45 Kilometers from the border (China, that is)

Last night I got to experience instant dissolving Imodium tablets.  We ordered them on Amazon and they came to us from Canada. They work wonders.  After being in and out of bed through out the night, I was finally able to dig out the tin with the little miracles inside.  I had no problems all day, even though much of the time was spent on a bus.  We were headed north to Sapa.

Forty-five kilometers from the border with China finds us in the gorgeous green terraced mountains of the Sapa region of Viet Nam.  It is peopled with descendants of at least five distinct ethnic groups, each living in their own village. We started with a to out of Sapa Town among the Dao people.

A van took us to a steep road and stopped We clambered out of the vehicle to begin our five mile plus hike (yes, five miles at least and yes at the end, Dennis said, “I’m proud of you.” Really.  I guess he thought this would be where we would use our evacuation insurance. Actually I wondered about it myself.). Once our feet were on the ground we were greeted by two smiling Dao women.  They walked along with me, one on each side, softly asking me questions about myself and then in turn telling me about themselves.  One of them said, “Will you buy from us at the village?  Others will come.  They knew who to cut from the herd.  Though their English consisted of simple vocabulary it was easily understood.

Into the valley and villages

As we walked along I learned that one of them had two brothers and two sisters.  The other woman was the oldest of four, all sisters.  They explained that their children were not in school becasue of the Tet holidays. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing when one of them said to me, “I like your grandma hair.”  Who could not be charmed?

As we continued to walk, we were joined by another woman, then another, then another, then a young woman carrying a five month old baby on her back.  Finally there were six plus me.  Dennis and Ben, our most wonderful and patient guide, hiked on ahead ignoring the parade that trailed after them.

About three lies into the trek we came to a curve in the road with a large flat shoulder overlooking the  terraces and the valley.  One o the women said, “Could you look at my things now?  I have far to walk to my home.”   So I gave in without a squeal of protest.  They all began taking out beautifully hand embroidered and sewn items in a n array of of fabulous colors.  I would later see many women sitting, embroidering and sewing on old treadle machines that my mother still used in the fifties.

I asked them to only show me small items as we have so little extra room and still so far to go.  After I spent some time looking I said, I have to talk to him (pointing to Dennis) I have no money.  The young mother promptly replied, “You make the choices but he is the ATM.”  I burst out laughing.  In the end I bought a small purse or wallet from each of them.  With Ben’s guidance we gave the money to the young mother to split between them.  I may have been manipulated but I didn’t mind at all.  They were so irresistibly charming.  We finished the hike in a relative short time, getting back to the Freesia Hotel in time for Dennis to take a swim and then have a drink before dinner.

On our second day we hiked down into the valley to other villages.  We spent time and had lunch in a Hmong village.  This time we didn’t buy from individuals.  Ben explained that we shouldn’t buy from the children because they see it as easy money and then don’t go to school so it’s better to buy rom adults or from shops.

We walked about six miles down into the valley, crossing streams, and meandering through the rice fields.  By about four o’clock we reached out home stay. What a very nice accommodation!  We had a bedroom and a bathroom with a shower and plenty of hot water. It was much more than we expected.

 We were greeted with tea and a tour of the garden.  Dennis went for a short walk up the road and later became the assistant to the sous chef.  He was about twelve and a real task master.  The family was lovely and we think there was grandma and grandpa, a very pregnant mom, her husband, and two sons plus several other people in household though we aren’t sure how they are all related.
Day 3 will be told by Dennis shortly...