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Published: June 24th 2009
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So far, Sa Pa is
blowing Hanoi out of the water. For starters, the scenery is drop-dead-pick-your-jaw-back-up-off-the-ground gorgeous.
But mainly, it's the fact that the people here are so much
more friendly than anywhere else I've been so far.
As I was wandering through the Sa Pa market today, gazing at tantalizing but (for me) forbidden piles of greens, herbs, and vegetables, a typical group of
H'mong women came up to me and started plying their wares - mostly beautifully dyed and stitched textiles, but also silver bangles and bracelets.
Many of their hands appear almost black from the indigo dyes they use, which makes me wary of buying anything, but they are at least very
good-natured about refusals.
"Where you from?"
This question was
my downfall today; usually I don't fall for it and just stick to "no, thank you," (which by the way they are prepared for, asking me, "Where is Nothankyou?").
A particularly sweet-natured woman with a tiny sleeping baby strapped to back asked me this, as she followed me downhill toward
Cat Cat village. We exchanged some pleasantries and I learned that she is 27 and already has 4 babies.
She hopes that when I return home, my boyfriend and I will have a baby. Hmph.
She gave me a very nice stitched bracelet which she would not let me pay for. But her gambit is that she wants to guide me to her
village of Lao Chai, about 8km away.
It might be really interesting to visit the town with a local, especially a woman, but I had already signed up for a 2-day/1-night trek that covers four different villages and includes a homestay in Ta Van, on top of which you are required to have permits to visit the hill tribe towns and I wasn't sure she was going to be an "all-inclusive" type of guide.
She finally left me at the entrance to Cat Cat village; which is actually the start of what felt like
all the stairs in the world down to the bottom of the valley.
But there are plenty of excuses to stop and stare. There's the view of
Mt. Fansipan, the highest in Vietnam, whose top was shrouded in somber gray clouds today. There are the rice terraces, which gleam when they catch the sun and melt back into
an electric green when they're in shade. There are the steep tree-clad slopes; the blue-black rivers crashing over rocks down in the ravine; the ramshackle huts of the H'mong; the smiling children running around playing games; the piglets, chickens, and dogs that I'm sure will turn into
somebody's dinner one day (ironically enough, considering it's called Cat Cat village, I did not see or hear a single cat); the vats of indigo; the gigantic butterflies; and the lovely sign advertising
tasty buffalo snacks. The culmination of the trip is a rather pretty
waterfall, the roar of which competes with a stereo blasting "traditional" H'mong music. I would prefer the actual sounds of the village and waterfall, but whatever.
I had to wonder, as I passed back up through the village itself, what exactly it is that the H'mong men do? I see the women out
chasing down tourists in town trying to sell them stuff; I see the women chasing the children around and hauling them up and down hills; I see the women in the market and the shops, but the only men I've seen have been asleep or on a motorcycle. That said, Sa Pa
is H'Mong Women
I thought them sitting in front of the poster was pretty funny a motorcycylist's dream (
you know who you are).
Then again, it must be frustrating to be a moto driver in a town that most people go to for trekking. They just don't seem to understand why all these
crazy foreigners would want to get around on their own steam. Hence the disbelief when I turned down multiple motorbike rides on the 3km uphill trek back to Sa Pa.
"You go back to Sa Pa on foot?
All uphill?"
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Mom
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Cat Cat
I have been reading about the villages around Sa Pa. Cat Cat was mentioned as one of the best. I can see how the name would appeal to you. Bouff would approve! Nice to see a more gentle side of the country for a change. While cavorting with the Qiwis and Aussies is fun too, this is actually more appealing to the soul. Such magnificant vistas. Who knew all this was in Vietnam???