North Vietnam: Sapa I

"The French called the ethnic minorities Montagnards ('highlanders' or 'mountain people'). Ethnic Vietnamese referred to them as 'moi', a somewhat derogatory word meaning savages, which reflects the all too common attitudes among many lowland Vietnamese. The current government prefers the term 'national minorities', of which there are more than 15 different groups. The most colorful of these minorities live in the far north of Vietnam, carving an existence out of the lush mountain landscape along the Chinese and Lao borders... each hill tribe has its own language, customs, mode of dress and spiritual beliefs. Language and culture constitute the borders of their world."
- Lonely Planet

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We left Hanoi on an overnight train headed to Lao Cai, the town from which we would then go on to Sapa. Our 6x6ft cabin had two bunk beds with mattresses no thicker than three inches. Not much different from camping, really, but "soft" ground is better than a piece of plywood. I finally drifted off into a half-sleep out of sheer necessity. The train swayed back and forth and creaked and groaned almost constantly, whining as though it was too old to be making such a journey. It stopped several times for brief periods of time and in my groggy state there were a few instances when I thought we had missed our stop. There was no announcement to confirm where we were going, how far we had gone, how much longer we had to go, or that we were even on the right train. Nor was there an announcement that we had reached our destination. It was by pure intuition that we didn't go all the way to China. The one I take to work seems like a luxury; and it's just a passenger train.

We arrived in Lao Cai at 4:45 in the morning. Once our friends arrived, we met our driver and headed for Sapa. It took us an hour on a windy, mountainous road. The surroundings were almost surreal because we were driving as the sun came up, but it was cloudy, misty and rainy. I couldn't see anything past the edge of the road. Sapa is only 4,500 ft above sea level, but we came from sea-level so it seemed much higher. The town lies in the northernmost part of Vietnam, almost to the Chinese border. It is known for being a huge tourist destination and it shows. The ethnic people in town know only a few phrases in English; the most common question seemed to be "Hello madam, where you from?" quickly followed by "Buy something?" If you pay attention at all you are immediately followed until you shoo them off or buy something for the simple sake of getting rid of them. But, as soon as you purchase something from one, a whole herd of others follow you insisting that you buy something from them too. The morality of the situation is difficult; as annoying as it is, selling their handicrafts to the tourists may be the only source of income for their family and just like everyone, they too need a way to sustain themselves and keep their culture and traditions alive.

The second day, we met our guide Ban (last one on the right) to take us trekking through some of the Black Hmong villages outside Sapa. As we began the hike, a few other village women joined our group and walked with us for at least half the way. They did not try to sell us anything until they were ready to go home. One of the women, who introduced herself as Ma (second from the left), helped me through some of the more difficult spots in the trail so I bought something from her. We walked through three villages over the course of nine miles. It was very interesting to see what their daily lives are like outside Sapa when they aren't shopping or trying to sell things. Their lives revolve around planting and harvesting the family's rice fields, tending animals, and making handicrafts and clothing to sell. One of the things I love about traveling is experiencing other people's way of life; these experiences no doubt put our own lives into perspective. Listening to Ban talk about herself was fascinating. She spoke incredibly good English, but she cannot read or write the language. She also knows very little Vietnamese, just enough to be able to speak to the necessary people. Throughout the trip she was speaking to the villagers in the native Hmong tongue. Ban had never been to school, but she was incredibly intelligent. She talked at great length about her peoples' customs and Vietnamese society. Being the oldest in her family, she was expected to stay in the village and take care of the family. She had an arranged marriage and eventually had her own children. At 27 she already has three, ranging in age from 2 to 10.

Most of the villagers were wearing their traditional dress for the Tet. They make new costumes every year that take weeks to finish. If we had gone at any other time we wouldn't have had the opportunity to see them this way. The road back to town was again filled with an incredible number of people walking, riding motorbikes, and driving cars, dodging one another and somehow navigating their way through the maze.