresh air creating a kind
09:17of contentment, a yearning that material wealth can't fulfill.
09:22I'm just taking a moment to take in this view actually.
09:26Yeah.
09:27It's just quite beautiful.
09:29Look, I know what you're thinking.
09:49What herbs and leaves were collected, Bill?
09:52What makes the perfect bath bomb?
09:54May wouldn't reveal her secrets, so neither will I.
09:58Whoops!
09:59No, no, no, no.
10:00Sorry.
10:08So, I'm quite excited about this.
10:10A couple of new experiences for me which I'm always up for.
10:15First time having a bath in a barrel and also just first time in a barrel.
10:21And, I've got to say, I've never got into a bath made from herbs that I've just collected
10:28in a forest.
10:29That is another.
10:30There's three firsts.
10:32Brilliant.
10:33A trifecta of new experiences.
10:36But for now, if you'd like to give me a modicum of privacy and I will immerse myself
10:43in holistic herbs.
10:47See you in a bit.
10:48Those of you of a sensitive disposition might wish to look away now.
11:01So, this barrel aged Bill Bailey.
11:05This is how you make a single malt Bill Bailey.
11:10Put one in a barrel, leave him there for 12 years.
11:14Absolutely vintage.
11:17And it is actually lovely.
11:20It's very lovely.
11:21I've got to say.
11:22I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to get out.
11:26But that's not my concern at the moment.
11:31I've got to be here for 20 minutes.
11:32I could be just carried in a barrel everywhere.
11:35Oh, that would be so great.
11:37Yeah, Bill Bailey's coming, but he insists on being carted in a barrel.
11:41I see.
11:43And I just hold court somewhere.
11:45Yes?
11:46Approach the barrel.
11:47You have a question for me?
11:50Right.
11:51Okay.
11:52And then I'd answer questions, sign photographs, and then I'd go, leave me.
11:57I'm tired of your company.
12:01Leave me to the barrel.
12:03Leave me unto my barrel.
12:06It's barrel time.
12:09I want some me time in my barrel.
12:12I honestly thought this barrel would be a little bit bigger.
12:23Bathed, refreshed, and thankfully dressed.
12:26And there on the breeze I can hear music.
12:29The soundtrack for the simple love.
12:36People have been seeking enlightenment here for thousands of years.
12:40And the go-to for any modern guru is Mount Fancypan.
12:44The tallest peak in Indochina.
12:46A place of reverence.
12:48And one that I must climb.
12:50But it's a three-day trek to the top.
12:53Well, it was.
12:54Because in 2016 they installed a cable car for lazy pilgrims like me.
13:01It's pretty wild, isn't it?
13:02I mean, it's amazing.
13:03Rice terraces all up and down the valley.
13:06Forests, ridges, mountains disappearing up into the clouds.
13:10It's absolutely spectacular.
13:20But there it is again.
13:22The music on the breeze.
13:23That's nice.
13:24What's that coming out of the speakers?
13:26Well, in case you get bored of the view.
13:36Welcome to the Sun World Cable Car Disco.
13:40I love this one.
13:41All right.
13:42Is there any way of turning it on?
13:43No.
13:44Apparently not.
13:45Well, would you?
13:46The yoga retreat section of the ride.
13:52Be at one with the cable car.
13:53Embrace the altitude.
13:54Let go of earthly thoughts.
13:55Be at one with the cable car.
13:56Embrace the altitude.
13:57Let go of earthly thoughts.
13:58Elevate your mind to a higher plane of consciousness.
13:59You're not going to be that way of moving in.
14:00This is the next door off.
14:01Let go of the tent.
14:02Oh, it seems to be in the middle of the night.
14:03Something of a better look.
14:04That's right.
14:05I'm not going to do it.
14:06But I'm not going to go off.
14:07I'm not going to do it.
14:08Let it go out.
14:09I'll do it.
14:10Let it go.
14:11If you're going to do it.
14:12Let's go off.
14:13If we need to go off.
14:14Let us go off.
14:15The fun side.
14:16We're going to do the same thing.
14:17We're going to be back.
14:18We're going to the same thing.
14:19We're going to do it.
14:20We're going to try.
14:21We're going to do it.
14:22Elevate your mind to a higher plane of consciousness.
14:33It's out.
14:39Oh.
14:41It's chilly up here.
14:43I suppose we are over 3,000 meters up,
14:46top of the tallest mountain in Indochina, so yeah.
14:49Amazing feat of engineering, this thing.
14:54It's in the Guinness Book of Records
14:56as the longest free cable car anywhere in the world.
15:01It's a bit of fun fact.
15:03So, here's the sign here.
15:05That's the total of meters, 3,143 meters.
15:09So, Fancypan Summit, this way.
15:15Down the stairs?
15:19As it happens, the down part of the climb was a cruel trick.
15:24There's still a few hundred steps to go
15:27and a carefully worded message from the Surgeon General.
15:30This is with a history of cardiovascular diseases.
15:33High blood pressure.
15:34What?
15:35High obesity.
15:36For losing health, may experience bitterness.
15:38All right.
15:39So, this morning, you might experience altitude sickness,
15:44shortness of breath,
15:46because the oxygen levels are quite thin.
15:48Yeah.
15:49I'm getting a bit of that.
15:51Let's go.
15:56Vietnam, for many visitors,
15:58could be remembered for a variety of extraordinary things.
16:01But, for me, ice cream seems to be a recurring theme.
16:08Summit ice cream.
16:12Oh, it's a lot smaller inside.
16:17Here we go.
16:18On the summit, there's a steel pyramid,
16:21which was installed by Soviet engineers in 1985.
16:25And, er, this is a pretty accurate scale model of it
16:29in ice cream form.
16:30Cheers.
16:36Oh.
16:38It's good.
16:42Oh.
16:44Clears your head.
16:45Gets your lungs working.
16:49Not quite there yet, but...
16:50I'm sure there'll be another ice cream shop
16:52before the summit.
16:57More stairs, more music.
17:00I'm sure I've heard that in every spa I've ever been in.
17:03Not that I've been in that many spas.
17:04Not that many spas.
17:07I have been in many, many spas.
17:15This kind of music
17:18You hear it everywhere
17:22Makes you feel like sleeping
17:29But when you hear it
17:31Up a mountain top
17:34It makes the spirits start weeping
17:40Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
17:44Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
17:48I wish I had a cheesy ice cream
17:53Right.
17:54Not far now
17:59What's that?
18:00It's up here I think
18:03It's just up there
18:04Thank you
18:05Yeah, just through there
18:07I must look like a guide
18:11Honestly, it's one of the great benefits of getting older
18:13People just defer to you like you seem to know what you're on about
18:16I reckon I could stand in most public buildings in the world and just go yes through there
18:21People just think I was staff
18:24Through here
18:26Just my party
18:28Meters from the summit and barely discernible in the clouds
18:32A lovely treat
18:34Not more ice cream but a temple
18:36And what a temple it is
18:37I do feel a little closer to God up here in the heavens
18:42Though my thoughts go out to the monks who built this place
18:45I'm guessing they didn't have the advantage of a cable car
18:48In the swirling mist with limited oxygen pumping to my brain
18:53It's truly spiritual
19:00Wow
19:01I did not expect this at the top of the mountain
19:10This is extraordinary
19:21Final push
19:23One step after another
19:25Knowing at the top otherworldly riches will surely be gained
19:31One step after another
19:32One step after another
19:33One step after another
19:34One step after another
19:36There's an ice cream shop
19:38Yes
19:44Oh what?
19:45Finish?
19:47Oh
19:49****
19:51But there is also
19:53This
20:01That is pretty spectacular
20:10The rooftop of Indochina
20:16It's an extraordinary view
20:19Amazing sight of peaks, mountains disappearing off into the clouds
20:25And that temple was quite something
20:28I mean I just did not expect that
20:31And I guess that's a reminder of also what this place is
20:35It's not just
20:37Tourist attraction and natural wonder
20:40It's actually a place of prayer
20:42A place of worship
20:44So it kind of lends it another spiritual element to it
20:48Which is very lovely
20:50For every spiritual Mount Fancypan
20:53There is an accompanying, not so spiritual, tourist hub at the base
20:58In this case, the mountain city of Sapa
21:00In this case, the mountain city of Sapa
21:09This city has a history that needs to be appreciated
21:12So sit back while I bring you the abridged Bill's Notes version
21:15Sapa is a buzzing, energetic, regional town
21:22Skateboarders, young couples taking Instagram ready snaps at sunset
21:28Restaurants and bars opening up for business
21:32It's got real energy to it
21:36But it wasn't always like this
21:40In the 19th century, this place was subject to a lot of armed raiders coming over the border from China
21:46Trying to control the trade on the Red River
21:48And that was extremely valuable
21:50Sea salt from Vietnam, opium from Yunnan province in China
21:54Fabrics, manufactured goods, all highly profitable
21:57So it was of huge strategic importance
22:02And thus fought over many times
22:04The place was sacked, burnt down, rebuilt, attacked again, rebuilt
22:10And this went on for years
22:13Until the end of the 19th century
22:16When the French started to take over control
22:19And from that point on, it was hugely popular as a cool mountain retreat
22:24Then all this changed after the Second World War
22:28The Viet Minh invaded, the French were driven out
22:32And as a kind of a parting shot
22:36In 1952, French headquarters ordered the aerial bombardment of Sapa
22:41And the place was absolutely battered
22:45The government's mansion was destroyed
22:47The villas, even the sanatorium, it was all gone
22:49People abandoned the city
22:52And it was left empty for about a decade
22:58In the 60s, people started to venture back
23:02Still it wasn't really a tourist destination
23:05That only started in the 1990s
23:07People started to come here
23:09It became a very popular centre to go
23:11Trekking, there's some fantastic mountain trails
23:13Trekking through the rice terraces
23:15Visits to the local villages of the Hmong and Tsao communities
23:18But it wasn't until 2016
23:21With the opening of the cable car up Mount Fanzipan
23:25That things really took off
23:27And now, the place is a mecca for tourists
23:31And this has brought a huge amount of money into the local economy
23:36Local communities are offering
23:38Trips around the rice terraces
23:41Home stays in the valley
23:42So, Sapa in the last 75 years has had quite the turnaround
23:49From bombed out ruin to what it is today
23:52An Alpine boomtown
23:54History lesson done
23:57And now, what I call a postcard moment
24:00Hi, I just need, um, stamps
24:04To go to, uh, England
24:07Oh, alright, great
24:12I mean, this has become my traditional thing
24:16I always send postcards
24:18I think it's a lovely thing to do
24:20Increasingly, these days, I'm looked on as some sort of a relic
24:24People look at me and go, why don't you just send an email?
24:27Take a picture, WhatsApp
24:29I'm like, no, it's not the...
24:31It's not the same
24:33There's a certain ritual that you have to go through
24:35You have to go and choose a postcard
24:37Then you have to write the postcard
24:40And it's quite good
24:42It's a good mental exercise
24:44Trying to write in a succinct way
24:47Pracing what you've done
24:49Put in a couple of funny lines
24:52And then bring it to a conclusion
24:54All on a postcard, that's quite a skill
24:56Then you've got to find the address
24:58Then you've got to go somewhere and get a stamp
25:00You've got to apply the stamp
25:01Then you've got to go and post it
25:03I mean, it's a bit of a palaver, I'll admit
25:05But there's something lovely about receiving a postcard
25:08As opposed to just a bit of data
25:10There doesn't seem to be much glue on the back of it
25:13I think it's been licked off
25:15You've got something to stick it on with
25:16Blimey, a glue gun
25:20I did not expect that
25:22It's becoming increasingly difficult, I have to say
25:25But, you know
25:27I'm cussed like that
25:29But at the moment, we're finding it quite tricky to stick this stamp to the postcard
25:35Because it doesn't have any glue on the back of it
25:37But a glue gun is being procured
25:38Is this what I mean about a palaver?
25:45It's ridiculous palaver
25:48Oh, what's this?
25:52Ah!
25:54Perfect!
25:55This is some sort of glue, is this?
25:59Ah, you're right
26:01To the back of the stamp
26:03Right, there we go
26:05Okay, come on
26:07Where do I post this?
26:09Vietnam post
26:11Vietnam post, up there, okay
26:13What's that?
26:15It's opening in the morning
26:17Alright
26:19It's alright, fine
26:21Perhaps I'll just take a picture of it and just send them that
26:24Probably quicker
26:25I'm starting to think that my purpose, perhaps my obsession here in these mountains
26:46Could be finding the source of that music
26:51But first, a crash course in agriculture
26:53Sapa's rich, fertile land has sustained these hill tribes for centuries
27:00In flooded fields and terraces like these
27:04One of the great agricultural revolutions of human history took root
27:10Rice
27:12A humble grain, but the founder of whole civilizations
27:17And none of this would have been achievable without a unique partnership between human and water buffalo
27:22In fact, they're still revered throughout Asia
27:25Mighty beasts of burden who helped civilizations tame the land and thrive
27:30This one, truly representative of his heroic species, is called Joe
27:36They've all got personalities then
27:39Yeah
27:40Different ones
27:41Some of them is like very friendly
27:43They want you to write it down, trust them
27:45But some of them, no, don't trust me
27:47I wonder though, how do you know?
27:50You know, when you charge something like around here
27:53They will feel, oh, I feel good
27:55Around the back of the tail
27:56He will lay it down for you
27:57Oh
27:58At the beginning, you don't know about him
28:00If you charge the hair
28:02They come making like
28:04What do you want to do to my horn or something?
28:05Yeah, get off
28:06Yeah, yeah
28:07One
28:08He's
28:10He's tickling his ass with a stick
28:14No wonder he's so placid
28:16Hello
28:19Scratching his ass with a stick
28:20Yeah
28:22It's not a bad deal, is it?
28:23I mean, you work my land and help carve out an agrarian civilization
28:27And I'll give you a little scratching the nether reasons
28:30You'd have to know that they were very amenable to that
28:38Yeah
28:43I mean, if someone was doing this to me
28:45I'd get my undivided attention as well
28:48Didn't think I'd be scratching a buffalo's a** today
28:51But always up for something new
28:54My new best friend, buffalo whisperer, Lynn
28:58Has invited me to her village
29:00To learn more about hill tribe lifestyle
29:03And one of the big industries around here
29:05Is indigo dyeing
29:07Turning white things blue
29:08Using plant dye
29:10I read about
29:12That indigo
29:14Can be used as a cure for
29:17Baldness
29:19You know
29:20Yeah
29:21You can actually
29:23Rub it on your head and it'll help to grow
29:25Your hair, apparently
29:27Maybe it's something new for me to learn
29:29If you can dry some, maybe I'll just rub it on my scalp
29:32And let you know how I get on
29:33And natural, it's organic
29:35It's totally organic, it's natural
29:37Yeah, so, sure
29:39Perhaps my heart will go sprouting a whole head of hair
29:41But it'll be blue though
29:43You'll be able to have a queue of bald men
29:45Coming round here going, I've heard there's a cure for baldness
29:47Yeah
29:49Yeah
29:50I should urge you not to try the indigo to the noggin trick at home
29:54What indigo is good for is batik, as Lynn's family are keen to demonstrate
29:59The ancient craft of creating patterns on fabric using wax and then dyeing the fabric
30:05I saw a butterfly in your garden
30:09Yeah
30:10I took a picture of it
30:11Okay
30:12And then I went and drew it
30:14Yeah
30:15Do you think that would work?
30:17Ah, you've already got one?
30:20Yeah
30:22Alright, okay, I'm copying you then
30:24Yeah
30:27You've been doing this for long, for years and years
30:30Yeah
30:31Yeah, yeah
30:32Yeah
30:33And also, this is, we, most usually is more for elderly people
30:35Yeah
30:36But nowadays, the younger generation now, they don't really made it
30:40So, sometime, I still teaching our children, learning how to make, when they have a day off
30:48Yes, when they're not at school, yeah
30:50Yeah, so I just try to teach them
30:52Yeah
30:53So that, yes, this is our traditional, and we need to keep it in the future as well
30:58Nana, what do you, what do you think of my design?
31:02I'm so beautiful
31:04Oh, thanks
31:06Is there anything else I should put on there, do you think?
31:09What would you put on?
31:11Do I need to change it, or put something else on?
31:14I want a happy night, happy night
31:18You can draw, like, a flower
31:19Some more flowers, yeah, that's a good idea, I thought I was thinking of that as well
31:24Okay, I'll do a bigger flower here
31:28Oh, looks nice
31:30There we go, art class
31:32Batik class, show your work
31:36And now we're going to bring it to the indigo
31:38Okay
31:39To dye
31:40And then, let's see how it looks after this
31:43Great
31:44This is the indigo, we put the plant inside here for three days
31:49So why do you like to dye your clothes?
31:51Is it just because you love the colour?
31:54For our traditional, we believe that black is a special colour
31:59Because, I mean, like, we work on the farm every day
32:03So we choose black, just in case something, you know, something little in there
32:07Then we won't see that
32:09Right, so it's kind of a practical colour, really
32:10Yeah
32:11And in the village, you know, for people, when I choose a wife
32:16They choose the person that the colour of the clothes, the most dark
32:21Really?
32:22Yes
32:23If you have a nice clothes, it means you have a good heart
32:26You have a passion to making all your clothes bigger
32:30Yes, you're skillful
32:31And you're a patron
32:32And you spend a lot of time on it
32:33Yeah
32:34You care about these things
32:35Yes
32:36You've got skills
32:37That's right
32:38And you're, you know, a very sort of careful and considerate person
32:41Yes
32:47I'm excited to see what it looks like now
32:49Yeah
32:53Very good, huh?
32:54Yeah
32:57There we go
32:58It's my first attempt at indigo dyeing
33:00I've got to say, I'm pretty chuffed with it
33:02Right
33:03I think it's come out all right
33:05So satisfying
33:07Seeing a design just appear before your eyes
33:11Such a simple process
33:13That really hasn't changed in hundreds of years
33:16And of course, fewer and fewer people were doing it
33:19But what was lovely to see were Lynn's daughter and niece getting involved
33:25Having fun with it
33:27And keeping these skills alive
33:31That have been passed down through the family for generations
33:46My time in the mountains is coming to an end
33:53So I've given myself a quest
33:56A search for Northern Vietnam's signature music
33:59Here in the mountains skirting the Chinese border
34:03They're inhabited by hill tribes like the Hmong, Zoha and Tei people
34:08Cultures that have persisted despite centuries of colonization and war
34:12One of the instruments that the Hmong are famous for is the king
34:18Quite a haunting sound which I imagine echoes out across the hills
34:25And I'm here to meet one of the last four players of the instrument in this community
34:30High above me is the Sarseng village where their language is closer to Cantonese than Vietnamese
34:40And what better way to end a quest than climb another mountain
34:44But hark!
34:46What is that sound?
34:51Here he is, the ancient master of the Ken
34:55A man who's lived through wars and upheaval
34:57A bridge between past and present by keeping this unique music alive
35:01To keep this unique music alive
35:10That's me
35:11Ah, thanks
35:13Hi
35:17Nice to meet you
35:18Okay
35:19Thank you
35:33Thank you
35:35Can I have a look?
35:36Okay, thank you
35:38So, blow?
35:39Yeah
35:40Yeah
35:42Yes
35:43Yes
35:45How's that?
35:46I'm getting it
36:00My overextended blow is my first mistake when playing the Ken
36:03It's a bit like a harmonica
36:04It's a bit like a harmonica
36:06You create the music by breathing in and out
36:09So you can play continuously
36:10Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
36:11So you have to breathe in and then out
36:17It's a technique that requires years of practice
36:21But under the master's watchful tuition
36:24I reckon I might be able to get a tune out of it
36:25It's a beautiful instrument, sounds lovely. It's very sort of evocative. It's unlike anything I've ever seen or played before
36:44I mean obviously I don't speak Vietnamese
36:47So I'm having to relay questions to his granddaughter who speaks a little bit of English
36:53But her grandfather, he only speaks Hmong
36:56So I'm able to translate from English into Vietnamese and Vietnamese into Hmong
37:01So it's a little difficult to have a conversation
37:07But he is still able to demonstrate to me how to play it
37:10Where the fingers go in the holes, the breathing
37:14This is just my little piano on garage band on my phone
37:21It's just wonderful, you know, that's what music will do
37:26It bypasses not what music will do
37:29It bypasses not what music will do
37:31It's just wonderful, you know, that's what music will do
37:35It bypasses not what music will do
37:38It bypasses not one but two other languages and allows us to communicate
37:44Thank you so much
37:48I have another quest, a little less highbrow in fact
37:53And that is, how low can a stool go for an ungainly Westerner with flexibility issues?
38:00And I think I have a winner
38:05There you go, I found the smallest stool in Vietnam
38:08I thought the little red stools were low
38:11There you go, but this, this is, this is even lower than that
38:23Right, that's it, that's it, that is officially the lowest stool in Vietnam
38:41And the lowest, certainly the lowest one I've ever sat on
38:46It's not unpleasant
38:48I can cross my legs under it
38:51But, er, getting up is going to be a challenge, that's all I'm going to say
38:57It's all right, okay, I see you
39:09Are you sure about this?
39:11Okay
39:15Hang on
39:17Hey, there we go
39:19Humble in height, heroic in spirit
39:22It seems the further north I venture, the tinier these thrones become
39:26This is a dining table in a doll's house, surely
39:29This can't be human
39:33Okay
39:34Oh, wait a minute
39:40Just when you think you've found the smallest stool
39:43There's one smaller
39:44Hang on
39:45Hang on
39:46I just want to show you a comparison
39:50Look at this
39:52It's positively lofty
39:57I'm up for it
39:58I'm up for the stool challenge
40:05Yeah
40:07I'm down
40:08My Vietnam mountain education is nearly complete
40:19I've climbed mountains, I've bathed in barrels, played ancient instruments
40:23And sat and contemplated my very existence
40:27But what's left of my bingo card
40:30Dance
40:31So, La, can you tell me about this traditional dance?
40:42One, two, three
40:46One, two, three
40:48One, two, three
40:50Okay
40:51You get one step wrong, your ankles are goners
40:54One, two, three
40:56One, two, three
40:57One, two, three
40:58One, two, three
40:59One, two, three
41:00Alright
41:01Yeah
41:02Okay
41:03That seemed to be
41:05Fairly straightforward
41:07At that pace
41:09Fairly easy
41:13Yeah
41:14Intrigued to know
41:16What happens when it starts to speed up a bit
41:18Put on some like, you know
41:20I don't know what you put on
41:21Miley Cyrus
41:22Slipknot
41:23I'm fully invested
41:49I'm fully invested
41:53Ha ha ha
41:56It's hard
42:02I reckon I've got one more speed in me
42:06That's it
42:18Yes, come on
42:20Let's do it
42:23Yeah, that's it
42:27Come on
42:29Whoa, whoa, whoa
42:31Time to pick up the pace
42:32The faster the music, the trickier it gets
42:37Yeah, that's it
42:39Whoa, whoa, whoa
42:40Time to pick up the pace
42:42The faster the music, the trickier it gets
42:44Yeah, that's it
42:45come on yeah high five ten high ten very good well done guys very good
43:03oh you see still got it
43:15sap up has left a deep impression on me and that's not just because of the spectacular
43:26landscapes i'm really struck by the resilience of the people here many of them have found
43:32a way to balance keeping their culture and traditions alive while still making a living
43:38and that could be taking tourists for walks through the rice terraces teaching them about
43:44traditional handicrafts or remedies drawing on this deep well of accumulated knowledge
43:51they found a way to support their families and they're incredibly resourceful and genius
43:59hard-working creative people the people here are doing what their families have done for
44:04generations that is finding a way to adapt finding a way to survive
44:14next time on bill bailey's vietnam this place is just stunningly impressive
44:27maybe it's the altitude i'm getting slightly trippy it's just like a mirror here today
44:31i can twirl it
44:32i can twirl it
44:38i can twirl it
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