After getting a night train from Hoi An to Hanoi, we got straight onto a tour to Sapa, starting with - another night train. Early the following morning, we were greeted with the following view from our hotel while enjoying breakfast. These are just a few of the ladies from one of the local ethnic tribes who live in the villages surrounding Sapa.
We were informed by a lady who'd done the same trek the day before that these women would be coming with us on our trek today, and that each of us would probably have already been 'chosen' to pair up with one of them. There were only three tourists on our trek (us two and an Australian woman called Jana), and here are our new friends: Dong on thee left (who was with Pete), Tru on the right (who was with Hazel), and Too in the middle (who was with Jana).
Here they are with Hazel getting to grips with modern technology:
Sapa is way up in the hills and reminded us both of the Alps. The very early and misty start certainly had an Alpine temperature, so we were well wrapped up!
The girl on the right was our guide for the tour (Su).
During the first day we walked down from the town into the valley where the Hmong villages are, on the way passing a few cheeky scamps...
...some beautiful craftwork...
...and a very few men, none of whom seemed to do very much:
In the Black Hmong village the women would use the indigo that grows on the hillside to die their fabrics:
The ladies do tend to give tourists the 'Hard Sell' on their handiwork, but some of it is really beautiful and well worth the money - and you know it's going to the people who make it! It's all part of the experience of spending time with these people,
The women here are from a different tribe to Tru and Dong (the red headgear gives it away). We think they're from the Red Dao tribe, but we may need to confirm it.
Here's some more of the people we met on the way:
And here's a small selection of the things they were selling:
Not long after lunch we arrived at our homestay. Taking advantage of the fact that there was only three of us in a place that sleeps 12, we commandeered four blankets each for the chilly night ahead!
Some of the people from the homestay round the corner dropped in to pay us a visit soon after we arrived, and we were invited back to theirs also.
A couple of beers into the evening, we were in stitches when a water buffalo decided to come and join us. Moooooooooooooooooooo!
We were also paid a visit by undoubtedly the craziest of all the local tribespeople - 'Avon Calling' doesn't even come close:
Her enthusiasm and keen sales pitch meant I was happy to pay twice the going rate for a packet of postcards - especially as she knew half the people pictured in them! Sadly her name has been lost in the fog of time, but her infectious laugh will live on for a long time yet! :)
Namaste!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment