Lo Cai and SaPa

Lao Cai City and SaPa

Before dawn we heard music playing in the corridor of the train car.  Then the snack cart lady came by to knock and wake everyone.  I had set the alarm on my phone so Susie and I had already used the communal facilities before the rush hour!  We had slept our long underwear as our ‘winter pajamas’ because Phil had warned us that in the mountains it would be very cold.  We could only bring a small bag with us so we needed to conserve on space and have our clothes do double duty.  Our goodie basket had toothbrushes, combs and wet wipes along with the crackers so one could do a little bit of a cleanup if you did not bring things with you.

Phil, who had knocked a good morning wakeup call earlier, came by to give us a two minute warning. We stood up with our bag ready to go.  As soon as the train stopped we moved to the door and exited easily.  The porter or Phil took our bag and the other held our hands as we disembarked safely.  

We followed Phil rapidly along the concrete platform and across the remaining tracks to the station.  We went up the steps, right through and down the steps to our waiting small bus.  The dark was giving way to gloomy grey skies and heavy mist.  I have no pictures because the dew was too thick to get a clear view from the windows of the bus.  

Lo Cai City was not our destination but the end of the line for the Sapaly Express. We would return here for the trip back to Hanoi in a few days. Our destination is SaPa at the foot of the Roof of Indochina – Fan Si Pan.  The ride was about three hours over mountain roads more winding than on the previous trip.  The fog or haze was blinding. Phil filled us in on the plans for the stay and also talked a lot about the various tribes we would be visiting – the Red Dao and the Black Hmong. We stopped for a break at a place that made Milk Candy.  Milk for the children is a relatively new addition to the Viet diet.  They do not have a lot of cows.  So when they couldn’t sell the milk this family started making candy.

We arrived in the resort town of SaPa (Sapa).  The narrow and twisted streets required the bus to go around and about until it could line up with the street the hotel was on.  We checked into the Sapa Lodge Hotel.  Our room was down one level from the lobby on Floor 2.  There were four floors below the lobby and three above.  It is built on the hillside facing the mountains and had a nice, rustic balcony where we could enjoy our morning coffee.

We had arrived in time to enjoy the breakfast buffet with made to order omelets and pancakes.  The French Toast was French bread that was sliced, buttered, and toasted. We had time to shower and change.  We checked e-mail and got a little reorganized after the Stilt House stay.  Phil took Barbara and I to the ATM. My card had not worked in Hanoi but here we found a machine of an international bank and it worked fine. 

We all then went for the Orientation Walk. We went back up to the center of town where a large cement amphitheater was being readied for some event.  They have concerts and performances but today looked like it might be a military review.  An officer was cleaning the movie screen with a feather duster.  Adjacent to the arena is the Stone Church.  Dedicated to Mary it was a pretty but not significantly original looking to me.  But it does represent the large French influence in VietNam.

We met our adorable local guide, Mai Linh.  We drove out to her village which is part of the Red Dao (pronounced Red Zhou) tribe.  Mai Linh would be with us for the next couple days as well.  She shared a lot of personal information about her people.  Her parents still live in the village but she lived in SaPa because she married at the old age of 32 and chose a man she met in guide school.  Her parents were okay with receiving only two water buffalo as her dowry and with letting her marry a man of her own choosing. Because she was already so old as to be considered un-marriageable.

Even that she met him in guide school is remarkable because women in her village usually go only as far as primary school.  They are taught in Viet but speak their local language. Also only the boys learn to read and write their native language.  Luckily in the schools they do learn to read and write but not necessarily speak English!  The young people like to speak with foreigners to practice their English.

The visit in the rain to the humble Red Dao Village required an entry fee.  The fee is supposed to be used by the government to support the infrastructure such as the crumbling paved partial road we were walking on.  As soon as our feet touched the ground we were swarmed by the women who chatted amiably to be “very friendly.” On their backs were baskets of woven goods they tried to talk us into as we walked. They all co-operated with Phil when he wished to speak about the town and with Mai Linh who was showing us points of interest.  None minded being pointed out to describe their everyday costume or to have pictures taken.  But the truth was this was how they made their living when it was not farming season.

We saw a beautiful example of the complicated wedding dress and how it was worn.  The heavy veil covers the bride’s face the whole day so no one but the groom will see her.  When she goes to his family home she then restyles her headdress and becomes the Daughter-In-Law.  Her job is to learn to become the Mother-In-Law eventually! She submits to her in-laws totally.

Back at the hotel we set out once again. This time it was Barbara, Bruno, and I that Phil was taking to the store where they could shop for gloves and hats.  They ended up getting a good deal on an authentic North Face jacket which Barbara could really use. They had very nice ponchos that OAT had sent them but no jacket.  Although they are American they live in San Miguel, Mexico.  Warm clothes were not part of their wardrobe.  Phil found some great zip off pants in a pretty blue for summer use.

After lunch at a local restaurant some went back to the hotel but some wanted to try to get jackets like Barbara’s.  Phil returned with them to be sure they found the right store and wouldn’t get stung by knock-offs.  The day passed quickly and soon most everyone set out for dinner on their own.  But with guidance.  Phil recommended a restaurant and went along to do the ordering.  I chose to pass on that and relax in our room.

I planned to catch up on writing but soon fell asleep and so this is a short entry.  Not much happened on our first rainy day in SaPa!

Everything Has At Least Two Spellings!

Pom Coong (Poong Coong) Homestay

We had an early breakfast and left Hanoi with only the things we needed for a week in the countryside.  Our big bag was checked at the hotel to claim upon our return.  The bus ride was about three and a half hours west of the city and up into the mountains.  The tour is called Hill Tribes of VietNam.  Most of the drive it rained and if it wasn’t raining it was foggy or misty.  Phil said that most often the mountain pass is closed in the clouds.  It surely was!  You could not see the vehicle in front of you or even the lights of the oncoming ones.  On the narrow, winding road it was amazing that the sharp turns and frequent curves could be navigated.  Our driver was really remarkable. 

Mai Chau Valley where we were heading for our Homestay.

Once we were over the peak the weather cleared as we drove lower and lower into the Mai Chau Valley.  Here fruit orchards abound and we stopped to sample oranges along the way.

We arrived at the village of the White Thai People.  This is their name because they wear white but Mrs. Vuong, our hostess greeted us wearing black and with teeth that showed the effects of chewing beetle nuts.  The tiny woman of about 50 supports her family by having guest experience the culture of her people by staying overnight.  Homestays are popular in some of the villages we will visit.

 

The classic stilt house was large.  Beneath is the kitchen. It is eating and entertaining area and a place where Mrs. Vuong sits at a loom to create scarves which everyone in our group, except me, bought.  Phil encourages us to support the local economy.  I have supported the local economies sufficiently with the purchase of this trip, I am pretty sure!

The stilts allow for plenty of fresh air and help to keep the sleeping area clean.  Sleeping is done up an uneven flight of steps.  Because this is a home being used for tourism, the rectangular upper chamber accommodated all of us in one big room.  Barbara and Bruno had a king sized arrangement and then we each had our own space.  Each bed had a mosquito net but it isn’t the season yet so we did not use them. The thick memory foam mattresses which rested on the Jackwood floor were separated by elegant curtains which pulled back so we could be open or they could be closed for privacy. The curtains hung from a system of bamboo poles so that the room could be configured for any size group.  This room was a teen aged girl’s slumber party fantasy!

All the way around the walls were shutters that threw open to the rice paddies beneath.  You could see a great distance.  To make Westerners more at home there was a bathroom with toilet and sink on this floor.  Downstairs were three bathrooms with showers as well. We had removed our shoes so as not to spoil that tatami mats in the house and were provided with flip flops. 

Back down to a many coursed lunch which began with a welcome toast of rice wine served in doll house cups.  Rice is served at the end of the meal as a filler if you have not been satisfied by the soup, cooked greens and the meat, fowl, and fish courses.  Dessert was always served and this time was watermelon and dragon fruit.  

 

Susie, Anna from Taos, Frieda and I had lunch together.

Then came rest time.  Phil says we will have nap time most every day so we stay healthy!  I think it also gives the ‘troop leader’ a break!  He will have long days ahead!

We took a long walking tour through the rice paddies. Along our walk we went through the village.  The stilt houses are of wood and of varying qualities of finish and decoration.  Water Buffalo and VietNamese Potbellied Pigs are in sheds that have more openness than shelter.  Watch where you step!

Water Buffalo are shy creatures and not at all threatening despite their size.  They much on grasses and are invaluable for two reasons.  They serve as the plow and the fertilizer of the rice which is grown.  Children have the job of picking up the dung and piling it in the paddy until it is time for the Buffalo to walk in the field and mulch the dung into the soil.  Then the women to smooth out the mud with the use of a board.  It is all back breaking work and the whole family participates in the growing of the money crop.  When the seedlings get about 6 or 8 inches tall, they are pulled up and bunched.  Then they are reinserted one spring at a time into the mud in neat rows.  It was not warm, we had on jackets and hats and scarves but the ladies were barefoot and barehanded as they tediously stopped and placed the transplants.

Phil demonstrated for us.

 

This is what is pulled up and separated to replant.  

Seeing all the intense manual labor makes you really appreciate that cheap box of Minute Rice, or a five pound sack for just a few dollars!

We stopped in the village to visit in the home of a Veteran of the American War.  We have quickly realized that the welcome always includes tepid green tea or rice wine but is genuine and friendly.  He answered our questions and Phil guided the conversation so that Mr. Nguyen could tell us of his experience.  He went to the war because they were starving and wanted to have new hope. 

We passed the home of a family who was working in the field.  The 12 year old daughter was tending the 18 month old and was preparing dinner in their kitchen - this open fire in the front of the house.  Bruno asked if he could give the baby a piece of candy.  We always ask first. 

Our group sort of split up with some of us following Phil and others followed the local guide who went a different way.  When we all finally regrouped our local guide tried out a new route that proved awkward for Anna, Frieda, and me.  It ended with a narrow, not much wider than your two feet balancing act on a rutted grass path on a wall above the paddy.  Frieda and I were willing to try it but Anna would not have made it and Phil was nervous.  Her balance is not good and she needs a walking stick for normal paths.  He brought us back around another way.

We were late getting back to dinner which began with a performance of ethnic dancing and music. But first we soaked our feet in a warm bath of herbs to make them more comfortable and so we would sleep better. 

Here Glenda and her daughter Leah join Barbara soaking their feet.  Bruno is next in line!

Each song portrayed a story of the White Thai People.  The cutest one was a story of courtship that involved the young girl twirling her umbrella and teasing her beau by first showing her face and then hiding from him.  Susie and Barbara and Bruno joined in the bamboo dance.  When that began we could easily tell who had been Girl Scouts!

 Dinner was another multi-coursed meal.  I can see there will plenty of food on this trip and the toast this evening was with Rice Whiskey.  I think there will be a lot of that as well.   

We are all still getting to know one another but seemed to have bonded already.  Everyone was courteous and modest in our communal bedroom and yet there was a lot of joking and kidding around.  It is good that there were thick comforters on the beds as it was quite cool.  It is also good that we had noticed at Rest Time that some of the shutters did not hook closed and that we told Phil. While we were gone the family had already fixed those and so the ‘cabin’ was a little less breezy.  We talked and laughed and gradually you could hear fewer and fewer voices until we were all fast asleep huddled under the colorful down comforters.