The Heather Report: Sapa

In the northern region of Vietnam, Sapa is best known for the ethnic hill tribes residing in the area, many of which are still living in traditional ways. Most tourists who visit Sapa trek to a village town to witness these ancient cultures. Nearly everyone buys a three or four day tour which starts in Hanoi and takes you by overnight train to Lao Cai, then transfer by bus or van to Sapa. I figured we could work this all out on our own and didn’t need a tour. Interesting thought…kinda worked…kinda didn’t.

We heard that the train to Sapa can sell out and decided to buy our ticket ahead of time from Dalat. I called the Hanoi Backpacker’s Hostel hoping they would hold a couple of tickets for me, which they did. We arrived in Hanoi and jumped in a cab to the hostel to pick up our tickets. It seemed a bit dodgy when we arrived at the completely harried train station and had to turn over our “receipt” to a woman standing in the parking lot who handed us a “ticket” out of a cardboard box. But we went with it. The ticket was $30 one way which seemed ridiculously expensive compared to everything else in Vietnam. But again. Going with the flow.

As it turns out, we did in fact have a legitimate ticket with a car and two sleeper beds. Too bad it was a total sh-t hole with dirty sheets and the stinkiest bathroom in Vietnam (not really, but close!) . But we had nice roommates and we were on our way to Sapa. You can do anything for 10 hours, right??
Upon our arrival we hunted down a mini-van to take us on a sightly harrowing one hour drive to the town of Sapa. The winding roads provide beautiful views of the valleys along with some heart clenching, cliff hanging moments as the drivers nonchalantly weave and pass on the curves while laying on the horn. At some point this became too much for a woman two rows ahead of us who promptly started yakking into a plastic bag. Dena and I heard this strange coughing/retching sound and it took us a moment to identify the poor Vietnamese woman producing such gut wrenching groans. Luckily no one else joined her and we made it to Sapa.

We passed these guys carrying something large and round on the motorbike

Immediately upon our arrival we were hit up by these adorable girls to buy some handmade souveniers. I couldn't resist and ended up with some kind of mouth harp??

Lots of interesting things at the market in Sapa...including these chickens with their legs up in the air! You can see the woman to the left cleaning a bird. They are definitely fresh.

The next day we made the three hour journey to Bac Ha market, famous for the Flower Hmong locals that attend the market in their traditional attire. The 3 hour drive each way was well worth the beauty of the Hmong people wandering the market for their weekly supplies. Granted, they also cater to tourists and you cannot wander through the aisles without being approached by basically ever vendor….”buy something from me, lady. Just have a look!”

Trying on a new skirt

Pouty girl. Maybe because she's playing in a gutter!

Hmong ladies doing their weekly shopping

The next day we trekked to a Red Dzao village with Ha, our adorable guide. Ha grew up in the village we visited but moved to Sapa in an effort to start a new life. Although we tend to romanticize the simple life of traditional villages, the reality is that in these region is a tough, hand to mouth existence. She spoke very frankly of the issues for women in these villages...that they are expected to take care of the house and kids. Period. The men have much more freedom and can go out with their friends and booze it up every once in a while, but the women are basically required to stay home at all times. No one marries for love. Marriage is seen as more of a life necessity and the woman moves in with the husband's family and they will all sleep in one room together. They also have very little in the way of creature comforts and live in extremely basic homes, often with no indoor plumbing.

Trekking through the rice fields

We passed this little Black Hmong lady on our way to the Red Dzao village. She could have been an extra in The Wizard of Oz!

The walk to the village was stunning and we immediately picked up some "friends" who would follow us all the way to the village with the understanding that we would buy something from them at the end. We agreed that chatting with these ladies while we trekked was worth a purchase at the end of the journey, so off we went!

Our "friends" who walked with us to the village

It was a hot day and the lovely ladies tried to shade us from the blazing sun

The ladies spoke quite good English and asked us many questions about ourselves. The first round went something like this:

Dzao woman: Are you married?
Me: No
Dzao woman: Do you have children?
Me: No
Dzao woman: Do you have boyfriend?
Me: No
Dzao woman: But how old are you?
Me: 39
Dzao woman: blank stare
Me: Smile and shrug
Dzao woman: I married at 18 and have 5 children. I'm 26. I thought you were younger then me!
Me: Wow! Thanks...and I'll definitely buy an overpriced item that I don't need from you at the end of the trek.

Which is exactly what I did and if I hadn't, I'm pretty sure Dena and I would have ended up tied to a post in a field somewhere with a bunch of pigs and goats to keep us company. The Red Dzao women have perfected the art of persistence with a dash of guilt that proved quite effective. I now have two embroidered cell phone holders, if anyone would like one.