Oh My Buddha

Oh my Buddha - Our tour guide, Kong, would say this instead of Oh my gosh... it was a great expression.

In Northwestern Vietnam the village of Sapa is perched on a mountain side. Ethnic minority villages surround Sapa- there are 5 ethnic groups residing in the valley, but the Black Hmong are the most prominent. We spent the past three days treking from village to village across the green terraced rice paddies.The mountain environment was much cooler than the rest of our Asian experience, which we enjoyed immensely, and we lucked out with awesome sunny weather. Rice harvest is already over, making the fields less green, but the landscape is still breathtaking.

After returning from Halong Bay to Hanoi, we took an 8 hour night train to the town of Lao Cai, arriving at 5 AM. We then took an hour long bus to Sapa. An older Australian couple joined us with our local guide Kong. We hiked for 4 hours through the farm land on the walking trails the local Black Hmong people use. 6 Black Hmong ladies walked with us helping us when it was slippery or steep. The women were all just shy of 5 feet tall and all wear their traditional dress - all indigo blue clothing made embellished with their hemp embroidery. They use marijuana plants to make hemp, then they weave the hemp into fabric, then us the native indigo plants to dye the fabric and then spend hours adding their personal touch with embroidery. Their clothing is an art in itself and they are constantly working on some embroidery project. They carried big wicker baskets on their backs with their projects in it to sell. Although their traditional way of life is largely still practiced, they have learned basic English from the tourist. In general the ethnic minority people are extremely impoverished and their way of life is far from easy. Still the ladies were happy and helpful as they walked with us. The 6 ladies stayed with us until we reached their village for lunch.

Like I said before the landscape is breathtaking. The mountains are steep with green bamboo covering them in un-farmed areas and terraced rice paddies covering the rest. The clear river runs in the valley and is fed by the many tributaries coming down from the mountains often creating waterfalls. There are scattered small wooden shacks with scrap metal roofs and tons of animals roaming the area - water buffalo chomping on the rice paddies, pigs rummaging through the mud, chickens being chased by dogs all over the place and of course the the random goat eating anything it desires. It is unclear what kids belong to what adult or even if an adult is watching them - most of the kids can be found half clothed creating a game to entertain themselves. The kids are incredibly cute despite how dirty they are. I loved seeing what simple things the kids found entertainment in, I would have to say they tend to be much more imaginative then the average american child who is bored after 5 minutes of an activity. Anyways, my description could never do justice to describe the beauty and charm of this place.

After lunch in the Black Hmong Village we hiked another 3 1/2 hours farther down valley to our home-stay next to a beautiful waterfall. During this walk we picked up more ethic ladies who followed us in hopes we would buy some of their crafts. It is hard to see their way of life and not want to support the people, but you can't buy everyone's crafts.

We stayed with a wonderful couple, Long and Yue, and their two boys. Long has been incredibly inventive and creative about building his house in a way that is tourist conducive. They fixed us two massive meals and were so generous. It was a wonderful experience being able to stay at their home.

The second day we hiked another 4 hours down valley to another village for lunch. We took a car (there are very few cars in this area - cars are only really for tourists) back to Sapa where our guide showed us the local Sunday market. Getting swarmed by the ethnic women is pretty standard around here... they all use different tactics to try to make you buy their products. Luckily I have found a strong side in me to resist the badgering.

Last night we enjoyed the amenities of civilization in a hotel. Today a Black Hmong woman (only 18) took us up valley to the local village of Cat Cat. This village is much more accessible, making it more touristy. It was still beautiful to see and we enjoyed stretching our legs more. We have spent the afternoon exploring more of the town of Sapa and relaxing becuase Jorie has been under the weather lately. We loved Sapa and having the opportunity to hike around this incredible landscape. It is a different way of life here but there is still lots to learn from the simplicity.
We headed back to Hanoi on the night train and were back in Hanoi about 4:30 am, good thing we can sleep just about anywhere at this point.

Jorie has been sick for almost 5 days, so now we are back in civilization we went to see the doctor. The uncomfortable state Jorie has been in was explained by test results showing she had contracted Dengue Fever. Don't worry she will be just fine and I am taking care of her. Nothing like picking up an extra swamp souvenir!

.