The Hilltribes and Chicken Soup
Trip Start
Feb 18, 2009
1
15
42
Trip End
Aug 10, 2009
Sapa,
Vietnam
Friday, March 20, 2009
Bebe tried to answer my many questions along the way but some things we were not able to communicate. She did tell me the following:
* Women get married around 14-16... but Bebe was going to wait until she was older... early 20's.
* Women start having babies around 18-19... and most women have at least 4 children.
* Many women go to school for only a few years... Bebe went until she was 8 and then her parent's wouldn't let her continue (it wasn't clear if they 'wouldn't' let her or 'couldn't' let her). In those few short years of school she did learn to speak the H'mong language, Vietnamese and some English (although most of their knowledge of English comes from tourists).
* Most of the women in the village wear the traditional dress and it's not just for tourists.
* H'mong bury their dead but don't celebrate birthdays... I wondered if the women then really knew how old they were???
* They celebrate the New Year (although I don't know when their New Year begins) with a big celebration with the entire village and lots of food.
* They cultivate, among other things, rice, corn and indigo (used to make a dye for the clothing they make).
We visited the villages of Lao Chai and Ta Van... mostly H'mong, Dzao and a few Zay tribes. Bebe took us to her house in Ta Van... very basic bamboo/wood structure with a metal roof... there are 10 of them living there. Bebe's father was a gruff looking, unfriendly man... smiling only at Fredrich briefly but not even looking at me. I wanted to take Bebe home with me and put her in school and give her all the comforts she is missing out on... got choked up again and had to pull back to compose myself as we continued.
Saw ducks, cattle and some pigs. Some of the H'mong women told me that they only eat rice and no meat... maybe explains why they are all so tiny. They were attempting to build new rice patties on slopes so steep I would have thought it not possible.
Heard many babies crying, dirty-faced & grubby clothes children and not many people smiling... a very hard life.
We arrived back at the hotel mid-afternoon and I walked around town and went for a bite to eat. In the evening I lit the fireplace in my room and enjoyed my wine and chocolate!
That morning I woke up with a sore throat and runny nose so I thought I'd take it easy today (21 Mar 09). I slept fairly well... at least until about 4am when every dog in town started barking... it was like something out of a sci-fi movie (aliens landing and dogs are the only beings with the ability to sense it)!! Had a hot shower this morning and put on CLEAN CLOTHES (I finally had some laundry done... 3 days in the same clothes [including one overnight train trip] is far too long!). I had Pho Ga and hot tea for brekkie both yesterday and today... my mother always told me to have chicken noodle soup when I was sick!
Spent the morning sitting in the square people watching. I believe it was market day (Saturdays) but I'm not exactly sure what that means (there doesn't appear to be any more selling stalls). I think it's the day when the hilltribe people come to town to buy their supplies.
An older woman (in her 50's) came and sat with me for about an hour. Their selling tactics are flawless... really prey on your sympathies... it's hard to believe she was only 50 and I question if they really know how old they are if they don't celebrate birthdays... she looked much older anyway. She fell asleep while sitting beside me. Made me very sad to think about what a hard life she's had.
This was the day I also met Anh. She is 11 years old and a real sweetie. Anh lives in the village of Ta Van and goes to school in Sapa and speaks very good English. She sat with us for a while then came with me while I looked in the shops. She tries to sell things on the weekends when she's not in school but I discovered she has a more impressive talent. Anh drew me some pictures that were so nice... I'll treasure them for always. I asked Anh which tribe she belongs to and she didn't know... she then asked me which one I belong too!!! I don't know how she gets to Sapa from Ta Van or what her mother does but Anh wanders around town befriending tourists trying to sell her little trinkets.
I Skyped my friend Elles who is now in Hoi An and she gave me great pointers on booking my Halong Bay trip and told me how much she likes Hoi An. I miss her crazy energy!
I went to Baguette and Chocolat for lunch and met Jana, a young woman from the Czech Republic. Jana has lived in India and gave me lots of good info. She's also told me about some island retreats in India and southern Vietnam that I'll be sure to check out.
As I left Jana and walked towards the centre of town I came upon a Red Dzao woman who, as usual, tried to sell me something. We chatted for a while (limited) and I told her about my sore throat. She pulled out a tiny jar of some green concoction and dabbed it on my throat... no charge.
I had met some people from Malaysia a few days before in our hotel who were doing a homestay in one of the villages. They were taking supplies to cook for their hosts (usually the hosts do the cooking) which I thought was a very nice gesture. They invited me to have a beer with them at the Red Dragon Pub. One of the woman had met Anh earlier in the day and given her some crayons so Anh made me another picture while I visited. We were also approached by a group of Black Dzao women. This tribe believes it's beautiful to have black teeth and uses some kind of plant to darken them. They also have colourful pom-poms on their hats and earrings... I couldn't help but think of the pom-pom socks we used to wear in the 80's! They had the most beautiful skirts that I would have loved to buy but have no room in my backpack.
That evening I went to aerobics with Thuong (the desk clerk at the hotel). OMG... it was too much fun! I had a VERY hard time with some of the hip thrusts... these woman are SO good at it and my body just does not move like that! I had a blast and I was so grateful to Thuong for taking me... I owe her dearly.
Weekends are busy in Sapa... students from Hanoi come to Sapa for a weekend getaway and the square downtown was crowded with people as we retuned from aerobics. Thuong dropped me off at the hotel and I decided to walk back to the town centre to see what was going on. Quyen (one of the young deskclerks at the hotel) offered to go with me and show me around. We went to the square and to see the 'Love Market' where the H'mong young people gather every Saturday evening in search of a mate. They dance and hold out their hats for donations... it's all a bit staged for the tourists nowadays but apparently this tradition is very old. We walked on through town checking out all the bbq stalls... some interesting looking things cooking on the grills! We searched for an open pool table in one of the bars but they were all full with the influx of university students. We ended up at a bar and chatted over a beer. Quyen is 20 and grew up in a village between Sapa and Hanoi. He had a girlfriend there but she is now in school in Hanoi. He is and only child and his parents still live in the same village... he said they've never been to Sapa and although he said he does visit them, I suspect it's not often. Quyen used to be a cook in the hotel's restaurant but now works at the front desk... he works 6 days a week and his shift is from 6 or 7 am until about 2 pm when he sleeps for a few hours and then he works until midnight or so. Most nights he sleeps on the couch in the lobby in case guests are out late and need to be let in after the doors are locked. Quyen loves dealing with tourists and wants to start doing tours... I think that's why he asked to go with me that evening... to practice his English and to show me around. In the evenings when I come down to the lobby to check my e-mail, he's always listening to western music (mostly the Backstreet Boys) and singing... he's got such an incredible voice and I find it so funny that when it comes to song lyrics his English is flawless!
My throat felt so much better in the evening... don't know if it was the Pho Ga or the green gunk that the Red Dzao woman gave me!
