D93 -- Visiting rural villages

Zao and Lam were on the doorstep of the hotel this morning. They hung out with us as we checked our e-mail and I showed them pictures of our family and friends from our Smugmug site.

Before setting out for the day we went to a pharmacy in search of Immodium, as both of our stomachs weren't doing so well. The woman there didn't speak any English so we just pointed to our stomaches and made unhappy faces. She gave us some pills. It's a good thing the box contained an English safety and instruction sheet – the pills were actually laxatives! I consulted the Lonely Planet book and told her “tiêu cháy” and she gave us different pills. These didn't come with English instructions, but Thomas took them anyway. Brave man.

We hired two men to take us to the Ta Phin village trail on motorbikes and pick us up a few hours later. As we rode through the winding mountain roads I thought to myself, “I sure hope I don't die in an accident today. My family will be so angry with me for not wearing a helmet. I have a Masters degree in public health, for heaven's sake, and I'm not wearing a helmet?!?!” I asked the drivers to bring helmets when they came to pick us up. Which of course they conveniently forgot (I suspect they don't actually have any).

There was another couple getting dropped off there at the same time, but they came in a jeep and had a guide with them. We let them walk ahead of us so we'd all have some space, but we kept them in our sights as we weren't sure of the trails and there were no signs anywhere. The walk was amazing. Surrounded by mountains, dirt roads wound through terraced rice paddies and small villages, where we saw goats, chickens, water buffalo, pig, and dogs. We passed many H'mong people, and tried to say hello in the words Zao had taught us but we didn't get much response other than smiles. The exception was the very young children playing in the road. Several of them would say “hello” in English to us over and over.



We passed by these two boys and they agreed to let Thomas take a picture of them. They smiled when they saw the picture of themselves and we let them take a picture of us with our camera, which they also seemed to enjoy. We arranged all this through hand signals since we could only say hello and thank you in their language. It's funny how you find ways of communicating.

We met up with the other couple after about an hour and a half. Turns out George and Christina are from Sacramento and were honeymooning in Cambodia and Vietnam. We ended up walking with them the rest of the way. We enjoyed talking with them, and it was lucky for us to have met them since Christina was able to lend Thomas some sunscreen. I had put some on earlier but Thomas hadn't and we'd forgotten to bring some, along with our tripod, telephoto lens, extra water, etc. So much for being “seasoned” travelers. It was also lucky because their guide introduced us to a H'mong woman who invited us into her home to see some of the fabric she sells. She lives in a village which is half H'mong and half Dzao. Three generations live in her three-room wooden house, which includes a kitchen with an open pit (no ventilation) and a large living room. All the rooms had dirt floors and there were a couple of light bulbs hanging here and there. It reminded me of the homes of the rural Mexicans around San Miguel de Allende, but even more basic. We were invited to sit in small, children's sized plastic chairs - these are common all over Vietnam. One wall of the living room was plastered with 2002 Jesus calendars and a couple of Unicef posters. I guess the only visitors they get out here are missionaries and public health folk. We asked a few questions about who lived in the house,etc. using the guide as an interpreter. I wanted to ask if they had a latrine, what kind of access they have to water and health care, but we'd just met and it didn't feel appropriate, so instead I asked the family if they had any questions for us. The mom wanted to know what religion we all were.

Thomas bought a traditional cap from them and we asked if we could take a picture. They said that we could if we gave them a copy. So we took some pictures and made plans to get them to the family through the guide after we returned to Sapa. Isn't the mom beautiful?


They seemed like friendly, happy people despite what in our US eyes would be considered abject poverty. But I couldn't help thinking about the difficulties and health implications of their living conditions. It made me wish I was back in Mexico working with CASA. We finally came to Ta Phin, which actually has paved access since many tourists have started going there. What a stark contrast to the other villages. There was actually a restaurant!

We were still saying goodbye to Lam and Zao when our bus arrived and we still weren't completely packed. We had arranged for a late check-out (6:30) and the hotel staff was there waiting at the door at 6:30 on the dot, telling us to get out. They practically threw our suitcases out into the hall. We are known for some frantic departures, but this one took the cake. We really regretted saying such a hasty goodbye to our friends. Zao and Lam showered us with gifts as we left – they gave us metal bracelets and a ring that they had been wearing. I tried to say no but they insisted. They also gave us tons of little cloth bracelets for our parents, they said, and “Thomas' sister's three babies” (they had seen pictures of Lisa's kids from our wedding). I sure hope the e-mail address Zao gave me works.

Boarding the train was not as chaotic this time, though our bus driver dropped us off at a restaurant across the street from the station because we “needed to confirm” our tickets and someone there took them from us briefly. I think it was a ploy to get us to eat at the restaurant. It worked out: we bought sodas from them and they let us use the restroom (much cleaner than going on the train). No wood paneling in the berth this time, but we did have English-speaking roomies (French couple) and we slept a little better thanks to the rockin' AC. Sapa was a whirlwind but I'm so glad we went.

-Elva