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Hill Tribe Trekking

We boated our way back to Hanoi from Cat Ba Island.  We had a few hours to kill before our train ride so we viewed a Water Puppet Show – it sounds odd, but it is actually a Vietnamese tradition and art.  The puppets told various legends and stories of the area.  Then after that, I convinced Elias to have a foot massage with me.  The last one he had was in Thailand and he didnt like it much. Unfortunately, it was probably the worse massage I have ever had in my life and now Elias is really convinced that he will not try it again. Oh well…more for me.

We boarded a night train from Hanoi and arrived 9 hours later in Lao Cai.  Lao Cai is in the North and boarders China. We traveled to Sapa (1300m) which is where we started our 2 day trek into several Hill Tribe villages.  We basically trek along the Muong Hoa River where the villages are within walking distance of eachother, but the people have their own languages, customs, and do not marry outside their own tribe.  They wear a mix of their traditional & western clothing, but it is their head dresses and colors that differentiate themselves from the other tribes.  The younger generation is now being educated by charity (Unicef) founded schools and is being taught Vietnamese so that there is a common spoken language.  Many of the young also speak broken English picked up from visitors but are not taught it in school.

The first village we visited was Lao Chai which is where the Black H’mong people live. They wear the black & indigo headset.  You can see most of them have blue stained hands from dying clothes with the indigo leaves.

The second village was Ta Van Village where we visited the Zay people.  We stayed overnight there with a local family in a “homestay”.  They are a descendent of a Chinese tribe and have similar features and culture.  They were so welcoming.   Three generations in the home including the most adorable 9 month old baby – never cried, no rashes or other baby-issues and already potty-trained! The meal they prepared was incredible and all cooked over a small fire in a wok and a few pots.  We got involved and helped make spring rolls.   Then served with dinner in a recycled water bottle was Rice Wine – 25% alcohol.  Everyone makes their own moonshine.  It tastes like Saki  – I wasn’t a big fan but Elias seemed to enjoy it.  He and our guide, Zoom, drank the entire bottle.   Then for breakfast, they made the best banana & honey pancakes I have ever had – again over an open fire.

Then we walked half a day to Giang Ta Chai where we visited the Red Dao people.  They wear very colorful, embroidered clothing and a red scarf on their head.  The women shave off their eyebrows and some of their head as part of a custom – it means they are married and men shouldn’t flirt with them.

It was really beneficial having Zoom, our guide. He was full of interesting facts about all the different Hill Tribe People and Vietnam in general.  Everyone we meet always ask us if Elias and I were married and we just thought it was a general question…but really, they were curious because in Vietnam it is illegal to live with your boyfriend. You can be fined and jailed.  If you like a girl, then the boy then stays 3 days with the family and at the end of the stay, the girl can decide accepts him as her boyfriend or not. This is very common practice – even in the cities with modern families.

© 2012 Maria Davis · All Rights Reserved.