American-Vietnamese couple leaves city for rural life

Five years ago, in an attempt to distance herself from the hustle and bustle of her hometown Chicago, Hanna Larsen traveled to Vietnam, where she met Thanh Duc.

16:31 16/06/2023

Larsen, Duc, and their daughter are living in the mountainous province of Loja, Ecuador. Photo courtesy of Larsen and Duc

The 29-year-old woman first met Thanh Duc when she attended the casting session for a movie in Vietnam, for which Duc was working as a production assistant. At that time, Duc was impressed with Larsen because she "did not wear heavy makeup like other girls," and she liked Vietnamese fruits.

However, their relationship was solely work-based, and they did not stay in touch after production of the film ended.

But three years after their first encounter, Duc and Larsen coincidentally chose to relocate to the southern town of Mui Ne after breaking up with their respective lovers. After learning that Larsen was in Mui Ne via a Facebook post, Duc contacted her because he wanted to hang out with someone he knew in the new city.

Larsen helped Duc rent a room at the homestay in which she was staying. They began hanging out and talking on a daily basis, and they realized that they had a lot in common, including the fact that both of them wanted to live a simple lifestyle in tune with nature.

At the end of 2020, when the central provinces of Vietnam were ravaged by floods, Larsen asked if Duc wanted to join her in volunteering for humanitarian efforts to help victims of the natural disaster. Duc agreed.

After the 10-day volunteer trip, Larsen realized and appreciated how thoughtful and warm Duc was. The trip marked the start of their romantic relationship.

A few months later, when Covid hit the southern region of Vietnam, Larsen got pregnant. Watching families become separated because of the pandemic, Larsen reflected on the uncertainty of life and her wish to have a life in nature was awakened again. She suggested to Duc that they should relocate to the mountainous province Loja of Ecuador, a place known for the long lifespans of its people.

"I was attracted to the good air quality, friendly people, forests and rivers side by side there," said Larsen.

"They are really different from the scenery in metropolitan areas that I was used to."

Larsen wanted to pay her family in the U.S. a visit before settling down in Ecuador with Duc. Duc agreed to accompany Larsen on her trip to the U.S., as he wanted to be with his pregnant wife, whose thoughts occasionally became complicated and insecure during that time.

However, applying for a U.S. visa was not easy, so the couple dropped the plan. They decided to meet in Ecuador after Larsen completed her family visit.

Larsen bought an air ticket to the U.S. in August, 2021. However, the flight was scheduled to depart in Hanoi because Tan Son Nhat airport in HCMC (which is much closer to Mui Ne) was closed due to the pandemic. And all means of transport from the southern region to Hanoi were also out of service during that time as well.

So Duc decided to drive Larsen on his motorbike from Mui Ne to his hometown Nghe An, before borrowing a car to bring her to Hanoi.

Larsen was in her fifth month of pregnancy when the trip began.

During the five-day road trip, the couple had to stay overnight on the road sometimes, as there were no hotels or guesthouses available. On fortunate days they could buy food from local people, otherwise they had to ask for provisions from volunteers they met. They got to Nghe An, and then Hanoi, just in time for Larsen to catch her flight to the U.S..

Duc immediately started applying for an Ecuador visa. He failed though, as the country had halted visa issuance during the pandemic. Duc decided to go to Panama instead, then go to Ecuador from there, since Panama had a visa exemption policy for Vietnamese passport holders.

Fate seemed to enjoy playing on the couple. When Duc transited in Turkey, he was prevented from catching his flight to Panama, due to some problems with his documents. He had to wait two days until he could depart again. However, the moment he landed in Panama, he was ordered to return to Turkey.

"Staff at the Turkish airport didn’t speak English," Duc recalls.

"So I don’t understand why I had to return, even now."

He stayed at the airport for seven days before being allowed to return to Vietnam.

It wasn’t until early-2022, when the pandemic became less serious in Vietnam, that Duc succeeded in applying for a visa to enter Peru, where he would then travel to Ecuador.

Duc and Larsen are now living an idyllic life in forests of Loja. When the sun rises, the three-member family wakes up. When the sun sets, they stop working and enjoy quality time together before bed.

Besides teaching people how to dance, Duc often participates in trekking trips with local people in Loja, Ecuador. Photo courtesy of Duc

According to Larsen, only 50% of people living in Loja are native. The rest of them come from other countries and cultural backgrounds. Even so, they share one thing in common: they’ve mostly left behind technological gadgets.

"It sometimes takes me a whole day to respond to messages from my parents and friends," Larsen said.

Larsen did not know how to cook or mend clothes before marriage. However, after getting married to Duc, she learned everything about home economics. Sometimes she gets help from her neighbors, of whom a few are retirees, and a few others are working remotely for businesses based elsewhere.

The couple says their lives changed after relocating to here. Larsen used to own a lot of clothes, cosmetics, and footwear, but now she has switched to a minimalist lifestyle and has reduced her materialistic needs. Thanks to a vibrant local barter economy in Loja, the couple mainly trades instead of buying now, and a lot of things they are using are secondhand.

Duc gathers fruit from trees surrounding the couple’s house in Loja, Ecuador, so Larsen can bring them to the market to exchange for other food. Photo courtesy of Duc and Larsen

Duc is still operating his Vietnam-based business remotely. Whenever he has spare time, he teaches people around how to dance, or hikes the mountains surrounding his new home. The couple enjoys teaching their way of life to their not-yet-two-year-old daughter, and they encourage her to experience the natural environment herself.

When Duc first relocated to Ecuador, his father Le Van Chien always asked: "Don’t you struggle living like that?"

But Duc always replied that he felt happy and was proud of his decision.

"Everything is vibrant and changing every day," he told his father.

The couple is now planning for their future. They are thinking of relocating to other places in South America before returning to Vietnam, the country that holds a special place in Larsen’s heart.

"We want to live in many different places to explore the world and ourselves," Larsen says.