Advertisement
Published: December 28th 2007
Overnight train up to the northern hills of Sapa, was the perfect way to travel such a distance. Sapa is a well known destination to experience the beautiful mountain scenery, displaying small tribal villages among the rice terraces and rivers. It was very very cold here, especially in the morning, I was close to shivering! However, once the sun had risen, it did warmed up.
Arriving in the town of Sapa, we were greeted by a small bustling town. The tribal women buying fruit and veg at the market, selling handmade crafts and clothing to each other. Tourists soaking up the atmosphere chatting to the locals, trying hard not to buy the handycrafts being presented to them. During our stroll along the town, 3 Black H'Mong tribal girls began chatting to us and wanted us to buy cushion covers or handbags from them. Very tempting, we resisted for a while, but after they had been so friendly and followed us everywhere, we gave in!
Day 1 Short Trek - more like a gentle stroll!
During our stay in Sapa, our friendly tour guide, Tung, led us on a short trek to Cat Cat village. She spoke brilliant English, but
Super smile.
This lady followed us through a market, trying to sell us a bracelet. After trying hard to decline her sale, we gave in and Phil bought it for me, we couldn't say no to that smile!couldn't read or write her own language, due to a lack of schooling. We descended down a hill until it reached the river. It was very tranquil and peaceful, no exhaust fumes and hectic traffic. The landscape was breath taking and so refreshing. I'm sure our lungs were relieved! People here live simple lives, farming the land and living with their extended families all in one, not very big house. Visiting a home, gave us a general idea about how they live. They do have electricity but no running water. The floor was compacted dirt, wooden framed beds were situated in the corners of the room, with a blanket as a mattress with little privacy given by a piece of material hanging down.
Outside 2 large barrells contained a dark purple liquid for dying cloth from the indigo plant. We opted for the easy route back up the hill, on the back of motorbikes. (We don't do such dangerous things usually!)
Day 2. Bac Ha Market.
We went on a very long and tiring journey to Bac Ha market. The whole point of going was to see a different H'Mong tribe. Well we certainly did achieve this, but was
the 6-7 hour (round trip) bumpy minibus ride really worth it? We are still not sure!
The Flower H'Mong women dominated the market scene. This was a Sunday market, so being only once a week was an important affair for them. At Bac Ha market, you can buy absolutely anything, from meat to clothing. Wearing mainly red. Everyone seemed in a rush, racing about hindered by tourists in their way. The voice 'You buy from me', echoed everywhere we went. It was good to see the Flower H'Mong women in such abundance.
Day 3. Longer Trek
We ambled along the hillside, across streams, along stoney rice terrace boundaries to the river below with our tour guide Tung. She led the way steadily, chatting and pointing things out as we walked. 2 Black H'Mong children decided to join us for a few hours, entertaining us with grass made shapes and fern woven headbands.
During a quick stop, I sucked and chewed on sugar cane - this i recommend if you have a sweet tooth - yum! The rice terraces surrounded us, so beautifully carved into the landscape. the rice had been harvested 2 months ago, leaving only the cut
shafts left poking out of the ground. Lower down the hill by the riverside, water cascaded through the terraces, buffalos, pigs and chickens roamed the land. Red Dao women live here too.
Visiting Sapa showed us how the hilltribes live, the wonderful countryside and the simplicity of life compared to ours.
It left me wondering about the impact of tourists upon the hilltribes? Positive or negative?
Advertisement
Tot: 0.181s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 16; qc: 91; dbt: 0.1002s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
