I thought i had left canada
Trip Start
Jan 06, 2005
1
10
20
Trip End
Apr 13, 2005
Sa Pa,
Vietnam
Sunday, February 20, 2005
we arrived here bright and early on friday morning, after our ride in a sleeper car on a night train from hanoi. sa pa is a beautiful, small town (formerly a french hill station where the colonizers would come here and to other hill stations throughout the country to escape the blistering heat) up in the mountains, right near the chinese border. it's home to not only viet kinh (ethnic vietnamese) but also a lot of other ethnic 'minority groups' who live in villages all around the area.
vietnam is home to over 50 different ethnic groups, with the vietnamese being the dominant one. most of them live in the highlands.. and like most 'minority' groups worldwide, they are not treated very well here by the government. many of the groups migrated here from southern china, some fairly recently, others not-so-recently. the dominant viet kinh group was also once just a group like any other here, but they started to grow in size and eventually ended up becoming the dominant group in the country, and the ones who wield power.
'hilltribe trekking' is a popular tourist attraction in vietnam (and other parts of southeast asia) and i find it to be a pretty exploitative practice, what with the undertones (or overtones, rather!) of icky cultural voyeurism, looking at people like 'exotic' creatures, etc.etc.. but on the practical reality side, the growing popularity of hilltribe trekking has forced the government here to stop trying to assimilate the groups (amongst other oppressions they face from the state) and offer up more protections for them and the regions in which they live. so overall, it is a very sticky issue. another thing is that these groups are generally very poor and tourism has allowed them to make more money, primarily by selling handicrafts in the towns and markets, being hired as tour guides, etc.. however, i think the economic benefits of tourism seems fairly minimal to most of the people (relative to others) since it is the viet kinh-owned hotels, restaurants, bars, tour companies, etc. that obviously benefit the most. unlike in northern lao, there don't seem to be as many 'ecotourism' type ventures that attempt to minimize the impact of tourism on people's lives.. for example, it doesn't appear that they consult with the communities beyond the first visit to ensure that everything is still smoothly for them (like they do in the luang nam tha and muang sing areas of lao where we were). they do pay villages though if they allow them to be used as 'tourist spots' for treks, and people get paid if they want to allow tourists to come see their homes, so that is another source of much-needed income.
anyway, lots of issues. since we are here, jess and i have been trying to buy things from the black hmong women selling their goods in town rather than from the viet kinh people who have the same goods (some fake and made in factories) in their market stalls. we're off to go hunt down some of the batik and embroidered blankets after this.
our first day here, we saw this great photo exhibit in the tourist centre in town. a few black hmong people were given cameras and they took photos of their lives and the town. there were captions underneath with the photographers' thoughts. it was pretty cool as it gave some insight into what some (but obviously not all) people think about the gawking tourists (they find us pretty funny, welcome, and a much-needed source of income).
oh yeah, i once saw a good documentary film by ali kazimi in one of my classes and in it, one of the native men he interviewed said something (about tourists that visit his reserve) like "they come and take away, but they never give back". that quote has stuck with me.
anyway, we came here because we wanted to see the beautiful scenery but aside from a few hours after we first arrived (during which time we napped since we were so tired), a thick cloud of fog has been enveloping the entire town and surrounding areas. very disappointing! it only gets better if we go much further down the mountain. so no mountains for us! we did pay a visit to bac ha, a town 3 hours' drive away, to check out their infamous market. people of many different ethnic groups descend on the town on saturdays to buy, sell, and just be seen. jess noticed that many of the young flower hmong women were wearing make-up and this is because market day is also a day to meet future husbands!
the market itself was bustling and everything from oxen to live chickens to handicrafts (for the tourists, of course) to food to odds and ends were being sold.
tonight, we depart on a night train to hanoi, and on wednesday morning, we take a plane to the sunny beach city of nha trang! our final day in hanoi is the last of our cold stint.
(p.s. along with the photos of fog, i'm posting up some photos (of the trip to the chua huong) that i tried to upload last entry, but my damn camera ran out of batteries as i was doing it.)
