sat day 169

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Today was going to be day one of the home stay with Mai and her family. Feeling a little apprehensive i packed my bags - my large one to leave at the hostel and my small one to take with me. With my headache shifted i made my way upstairs to breakfast and headed out to meet Mai and the others by the church for 9am. I was there and so was Mai and the other Hmong lady but no sign of the girl from the hostel so walking back down i said i would go in to see if i could find her. I found her sitting chatting with another girl and seeming to have no intention of coming outside to speak to the lady she had agreed to go on the homestay with - after having a bit of a word with her she came outside and said she would be another half an hour or so - not liking her attitude Mai and i headed off. With storm clouds looming overhead Mai had brought along another umbrella for me - just in case. Walking firstly through the town and out the other side we were joined by another Hmong girl who along with Mai was only able to speak basic English. Walking up a couple of steep hills the mist had really started to creep in obscuring what would have been nice views across the valleys. With Mai pointing out green tea leaves and leaves they use to dye their clothes as well as other points of interest within the undergrowth it was proving to be an informative trek. Stopping for a 10 minute sit down an Italian couple also going the same way with there Hmong lady stopped by, chatting we all decided to continue the trek together. With the couple living in Turin and the lady having previously lived in the UK for 7yrs teaching geography it was nice to be able to have a proper conversation with someone - rather than just a few words here and there. As we carried on for another couple of hours and mainly managing to dodge most of the rain showers we made it to a hillside restaurant for a spot of lunch. Opting for 3x chicken fried rice while eating it we had about half a dozen girls no older than 10 trying to sell us things - bracelets, bags etc while singing to us very quietly and repeating "please buy one, please buy one". As other tourists turned up for there lunch while on their visits to the hill tribe villages the girls moved over to their tables and we were left alone. As we carried on the path became more undulating passing many rice fields, buffaloes, locals as well as some beautiful scenery. Unfortunately the mist and the rain didn't really let up all afternoon and well into the night and in doing so making some of the paths pretty slippery, i had the girl who first joined Mai and i helping me down - making me feel about 80! but more than gratefully receiving her assistance - breaking an ankle out here is not a good idea. As we started to walk down past some houses we popped into one of the ladies homes to have a bit of a look around and say goodbye to the Italian couple - as from here they would get a motorbike back to Sa Pa. Deciding to carry on to spend the night at Mai's house we hugged one another and said our goodbyes and after buying a bracelet off one of the ladies i headed further into the village with Mai. About a further 10 minutes away and being completely surrounded by rice fields was to be my stop for the night. As we turned up at the house Mai was greeted by her 3 children - 0ne girl and two boys and her husband. The house was made of slatted wooden sides - one thickness with a bamboo roof, bare concrete floors and walls and the most basic of furniture. The only room that was completely shut off was the parents bedroom - the other rooms were just partly sub divided. The furniture consisted of a small plastic stools and one wooden table and one bed in which the children slept in. My room was up a bamboo ladder on a landing with a very thin cover to lay on and an even thinner mozzie net! The village does have electricity with the house containing one strip light and one very old TV. There of course is no shower and the toilet is a hole in the ground in an outbuilding. Never do i want to complain about the things i have or don't have (but probably don't need) again! The house is warmed by another hole in the floor this one being the fire, with one piece of metal strip bent in a u shape this is the stove top! With a kettle to boil water and a couple of pots and pans i was made a cup of green tea - which i gratefully received and then started to help Mai and her daughter prepare dinner. With the boys playing with their friends and Mai's husband going for a lay down ( when i asked Mai what her husband does in the day - turns out not a lot!) i was taken aback at how hard the women work and just how little the men seem to do. As the boys got sent down the local store to get a few provisions i helped cut some tomatoes and tofu, while Mai and her daughter made some spring rolls. Along with some whole peas in there pods and a bowl of rice, dinner was served with us all sitting round the fire to enjoy it. A packet of Oreo biscuits that i had brought along for the journey in case i had got a bit peckish was handed round after - as dessert - for the children it was like Christmas had come early - if i had known i would have brought them more. After dinner Mai's husband was putting the finishing touches to a bird cage that he had made from hand and after another cup of green tea i headed up to my room. Thinking that i would relax with my book for a bit after the long days trekking as soon as i turned on my head torch out came the flying bugs! Putting paid to that idea the only other option was to settle down for the night.

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