Arriving in Lao Cai, we got the minibus up the mountain, and noticed the temperature drop straight away - thankfully not quite calling for long sleeves, even first thing in the morning. The town isn't huge but there's a lot going on - and with the view of the mountains round every corner, it feels like you're in the Alps.
After a shower at the hotel, we met our guide - a 17 year old girl called Ansu from the Black Hmong tribe. 5 minutes in to, what turned out to be, a 5 hour/13 km hike, we got the view of all views at the top of the valley. Then we started the descent through the immaculate tiered rice paddies down muddy slippery slopes. It was at this point we noticed that the 5 or 6 women who also appeared to be from the Black Hmong tribe were following us down the hill - we'd heard they were persistent sellers, but we never dreamt that they would follow us for the best part of our walk. Anyway, whilst we were in trainers'/hiking shoes, they were in plastic sandal/flip flop things - but were clearly more adept at scaling the hills - so much so, they were the ones helping us down the hills and at one point Fiz had 2 tribeswomen almost carrying her. We later learned their motives - just as we left them for lunch we were corralled in to buying some of their fabrics, albeit for a good price! I'll pay (almost) anything to deliver my wife safely!
The Black Hmong are known for their black/dark clothing which they make from scratch themselves and embroider with wild colours. Apart from tourism and home stays, the colourful clothes, bags, purses and jewellery they make is another source of income. They can take months to make and is just one of many examples of how they make the most of their surroundings to survive. They also have a remedy for headaches which includes buffalo horn - if you rub this on your forehead it gets rid of the headache but everyone in the village will know you've had a headache as the mark it leaves stays for a week!
The tribes all speak their own language, so we were failing to learn that too on the walk. But they also have a good command of English, all learned from tourists and the chat was as usual, part of the sales pitch - universally starting with 'Where you from?' and 'What's your name?'. But this didn't take away from getting to know them (it's better than having 'moto-bike' shouted at you from across the street) and we warmed to them very quickly.
After lunch in Ta Van village, we trekked to Dzay village, to spend the night at a Home stay with the Dzay minority. The accommodation was basic, (though we were given our own room as we were on our honeymoon, whilst everyone else was in dorm like beds!!) but the view from the terrace in the valley was something else. We spent the afternoon and evening chatting to the 8 or so other travellers (all European) drinking beer, rice wine (potent!) and admiring the many weird bugs that were gathering around us - including a stag beetle and a huge sky blue butterfly that looked fake. We also learned a little bit about life in the tribe, as was the purpose of the Homestay and got to explore the village.
A very early start on Sunday and we each got a lift on a motorbike back to Sapa - the track was on the side of the mountain, and the cloud hadn't lifted yet, so the mountains peeking through the clouds was a great wake up call. We then had a long trip to Bac Ha market - the market to beat all other markets. Many tribes come to this market which is only on Sundays, to trade their wares and buy their supplies for the week. Most prevalent were the Flower Hmong tribe, called as such because of their very very colourful clothes. The market itself was equally colourful, and on sale were buffalo, horses, pigs, puppies (for eating mostly) birds, clothes, food, woven fabrics, etc. There was also a section for men to get their weekly hair cut, right next to the pig and puppy section! What was most strange about this market was the section where the birds were sold - birds are left in small cases outside almost every house in Vietnam - we think to bring luck or keep away evil spirits, but the jury's out - we get mixed answers every time we ask! But at the market it was only men trading the birds and in many cases they were just sitting looking at them, waiting for something to happen - later we found out that they also pitch them against each other in fights, so the men were looking to see how fight-worthy the birds were before buying them.
After visiting a village where the flower Hmong people live, we made our way back to Sapa, had dinner and went for a walk in the town - only to be left in the middle of a dark street when the leccy cut out completely!
Today (Monday) we thankfully woke up to almost clear blue skies and another great wake up call view was waiting for us on our balcony as we could see right down the valley. We went for a walk with our guide to CatCat village and waterfall, learned how they made clothes, visited more Hmong homes, also VERY basic, saw some traditional dancing and finally ended with lunch, with a handy helping of travel tips from another Australian couple also on the tour.
All in all - yet another fantastic and educational stop, and a glimpse in to the lives of people we didn't even know existed before coming to Vietnam.
As per usual, we've packed a lot in to this trip and whilst travelling independently would have been slightly cheaper, we probably wouldn't have been able to do everything had we not booked the tour (booked with Sapa Pathfinder tours through hotel in Hanoi - very pleasant experience with knowledgeable and very friendly guides). As it is, we can't believe that after 3 days in Sapa, we're on our way back to Hanoi tonight already. Apparently our next night train is even more luxurious (real wood panels!!!), so we should be well rested for our next trip to Halong Bay - which leaves 3 hours after we get in to Hanoi!
Stunning
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