One night with a Hmong family

  Sapa, Vietnam
Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Many people come to Sapa for trekking and seeing the different indigenous people that live in the area, including the Hmong and the Dzao. Our hotel offered a bunch of different guided tours which we figured we'd do. But we were lucky enough to meet Kulia.

I was standing on the sidewalk figuring out where to go next when a Hmong woman approached me. After a few minutes of chatting she invited me and Matt to visit her village. I was a bit reluctant at first, because I wasn't sure what to expect... Then she pulled out a tattered photo album and showed me all the people who had visited her in the past. The more we talked to her, the more sure we felt about wanting to go with her. We agreed to meet her the next morning along with 3 Israeli backpackers who also heard about her.

In the morning, we met in the section of the market reserved for indigenous women to sell their beautiful woven goods. Kulia and I went to buy vegetables and fruit for lunch and dinner. I was shocked by how the Vietnamese people treated her. They were rude and slapped her hand away from the vegetables. I was really disgusted and yet I couldn't think fast enough to do anything. It is really true that the indigenous people are treated like crap by the Vietnamese. Kulia and her sister Yeng told me other stories of being mistreated, but they didn't know why it was like that.

Kulia and Yeng



The hike to her house took about four hours, with many stops along the way to take photos of the gorgeous scenery. It was a tiring walk in the full sun.

Terraced rice paddies



Closer to her house, we passed many Hmong people, mostly children. They were actually quite shy and didn't look at us - a big change from the chorus of "Hello!" that we usually get. We came across a large group of children perched together on a large flat rock. They stared at us silently, until the other people in our group pulled out a box of cookies and passed them out. Then the children cracked into big shy smiles. By the time we were 30 metres away we could hear little Hellos and looked back to see them waving.

We came to a part of the path which had a large trellis hanging overhead, with watermelons. We had reached her house. As we walked through the gate, we saw her children peering around corners at us. There were large fields and some animal pens. A tiny stream flowed beside the house. In the house, the only furniture was a few narrow wooden benches. The floor was made of earth. I asked to use the toilet and she led me back out to the path and gestured outward, saying "Ok! No problem!"

Here's a view of the house over a field of mint



Throughout the day, we wandered over their land, played with her children (a couple who wouldn't come within 15 feet of Matt) and enjoyed mountains of food prepared by the family over a fire. Mmm and fresh ginger tea. They were beyond hospitable. A few people wanted to take a nap, and soon we could hear hammering - they were preparing the loft for our bedroom! Kulia's husband scored large bamboo poles to make mats and they brought heavy blankets. Her husband worked the whole day. He made a new bamboo gate, wove a basket, cared for the animals, and more.



Her children were also very involved with the daily work. The most amazing was her 5 year old son, who came home in the evening with a huge buffalo! As he entered the gate, he saw us and a huge smile spread over his face. He gave an excited whoop and whipped the buffalo with his little stick, driving it into its pen. He was so tiny, and yet he'd been caring for the buffalo since he was 4.



We saw how they made hemp string by hand and the loom on which they made the fabric. They also had huge vats on indigo in which they would dye the fabric. At night the sky was so clear that the Milky Way was a bright white streak and the stars seemed infinite. We slept in the small loft and awoke to roosters crowing in the morning.

Too soon, we had to hike back to Sapa. We were so fortunate to be welcomed by Kulia's family into their home... it was one of the most unique experiences I've ever had. If you ever go to Sapa I hope you're lucky enough to run into Kulia!