Sunday, March 06, 2005
Roughin' it In Northwest Vietnam
One of the exciting things you can do while in Vietnam is to visit the Northwest region for the beautiful scenery and visiting minority tribes. Tourism has been booming in this region in the last couple of years, and there is an interesting infusion of culture between the outside world and the ethnic minorities today (e.g. - minority youths have their own hotmail accounts which they can check at Sapa when they come to markets).
I did a 2 night/3 days trip to Sapa and got to do a homestay in the villages. It was an experience I won't forget (I'm quite shattered from the 3 days of mountain trekking though).
Cozy sleeper cabins that take you on a 10 hour train-ride along the Song Hong (Red River)
The hills are definitely alive - the neatly organized fields look similar to the hilly farms in South America or tea farms in Japan. The main crop grown here are rice, and since the altitude is so high, they can only get one harvest a year. The other main crop is cardamon, which can be sold at five times the price of coffee (which is already a cash crop) in the market.
Five different types of tribes live in these hills: the H'Mong, Dzao, Dazi, Thais, and Saphils. The H'Mong is the majority of inhabitants, accounting for 52% of the population. Our guide, Nam, told us that the H'Mong people are known for their kungfu fighting and excellent hunting skills. The moral is: don't mess with the H'Mong.
When we stopped for lunch, H'Mong children came to sell us accessories. You can see that the girl is a Black H'Mong because she is wearing mostly black attire. There are also the Flower H'Mong who have beautiful flower embroideries on their skirts.
The Vietnamese government fully supports the infrastructure construction (e.g. - roads and bridges) and provides social health care. All children in Vietnam receive basic education. With tourism as an added industry (plus, these people don't pay taxes), the life of the villagers are not too shabby. Even the H'Mong tribe gave up their nomadic lifestyle and became subsistent farmers. In fact, life is getting better with tourism. "It brings more good than bad," said Nam.
Moo...
Ironically, I saw more chickens in North Vietnam than I have in my entire life.
These water-powered rice mills are quite amazing.
Water fills up one end until it spills out. Then, the arm acts like a see-saw and drops down on the pile of rice, removing the husks.
Once we approached a village, the H'Mong girls rushed out to greet the foreigners, trying to sell handmade crafts.
They are little entrepreneurs in learning. "What is your name?" "Where are you from?" "How old are you?" "How many brothers and sisters do you have?" "Buy from me?"
Their English is superb (even better than what you hear in the streets of Hanoi) and some of them even knew Japanese. They go to school in the morning and sell handcrafts in the afternoon.
They played an interesting game of 'Hand Badminton' with us. The shuttlecock is made of chicken feathers and you hit it at the palm of your hand.
A little cultural present from me - I taught them how to make origami. They loved the pretty papers.
We did a homestay at this house. Since it was cold at night, the lady of the house gave us some of their home-distilled rice wine. Quite potent and definitely kept us warm. Then, we watched a really bizarre Jet Li DVD on their big-screen TV. Ah, life in the countryside...
The interior is quite nice and cozy
View from the house - it has everything you need: the mountain view and a fresh stream right in your front yard!
Our next destination was Thac Bac village. Unfortunately, it rained the day we were trekking. No, let me take that back. It was POURING, POUNDING, HAILING - cold, wet, and slippery. I took some nasty dives in the course of all this, looking like a mud-doll at the end of the day. I also had a terrible cold, which sent me straight to bed when I got to the village. Brr... it's not recommended to trek in Spring here - I would wait till the Summer next time.
Thac Bac village
Laundry by the stream
One last look at the valley
Our awesome guide, Nam. He was chef extraordinare and the trip wouldn't have been interesting without him.
The Crew - we survived. Whew!
Awesome experience in Sapa and the villages beyond. It was such an interesting peek into the livelihoods of the minority tribes, and I hope to go back again some day.
I did a 2 night/3 days trip to Sapa and got to do a homestay in the villages. It was an experience I won't forget (I'm quite shattered from the 3 days of mountain trekking though).
Cozy sleeper cabins that take you on a 10 hour train-ride along the Song Hong (Red River)
The hills are definitely alive - the neatly organized fields look similar to the hilly farms in South America or tea farms in Japan. The main crop grown here are rice, and since the altitude is so high, they can only get one harvest a year. The other main crop is cardamon, which can be sold at five times the price of coffee (which is already a cash crop) in the market.
Five different types of tribes live in these hills: the H'Mong, Dzao, Dazi, Thais, and Saphils. The H'Mong is the majority of inhabitants, accounting for 52% of the population. Our guide, Nam, told us that the H'Mong people are known for their kungfu fighting and excellent hunting skills. The moral is: don't mess with the H'Mong.
When we stopped for lunch, H'Mong children came to sell us accessories. You can see that the girl is a Black H'Mong because she is wearing mostly black attire. There are also the Flower H'Mong who have beautiful flower embroideries on their skirts.
The Vietnamese government fully supports the infrastructure construction (e.g. - roads and bridges) and provides social health care. All children in Vietnam receive basic education. With tourism as an added industry (plus, these people don't pay taxes), the life of the villagers are not too shabby. Even the H'Mong tribe gave up their nomadic lifestyle and became subsistent farmers. In fact, life is getting better with tourism. "It brings more good than bad," said Nam.
Moo...
Ironically, I saw more chickens in North Vietnam than I have in my entire life.
These water-powered rice mills are quite amazing.
Water fills up one end until it spills out. Then, the arm acts like a see-saw and drops down on the pile of rice, removing the husks.
Once we approached a village, the H'Mong girls rushed out to greet the foreigners, trying to sell handmade crafts.
They are little entrepreneurs in learning. "What is your name?" "Where are you from?" "How old are you?" "How many brothers and sisters do you have?" "Buy from me?"
Their English is superb (even better than what you hear in the streets of Hanoi) and some of them even knew Japanese. They go to school in the morning and sell handcrafts in the afternoon.
They played an interesting game of 'Hand Badminton' with us. The shuttlecock is made of chicken feathers and you hit it at the palm of your hand.
A little cultural present from me - I taught them how to make origami. They loved the pretty papers.
We did a homestay at this house. Since it was cold at night, the lady of the house gave us some of their home-distilled rice wine. Quite potent and definitely kept us warm. Then, we watched a really bizarre Jet Li DVD on their big-screen TV. Ah, life in the countryside...
The interior is quite nice and cozy
View from the house - it has everything you need: the mountain view and a fresh stream right in your front yard!
Our next destination was Thac Bac village. Unfortunately, it rained the day we were trekking. No, let me take that back. It was POURING, POUNDING, HAILING - cold, wet, and slippery. I took some nasty dives in the course of all this, looking like a mud-doll at the end of the day. I also had a terrible cold, which sent me straight to bed when I got to the village. Brr... it's not recommended to trek in Spring here - I would wait till the Summer next time.
Thac Bac village
Laundry by the stream
One last look at the valley
Our awesome guide, Nam. He was chef extraordinare and the trip wouldn't have been interesting without him.
The Crew - we survived. Whew!
Awesome experience in Sapa and the villages beyond. It was such an interesting peek into the livelihoods of the minority tribes, and I hope to go back again some day.
// posted by sakit @ 3:51 AM 
