Homestay in Sa Pa

---

Lead the way.


"I've never felt more insignificant than I do now, as I stand in the middle of Sa Pa. I'm sad after leaving Ma Ma Sung's house. I have grown attached to the family and the love that they displayed toward one another. I crave that motherly love. I find myself wandering the market place searching in hope of running into either Ma Ma Sung or Ma Ma Chi for one last farewell. I would give up everything I have for a simple life with the complete family that I'd once had."
Journal Entry: 02.19.2014

The fog



We made it to town!



Look out below



Half asleep, I stepped off the bus into the overwhelming cold air and flurry street hawkers. Overnight bus rides are always the worst for me. Despite my irritable state, I managed to escape without any problems. While observing my surrounding, I noticed that only women were out working. Something about them that intrigued me. I wanted to learned more about them and their way of life. There were numerous tourist agencies offering 2 day trek and Homestay with a local minority family. With the referral of some fellow travelers, I decided to do a direct Homestay with a local minority family. That's when I met Ma Ma Chi and Ma Ma Sung. In H'mong villages, middle aged mothers are referred to as "Ma Ma" by everyone. Ironically, Ma Ma Sung was one of those women that approached me when I got off the bus in Sa pa. Ma Ma Chi and Ma Ma Sung picked me up in front of my hostel the next morning at 9:30am. We hiked up the mountains for 3 hours until we reached the village. Although, the weather was cold and foggy, the landscape was breathtaking. I was in awed of the village's simplistic nature. You had a house made of wood and that was it. No furnitures and bare dirt floor. But amazingly it had this homely feel to it. Ma Ma Chi And Ma Ma Sung both have four children with the youngest one being around 5-6 years old. It was heartbreaking to see these kids in muddy clothes with snot runny from their noses. Despite the living conditions, these kids were adorable and carefree. They simply played with wooden sticks in the mud. There were no insolation or heating so we all gathered around the fire pit for warmth. Ma Ma Sung and Ma Ma Chi made us a simple meal of rice and tofu for lunch. It was one the heartiest meal I've had on my trip. Dinner was a little more fancy with some chicken, steam spinach and happy juice (I'll let you guess what that is..). After dinner we sat by the fire as Ma Ma Sung got wasted. It was interesting seeing her husband going to sleep early, while she stayed up and drank with us. This Homestay trip reminded me of the simple life that I'd once had. It reminded me of my childhood in Pleiku. I am blessed to be able to wake up to the life that I live today. Sometimes I take it for granted, but don't we all at some point? The things that separates our lives from the minority people's lives are our materialistic burden and our need for comfort. The basic necessities of life are: air, nourishments and love. I have great admirations and respect for these hard working minority people. They grind and hustle for the very few things that they have. Tourism may bring them opportunities for a more comfortable life, but they'll have to give up the simplistic self sustaining life that was the root of their culture.



If you find yourself in Sa pa and would like to do a homestay feel free to contact Ma Ma Sung @ 01654088523.

---

Photos

Party!
My hosts: Mama Chi and Mama Song.

Local Village
It was here that I saw a woman peed standing up. Our eyes met. I broke eye contact. She asserted her dominance and continued peeing.