Forever young

      Nho Trung travels to a remote village in Phu Tho province to find out the secret behind the local population’s longevity.
Kiet Son is off the beaten track. Most Vietnamese people would never have heard of this small village in Phu Tho province. But I had heard from a friend that this town was an “oasis for the elderly” as many people there live to a ripe old age. While the casual observer would put this down to the village’s tranquil and bucolic setting, perhaps, there’s more to this collective health and longevity than fresh air.
I persuade my friend, An, that this is worth looking into, and so we plan a day-trip to Kiet Son. Knowing in advance that the roads will be full of potholes and that we will face many steep slopes, An and I have selected to drive an “iron horse” – a.k.a. a Minsk motorbike. The Belarusian two-stroke beast is rapidly disappearing from Vietnamese roads, but it’s still a great vehicle to tackle bad countryside roads.
After we strap our bag on the back of the “iron horse” we set off from Hanoi heading north along the Lang-Hoa Lac highway towards Tan Son district in Phu Tho province. After a couple of hours we arrive at Kiet Son People’s Committee – though only after taking a few wrong turns! There we meet Ha Duc Linh, the chairman of Kiet Son’s Elderly Association, who agrees to show us around the community and introduce us to a few of the more ‘distinguished’ locals.
We jump back on the bike and drive into the hills following Linh. The Minsk’s engine screams from the strain of negotiating the steep slopes with two passengers. I start to think that our Iron Horse is on its last legs but we manage to get to our destination: the house of 107-year old Ha Thi Phi. We leave our motorbike, which is now as hot as burning coal, and enter Phi’s shaded stilt house.
Looking at her you would never guess how old she is – she seems very healthy and lucid and has no trouble with her hearing or eyesight. “I don’t think I’ve ever been ill as this place is so peaceful and quiet and the air is so pure,” she says. When I ask her what her secret of longevity is she shakes her head as if she has no idea.
“In the old days, I was very tough. I worked hard all day long in the mountain fields and we had nothing to eat except potato, cassava and bamboo sprouts,” she recalls. “I rarely had fish or meat to eat. But I have never been to a hospital for medical care. So I don’t know how bad medicine tastes or how painful an injection is!” Phi is a wonderful host and a great story teller.
She happily talks about her life and myself and An listen carefully – perhaps she will unwittingly reveal the secret of her health and longevity; it could be something she is not even really aware of: a kind of tai chi exercise unique to the village, the crystal clear water from the local well or an edible mountain flower… who knows But as we sit around her fire, Phi’s stories of her life reveal an upbringing that sounds typical for someone in rural Vietnam.
Perhaps, sensing our disappointment, she eventually concludes, “I think that the secret of longevity is to be one of the people and to treat your neighbours well.” Could a sense of solidarity and common courtesy be the secret to health and longevity? We bid Phi farewell and make our way along a track through the forest towards the mountains.
Soon, in the foggy distance, I can see a stilt house which belongs to 103-year old Ha Thi Im. Inside by the cooking fire, her great-grandson Nguyen Van Choi is preparing a meal for his great-grandmother. When Choi speaks about her he is filled with pride. “My great-grandmother eats two bowls of rice every meal,” he says.
“She likes eating vegetables, especially the green moss that grows on stones along the banks of streams. The moss is placed inside a papaya leaf then put under a fire. When the papaya leaf is entirely burnt, you take out the moss and eat it!” Could this be “the” secret we’ve been looking for? Choi does not know if the moss contributes to his great-grandmother’s health. He says he brings the moss from the streams just to make her happy.
“She is not as healthy as she was last year but I still take her out and about anytime she wants to cheer her up,” he adds. When I suggest staying active is crucial, Linh scratches his salt and pepper hair and says with a shrug of his shoulders: “She still watches television and listens to the radio every evening. There are 10 elderly men and women like Im and Phi living in this commune.
I think that apart from the clean environment and peace and quiet, the care their families give them is the main reason they have managed to live to such a ripe old age.” We stop talking as the sun hits the peaceful hillside outside. We watch as the sun slowly sets covering the countryside with a brilliant amber-hued light. Night will soon be falling and so we have to head back to Kiet Son People’s Committee.
When we arrive, Ha Van To, the chairman of the communal group Fatherland Front is waiting for us in his office. After shaking our hands, he asks if we have found what we have been looking for. Word of our secret mission has clearly travelled fast in this small community. Without waiting for our answer, To says, “There have always been several people living to a great age in our commune.
They live so long because they live close to nature and their family takes great care of them – sons, daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.” Filial duty coupled with fresh air - is that the answer? Myself and An thank our guests and jump back onto our iron horse and drive back towards the city, still searching for answers in our minds. The closer to Hanoi we get, the colder the weather becomes.
Soon we are shivering in the darkness but I am still picturing the beauty of Kiet Son and recalling the kindness of the people and the love each family showed for their eldest relatives, and as I arrived home it hit me: the secret to health and longevity in Kiet Son is simply the town itself..