Jenna and I got up early to walk the town centre- today was the day- we were going to find a guide and make the trek to Sapa. Like any young, ignorant tourists, we walked aimlessly with a list of "absolutely nots" (no beds) and "hard no's" (no running water) until we realized that we weren't going to know what to expect (or not expect) until we got there. We just had to go with our guts and hope it worked out alright. Alright, in my head however, was not being chased down the street and heckled by an old woman with a cane. I tried to keep my head down and book it but damn this woman was fast. I chanced a quick look around and spotted a young girl milling about in a crowd of vietnamese mountain women (we later learned these women were called Hmong). This was it. She was our girl. I gave Jenna a wave and made a beeline toward the crowd. "Hi, Hi!" I exclaimed, like a giddy school girl. "Can you please take us to Sapa?"
She looked at me shyly.
She hesitated.
She wasn't sure if she could take us.
Oh no. Please.
I looked around. The old woman and her cane were gaining on us.
I looked at the girl pleadingly one more time.
She supposed she could take us to stay at her sister's.
Sold. We're in.
The plan was to walk through the rice paddies down the side of the mountain until we came across a lunch hut. After eating we would hike the rest of the way to the small village we would be staying in.
Jenna and I were really excited and tried chatting with our guide, La Sapa, but she was incredibly shy. Jenna and I also realized that the hike took a bit more focus and endurance than we had initially thought. La Sapa walked us through some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen in my life.
All the while however I was trying not to think about the fact that one misstep would lead me to my doom. At some points, our trail curved and became skinnier, at some points, it was blocked and we had to climb over branches and stumps, at others it was flooded and we had to jump from rock to rock and at other times still it was covered in mud that we sank down into. To make matters worse, while Jenna and I struggled, contemplating every step, our guide was moving swiftly and gracefully in flip flops. You heard correctly ladies and gentlemen, flip flops, of all things! Jenna and I both had hiking boots yet we were still stumbling along far behind. La Sapa finally opened up to us and admitted that she was so nervous because we were her first treking tour. She explained that she still lived at home with her parents and that she normally walked the two hours into town to sell the jewelry that her father made, not to pick up tourists and trek with them to the villages. La Sapa had spoken to her sister after we had insisted she take us and her sister had offered for us to come and stay with her so that's where we were headed. La Sapa was also nervous because she didn't think her english was good enough to be a guide on a treking tour. Quite the opposite actually. La Sapa's english was amazing and her patience with us as we trudged along was admirable. We were able to relate to her because we were young and so was she. We told her about life in the United States and she shared so many interesting things with us about life in the villages of Sapa. There are 12 different tribes in the villages, all of whom speak different languages. All of the Hmong are also required to learn to speak Vietnamese. La Sapa said that all of the villages keep to themselves and that it is unacceptable to marry someone from a different village. Yet, as we walked through different villages on our way to our final destination, La Sapa was very friendly to the inhabitants. What should have been a two hour hike to lunch took us four (woof!) and boy were we hungry by the time we got there. Luckily, they had rice and chicken and vegetables for us. I've never eaten so much food so quickly. La Sapa was fascinated by our stories as we were with hers.
After lunch we continued our trek. She showed us wild marijuana plants and encouraged us to rub another wild plant around in our palms. After, she laughed, as we examined our now blue stained skin. She explained that this was the type of plant they used to make blue dye which is the color they use for many of their clothes and headbands.
As we entered the Hmong Village we would be staying in, we walked by a series of small huts, churches, school houses, blacksmith shops and butchers. The kids were out and about because they had just gotten out of school and the adults were curiously peeking out their huts at the two foreigners walking through their town. We had made it. 6 hours, 5 blisters and a sunburn later, we had made it to our homestay. La Sapa's sister was incredibly nice and spoke english very well. Her husband did not speak much english, nor did her children. However, her three younger children were infatuated by Jenna and I. The older son, quiet and reserved, seemed to prefer watching from afar while he worked on assembling a fence made out of bamboo. Jenna and I were tired, but there was still more to be done. We weren't going to be able to make dinner unless we cooked it. We weren't going to be able to cook it unless we started a fire. Wow. And I thought the hiking was tiring. Our host insisted that we not help and instead relax, however I couldn't help but feeling bad that they were preparing our meal while we sat outside and watched the sunset. Jenna and I opted for playing with the kids while we waited for dinner. We then all sat at the table together and had a huge spread. They didn't normally eat like this, La Sapa's sister explained, but when they have homestay guests they do. Everything was incredibly delicious. After, water had to be boiled over the fire so that the dishes could be washed. Jenna and I played hide and seek with the kids (which was comical because the hut had three rooms, two of which were unaccessible for our game). I thought there were only so many times we'd be able to hide behind the wooden support beam holding up the hut before it got old, however, it never did. Finally La Sapa's sister put the children bed. There wasn't much to do because after the sun went down the village was very dark. Jenna and I were beat so we climbed into our shared bed, drew the mosquito net and cuddled up for warmth.
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