This lady was one of my favorite in Taphin village ... we communicated with bits and pieces of Vietnamese (although my dialect was all wrong!) and only a scattering of English words ... she was lovely and I feel, in another time, we were once close friends ... the connection was instantaneous! Sadly, I did not write her name down .... I think it was Mai or something along those lines .... will have to email Quyen and find out!
Drum shop in Red Dao Village
Red Dao lady, carrying goods for sale
The lovely colorful hats
worn by children ....
Lunch spot at small Red Dao village of Taphin about 13 kms. into our "walk"
These ladies came to sit near Quyen and I as we ate our lunch of noodle soup, hoping to sell some of their wares .... I purchased something from all .... equal opportunity shopper! I later shared them with local children in Sapa Village :) The ladies support families on much of the handmade crafts they sell, so there is no way, with any conscience, that I could not help out by purchasing some from all :)
Typical red turbans, worn by the women of the Red Dao ethnic minority
Love the colorful clothing of the children, particularly the hats!
I love the happy healthy Red Dao ... they carry their children everywhere in elaborate backpacks, often right from the day of birth .... I must say, I have that in common with this lovely ethnic group of women, as I too eschewed for the most part, strollers, those horrible mechanical swings, baby seats etc. that so many use, in the western world and pretty much carried my Sarah and Tim around in front and back-packs for most of their early childhood.
Cascading, rice terraces surround us in the peaceful serene countryside as we pass Black Hmong villages scattered here and there on our trek ... Matra, one particular village, was basically hiding away from current day civilization.
Arrival in the town of Taphin for lunch break .... a few other tourists around, some who had arrived via a different route .... ie. four-wheel ........ aaah yes, feeling just a tad smug about myself, having walked into town :) I paid for the smugness the following day, when my shins killed!!!
Meeting up with Tama on our walk into the Red Dao village
Oh, I just love love love this scenery! I can't tell you how pure the air felt, ........ fresh, with so much delicious moisture you could literally open your mouth and catch it. For someone of my sensibilities, the smog of Hanoi, the noise, really, all the accoutrements of a city over six million strong, the clean air of Sapa was like a gift from heaven!
Very pregnant pig crossed our path
Nursing mother pig & piglets on our path :)
Beautiful rice terraces
Local mothers carry their youngest in backpacks, depending on the child, sometimes until they are amost five years old.
My tiny guide Quyen .... after sharing thatI have a daughter about her age at home, she started calling me "mom" .... sweet young lady .... could not have imagined a better trekking companion in back country Vietnam!
Black Hmong village ladies
wearing traditional garb, pass us on the path
We had a bit of mist high in the mountain pass ..
Sapa Town from my hotel window on first morning ..... mist still hanging in and never really did lift much the whole day .... it turned out to be a perfect day to "catch up with myself" :)
Hotel grounds at Victoria Hotel & Spa .... like a Swiss village
I had wanted to explore the "wilder" side of Vietnam since arriving here in late September and so I did!! I hopped the Victoria Express overnight train to Lao Cai, a rather unappealing border town and gateway to Sapa in Northern Vietnam, close to the Chinese border ..... and voila, eight hours later, I arrived to what I would discover the next day, are stunning vistas, but that first morning, they were shrouded in dense fog and early morning mist and I was lucky to see ten feet in front of the car during the hour long journey to my hotel from the train station .... I was picked up by my cheerful guide, Quyen and driver Nam. They dropped me off at the beautiful Victoria Resort, perched on a hillside, overlooking the lake in town and Sapa below. I decided on an early start for my first day in Sapa, took in a hearty breakfast of fresh mangos, a bowl of pho and a delicious veggie omelet in the little breakfast room, an open fire burning in the center ...... the perfect complement to a beautiful setting ..... I had decided to indulge in a relaxation day, after a much harried past week of living as a tourist, being shuttled about here and there. A long nap after breakfast, followed by laps in the hotel pool ........... the exercise, a welcome tonic for mind and body ....... Given the beyond reasonable rates for a massage, I opted for some reflexology style massage to finish off a superb day.... I was well pummeled and ready for an early evening! .... on the way back from the pool/spa, I ran into Australian friends, Ron and Margaret, who had also enjoyed a few days in Sapa. Unfortunately, they were leaving shortly on the night train back to Hanoi and onward journey home to Australia .... stopped to enjoy some drinks and swap email addresses in the comfy lounge prior to their departure. We were joined for drinks by Johan and Christel from Belgium, who I had earlier met in Halong Bay..... Both fun couples ..... hopefully we will all keep in touch ..... email makes it so easy! .... that and blogs :) !!! The following morning, Quyen showed up bright and early for what I thought was going to be a short trek, exploring Sapa town, (according to my itinerary) ..... not to be ..... the day dawned clear, with no rain in the forecast (not a common occurance at this time in the year in this mountainous region) ..... we were going to take advantage of this break in the weather and trek into the remote Black Hmong villages scattered in the countryside and then on to the Red Dao village of Taphin for a late lunch ..... about 15 km away ...... I was in trekker's heaven! ...... the mist and fog of the day before a distant memory .... we walked along the most scenic vistas ..... so different from anywhere I have ever hiked! My pictures cannot even hope to capture the view! It was so stunningly beautiful and serene, I was moved to tears more than once ..... the camera does not always communicate the truth!! ..... The pictures above are of the various sights along the path, including a very pregnant pig ..... we met up with Tama, a lady Quyen seemed to be friends with (they chatted away in the Black Hmong dialect as both are part of that ethnic group ...... Quyen's parents live on a farm in a Black Hmong village about twenty kms. away ..... she leases a room in Sapa during the work week with a friend and heads back to the farm on weekends to help her parents ..... I must say here, Quyen is 24, has two older sisters still living at home ...... this is the norm in Vietnam ...... no one leaves home until they are married and sometimes not even then!! Parents are always assured they will be well looked after in their retirement years ...... kids, are you listening???) .... Quyen takes her heartier tourists on this walk at least twice a week in high season ..... observes how one handles the first few kms, making a decision to continue to the villages above or not .... she has Nam the driver on alert ..... should I not have done well on the first few kms (she alluded to the fact that she gets regular tourists who say they are hikers, but truly are not and causes a bit of a problem once one is several kms. into the walk .... she has to somewhow get her driver to the rescue .... not always easy on this trail!!) ..... I apparently passed her test ..... one that I was not aware was even happening!!! Hurray .... she gave me a further compliment at the end of the day ..... that I was very athletic, considering my size!!! Okay, so half a compliment! I take them where I can get them :) Bare in mind, this young woman is tiny, up to my shoulder perhaps, four foot nothing!!! .... and a featherweight! Who isn't a giant beside her anyway!! Vietnamese are very direct sometimes and Quyen qualified ..... she said, in her very direct and simplistic way, "some tourists are just big and very unhealthy, but some can be a bit big but also very healthy".... thankfully she rated me into her latter category!! As I got to know Quyen .... we talked and shared our stories as we walked ...... I figured she would be a perfect match for the guide Quy from the Australian tour! (even their names go together ..... yup, a match-maker, that's me!!) I have posted a few pictures of her on the next few postings ..... she was a lovely young lady, open, forthright, incredibly fit, intelligent with an inquiring mind .... great company!! She hiked in little velcro runners .... Keds or some such shoe ...... honest to God, and I noted one of her straps was hanging and on it's last leg probably!! She does this same hike, plus a 22 km one every week!!! .... in those shoes!! ..... Quyen must secretly chuckle at our over-encumbered Western gear ..... completely decked out in every kind of layer, hiking boots, packs etc. We are quite the sight, we Western hiker/tourists!!! She literally skipped along, on the muddy path in shoes I would have been slip-sliding along in and probably falling flat on my rear!! ..... I adore the minimalist in people like Quyen and try to emulate where I can :) ....... the hike was fabulous ..... highly highly recommend making the effort to get to Northern back country in Sapa, should you find yourself in Vietnam ...... worth every sore muscle from the train ride, although in all fairness, the train was actually quite comfortable ..... there are massages to be had all over town to alleviate any creaks and cracks, so no excuse! It was amazing to be walking along the same paths as the local people ..... saw only a handful of other tourists all day ..... I was in wilderness heaven in Vietnam ..... who knew that wilderness even existed in this tiny country of 86 million!!! ..... certainly not I :)
No comments:
Post a Comment