Vietnam: Trekking in Sapa

We arrived in the northern Vietnam village of Sapa via a sleeper train after a nine (or so) hour overnight journey.  After a hearty breakfast, we met up with our Black Hmong (the largest of the 54 minority groups in Vietnam) tour guide Su.  Maren had gone on a trek with Su about two months ago and had a great time so Jill and I were eager for the new experience.

Su - 28 years old - amazing tour guide, spunky personality, incredible person

As Su purchased the food we would eat for the next two days, Jill, Maren and I got fitted with Hmong style leg warmers to keep our pants from getting muddy.  They were well worth the $3 we paid for them as they saved us (and our pants) from serious discomfort later on.  It's no wonder no Hmong woman leaves home without them :)

In the market in Sapa, sporting the Hmong style leg warmers with a new pal

After our leg warmer situation was taken care of, we began our trek.  As we walked through the streets of Sapa, we gained quite a posse of Hmong women who were trying their best to peddle their wares.  A big part of the Sapa City experience is enduring women of all ages asking where you're from, what your name is, etc., in order to make some sort of connection with you in hopes that this new connection will result in a sale.  To some extent, it becomes a bit exhausting, but we managed to make the most of it.  The three women that stuck with us for the entire trek were dears.  They answered our myriad of questions about their culture from marriage and birthing practices to family lifestyles, the ways of their handicrafts and whatever else we could think to ask.  Each woman's hands were stained from the indigo used to dye their woven fabrics and they spent the entire trek stretching and separating long strands of hemp before weaving it around their worn hands.  I asked one of the women what she was doing and to my surprise, she hauled out a piece of hemp, showed me how to stretch and separate it and wove it between my pinkie finger and thumb, smiling from ear to ear.  We became fast friends.  To add to our bond, she must have recognized my oaf-like tendencies as we hiked because any time it was even remotely slippery or I looked unsteady in the least, she would, with cat-like reflexes, reach for my hand and steady me.  Several times, I was nervous that I would take her with me if I fell, but no such thing happened.  I would say she held my hand about 45% of the trek and that is probably a modest estimate.  I'm sure we were quite the sight.  I towered over her, yet she was the one holding my hand, providing me with (at times, much needed) support.  You just never know when or where you're going to connect with people.  I never expected to gain a pseudo caretaker on this three hour trek, but that is exactly what I got.  She was a gem.

My pal, showing me her ways

Though it became obvious that these women hoped to make some money from us as they hiked well out of their way with us, it was one of the best parts of the experience.  One of the women was 23 years old, the same as Jill and me.  It was mind blowing to consider the contrasts between our lives.  Despite these vast differences, it was so refreshing and delightful to learn about our similarities.  Talking with these women and later Su and Mai (our homestay host), I was reminded of just how small the world really is.  Despite the many surface differences that are apparent to the naked eye, we are so much more similar that I would have ever thought to recognize.  We have similar worries, triumphs, joys and pain.  We met such strong, capable, amazing women on this two day journey and we built a beautiful bond with them in such a short time.

Our trek lasted for about three hours.  A dense fog had descended upon the area and never really lifted the first day.  Though we weren't able to enjoy the picturesque views, the fog made for its own mysterious and oddly soothing beauty.  We hiked through various terrains including a hard surface road, rickety bridges (see below), up sharp inclines and down steep paths through hard clay, rocks and slippery mud.  We learned the reasoning behind most Hmong people being outfitted in rubber galoshes.  I'll definitely add those to the packing list for next time!  (By the end of the second day, my entire right foot was coated with mud.  It looked like I had a chocolate covered foot attached to my body.)  Also during the hike, we stopped for lunch at a tiny shack that cooks for trekkers.  We had chicken omelets, laughing cow cheese (!!), tomato and cucumber slices on a baguette.  Soo tasty!
   

Jill and Maren with my pal on a super delicate bridge.  I kept thinking of Romancing the Stone when parts of a bridge breaks off as they're crossing it...  EEK!  That didn't even come close to happening to us, but it would have made for a sweet story!

The dense fog - and my caretaker.  Notice her holding my hand and imagine an hour and a half of this for her.  She has strong arms underneath that hemp robe!

Rice paddies filled with water.  If there was no fog, this view would go as far as the eye could see.  Beautiful.  Have I mentioned that I love Vietnam?

Soon after lunch, we arrived to the village (Lao Chai Village, population 850 or so - my pal was baffled to hear that my hometown was not a whole lot bigger than their modest village!) where we would spend the night.  We were taken to a school yard so my pal could introduce us to her painfully shy granddaughter and got to spend a few minutes playing with the adorable Hmong children.  We spent the rest of the afternoon warming ourselves and our shoes by the fire inside the house, talking with Su and Mai.  Mai is 28 years old and has three kids.  When her husband died last year in a logging accident, she was forced to support her family on her own.  With Su's sister Shu's help, she was able to get a loan to build a house in which to host homestays as often as Su can book them.  Both women are incredibly intelligent, both learning English through their exposure to tourists.  They were so open to sharing their lives with us in such an incredible way.  They made us feel right at home, building an awesome fire, cooking us delicious meals and talking for hours around the fire.  Su took to calling each of us "Sister" for the rest of the trip.  I'm not sure if this was because she couldn't remember our names or if we earned this term of endearment through our time spent together, but either way, we found it quite delightful and returned the sentiment often.

Connecting with these women on a more complex level than can be expected was so special.  It touched my heart in ways that are hard to describe.  Listening to them talk to us about their way of life, their struggles and triumphs and seeing them smile and laugh reminded me of how simple life can be.  This seems to be something we lose as we do so much to make life more complex than it needs to be.  Maybe it's due to the differences in our upbringing, world view or culture, but it was mind blowing to experience.  I later wondered if our experience was different than that of the average homestay participant.  Do these women charm everyone or did we really connect with them on a deeper level?  I guess it doesn't matter.  What does matter is the experience we had and the bonds we created with these women and with each other.  This was truly one of the most special (and unexpected!) experiences of my life.

Su and Mai cooked us dinner and breakfast the next morning.  The food they prepared was delicious and it was fun to share meals with them. 

Jill and Su warmed their hands while demonstrating what I now refer to as the Asian squat.  Everyone squats here and in Vietnam too.  The physics of such a bodily position are beyond me, but it is ingrained in them early on.  Ever Mai's two year old daughter had perfected her squat!

The next morning Maren and I woke up around 8:00 to find Mai cooking us breakfast. Probably still recovering from jet lag (and, let's be honest, homegirl enjoys a good night's sleep!)  Jill slept in until around 10:00 and woke up to sing song calls from Su of "Sister - Lazy!  Lazy Sister!"  For the rest of our time together, Su's sing song voice could be heard warning us of the slippery terrain ahead, urging us to be careful or just calling Jill lazy.  Delightful. 

This little buddy greeted us outside the house's window along with two other "buffalo"

Maren with Mai and her daughter.  The blanket Maren is holding was hand stitched by Mai

Su and me - she's pint sized!

A view of Lao Chai village from our homestay  (I think..)

The weather cleared for the second day, so we were able to fully enjoy the picturesque natural views.  The hiking on the second day was crazy.  Lots more mud resulting in many falls - on my part.  By the end of the trek, Jill told me I should change my pants for the bus ride to the train station because it looked like I had had an accident.  I had, just not the kind to which she was referring :)

Hiking with our pal Sister

One of my favorite pictures from the trip - these girls were adorable

At one point, Su took us to her house to introduce us to her children.  It was so special to be able to meet her family and play with them.  Because their father was at work logging and Su was giving us a tour, her ten year old son was placed in charge of the whole brood.  It seems Hmong children are forced to grow up much faster than western cultures are generally accustomed.  This ten year old was in charge of his eight year old sister, six year old brother and four and a half year old brother, often times overnight.  This blew my mind.  Clearly, he was capable of such a task and will grow into an even more responsible, kind caretaker than he already is, but can you imagine placing your family in the care of a ten year old?

It was refreshing to watch these kids play.  When we arrived, the eldest son was meticulously whittling a top.  The younger boys cleverly constructed a hammock out of a rice sack and a cell phone charger.  When it broke, resulting in them falling from their contraption, there were no tears, just belly laughing at how fun it was to fly, even just the briefest of moments.  When the hammock lost its appeal, they constructed makeshift bows and arrows from a cornstalk and string.  Not only was this idea adorable, but they worked pretty well too.  Between these two feats of ingenuity, Jill captured some amazing portraits of concentration, determination and pure and unabated joy.  The irony of the situation was when Su emerged from their home to ask where her children were.  They had run somewhere and we didn't know where they were.  Unconcerned, Su replied, "Oh well.  They're probably watching the t.v. at the neighbors."  HA!  I guess kids are more similar across cultures than I thought!

Su's eldest son perfecting his top

Some bow and arrow action, corn stalk style

Enjoying the hammock in all its glory

The rest of the trek was spent (on my part) desperately trying to stay upright.  I took such careful steps, so as not to fall down, that I fell quite behind the rest of the group.  They were patient with me though and by the end of the hike, I would be lying if I said I was disappointed that we weren't doing more hiking.

I don't know how, but I often end up doing activities that I never saw myself doing.  Several hour treks through mud falls into this category.  However, just because I never saw myself accomplishing such a feat surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in which I have found myself with some of the most amazing and delightful women with whom I have had the pleasure of spending time, doesn't mean I am regretful.  In fact, as we descended on the small clearing with a homestay destination that marked the end of our trek and more important to me, our lunch break, I was so glad that we signed up for this experience.  After all, in life, some of the experiences that are the most worthwhile are things you never saw yourself doing in the first place.

Traversing the rim of a rice paddy, trying not to fall backward into the water filled pool of mud and muck.  Of course Su held my hand - this became a standard practice

Miss Maren and me - I am so thankful to have shared with experience with you, pal! (And Jill too... I guess :) )

The whole group - what a wild ride we took in Sapa!

Vietnam: Getting To Hanoi

Jill and I reluctantly parted ways this afternoon as I put her on the bus to the airport before I had to be at school.  The last three weeks have been absolutely marvelous.  I apologize for my absence from the blog - I will try to recount our adventures according to the journal I have been keeping along the way and the myriad of pictures Jill took...  Read on for Part 1 of 3 of Jill and Noelle take Vietnam by Storm with Maren's Guidance, of course:

Jill arrived in Korea on New Year's Eve.  Her baggage did not.  Normally, this would not have been much of a problem, except that we were scheduled to leave for Vietnam the very next day at noon.  After communication with a representative from her airline, we hoped to have her bags sent to Hanoi to be picked up when we arrived the next evening.  We were not sure this would work, but we hoped for the best.

Upon arrival back in Gwangju after the two hour bus ride from the airport, we went to dinner at a restaurant where you grill your own meat in front of you and then wrap it, along with many different sides, in leaves of lettuce.  So delicious, and it was so fun to share Jill's first Korean meal.  The restaurant workers also enjoyed having us in their restaurant, apparently, because of all the attention they paid us.  At one point, we let the meat get a little crispy and burnt, which is just the way I like it.  The woman who was keeping an eye on us was horrified at the thought of us eating meat with any sort of burnt morsel and promptly came over with a pair of scissors in hand to trim off the burnt bits.  I was equally as horrified that she was cutting off what I considered to be the best part of the meat.  She smiled so big as, in her eyes, she vastly improved the quality of our meal.  What a pal!  She even showed us how to properly construct a lettuce wrap by snatching Jill's lettuce leaf from her hand, filling it with a little bit of everything, rolling it up and giving it to Jill to eat.  She proudly looked on as Jill devoured the lettuce wrap, then proceeded to do the same favor for me after receiving Jill's seal of approval.  Definitely a meal to remember!

The next day, we woke up, made it to the airport shuttle just in time and arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare.  We received word that Jill's luggage would arrive in Hanoi around 10 pm.  Our flight to Beijing boarded about 20 minutes late and actually ended up taking off at the time we were supposed to have landed in Bejing.  When we arrived in Beijing, we went through Chinese customs and had a hell of a time finding the international transfers area of the airport.  Most airports are clearly marked and sport clocks every few hundred feet.  Not Beijing.  Word to the wise:  avoid flying through Beijing.  So confusing!  After asking several questions about where to go, we realized it was 3:00.  Our flight to Hanoi was to leave at 3:30 and we still needed to get our boarding passes printed!  We ran through customs (for a second time - so weird!) and found our ticket counter.  The ladies at this counter pointed us to another counter.  There was not one person at the counter at which they pointed and the monitor indicated that it was too late to make the flight.  We were directed to find the Vietnam Airlines office upstairs and had them help us.  And, help us they did.  Two very nice men set us up with another flight departing at 5:30 but that took an extra two hours to arrive in Hanoi.  We didn't understand this, but we weren't about to question it as we just wanted to secure our flight!

After being sent on a wild goose chase to check into our new flight, making sure my luggage made it onto our original flight to Hanoi and having our new boarding passes printed, we had some time to figure out how to let Maren know that we would be arriving almost six hours later than planned.  Our strategy was to find someone with a computer, put on our big American smiles and convince them to let us use their internet connection.  After surveying the situation in our gate, we approached a very handsome man with an exotic accent, but more importantly, a computer.  He said that internet was not available in the gate but if there was some way for us to achieve internet access, we were more than welcome to use his computer.  We inquired at a snack shop about the availability of internet and found it unavailable.  Another black mark against the Beijing airport!  We spotted a pay phone and went to work.  The catch was that it was nearly 2:00 AM at home.  On New Years Eve.  Not the best night of the year to get ahold of people!  We didn't have Maren's phone number in Vietnam so we frantically left voice messages with several people asking them to contact Maren via Facebook to let her know our new circumstances.  We were actually able to get ahold of Maren thanks to Jill's mom answering our second phone call and having obtained Maren's phone number.  How lucky we were!  As Jill was talking to Maren and explaining the change of plans, I had the following conversation with the man whose internet we tried to use:

Man: I hope everything is alright with you and your friend.
Noelle:  Yes, yes.  We just got ahold of our friend to tell her we'll arrive late.  Thank you so much for offering your computer to us!
M:  It would have been my pleasure to help you.  Where are you from?
N: We're from America.  I teach in Korea.  Jill is visiting me and we are going to Vietnam to visit our friend who lives in Hanoi.  (typical Noelle - way more information than necessary :) )  Where are you from?
M: I am from Iran.  Have you heard of my country?
N: (trying not to laugh) I sure have!

When his flight to Tehran was boarding, we shared several of what I call "moments" with him as we waved goodbye to each other about three times, thanked him for his help and concern and bid him safe travels. 

We boarded our flight to Hanoi in good spirits and sat next to one of the craziest men I have ever encountered in my life.  He was so obnoxious.  He would blow his nose and throw the tissue between the seat in front of him and the plane's wall.  He talked extra loudly and was quite demanding of the flight attendants and he inhaled two servings of the in-flight meal in the time Jill and I leisurely finished about half of ours.  When our plane landed, he was quite anxious to get off the plane, nudging and pushing us before the plane even came to a complete stop.

We got off the plane and walked to the baggage claim area of the airport after a short stop in the bathroom.  We inquired about my luggage which should have arrived on an earlier flight and after much rigamarole, were told that my luggage could be found at carousel number nine.  As we approached our carousel, we were intercepted by a handsome airport worker and told to follow him.  No other explanation.  Just follow him.  Jill and I decided to follow him unless he left the building.  We followed him all over creation in that airport, the whole time indicating that I just needed one bag.  He answered us with assurances that we would in fact get our bag, no worries.  He led us all over, and at one point asked us to wait while he went into a secret airport staff room.  A couple of minutes later, he emerged with handwritten boarding passes to the flight on which we had just arrived.  This made zero sense to us, but we continued to follow him nonetheless.  He went through security and customs again, still with much confusion.  The airport man just kept smiling and laughing and telling us we would get our bag.  The following exchange ensued:

Noelle: We just need one bag.
Jill: No flying (waving her arms in the air).  Just bag.
Airport Man: You will get bag.  Don't worry.
(We arrive at a boarding gate)
AM: Go gate A102.  Your bag there.  Bye bye.
N and J: What??  You can't leave!  How will we find our way back?  Help us!!!
AM:  (laughing and waving) Bye bye!

Bewildered, we walked toward the gate and saw a screen with our flight number and Hanoi as the destination.  It was then that it all clicked.  We were not in Hanoi.  We were still in China.  Unbeknownst to us, our flight had a stopover in Gwangzhou, China.  We would receive my bag indeed, when we actually made it to Vietnam!  We boarded the same flight we had left half an hour (or more) before and tried to find seats away from people who looked familiar so as to avoid more embarrassment.  We began to recount the signs that we were not yet in Vietnam:

• The extra two hours flight duration
• Other passengers giving us weird looks as we got off the plane
• No Vietnamese writing on the bathroom signs
• Our flight arriving directly to baggage claim without first going through customs
• Going through Chinese customs
• People looking curiously similar to the airport workers with whom we worked in Beijing 

We arrived in Vietnam at 11:30 or so and got our visa situation taken care of.  We went through customs, which consisted of two young-ish guys laughing and smiling a lot, asking seemingly unimportant questions of us as they pointed us toward our luggage.  Our luggage was nowhere to be found.  As we inquired at the lost and found desk, they produced Jill's luggage.  Mine hadn't made the flight after all.  We were so relieved to have Jill's luggage, to have arrived safely in Vietnam and to see our dear pal Maren that it was of no matter to me that my luggage hadn't arrived.  We arranged for it to be delivered to Maren's home the following day and were on our way to our hotel.

Maren had made arrangements for us to stay in a cozy hotel just a few minutes walk from her apartment, which was so convenient for all of us!  Because it was in a more residential area of Hanoi, it was much more slow paced and quiet.  The next morning, we accompanied Maren to her international church and it was then that we truly got our first look at Hanoi and Vietnamese culture in general.  Talk about a hustle and bustle!  At first glance, the roads seem quite chaotic with motorbikes darting in and out of traffic, but once Maren explained the system, it made so much sense.  They don't have lanes of traffic really.  The person whose wheel is in front has the right of way.  As for pulling into traffic or making turns, you just gradually and cautiously edge into traffic and everyone else avoids you.  This is the rule for crossing the street as well.  Because the only automobiles on the rode are taxis and the occasional city bus, the majority of road traffic is motorbikes and bicycles.

Notice the girls in heels.  Impressive!

Jill and I in the middle of traffic in the heart of Hanoi

Family transport...

Church with Maren was great!  It was the first church service, aside from school church once a week, that I have attended since leaving the US, so it was nice to be in that environment again.  Even nicer though was seeing Maren with the amazing support system she has cultivated through her church.  It is obvious that Maren is so happy and comfortable in her Vietnamese surroundings.  She speaks Vietnamese like a champ, and is constantly complemented on her abilities.  Her enthusiasm and fun loving attitude is contagious.  We couldn't have asked for a better tour guide and travel companion during our stay in Vietnam.  We were continually impressed with the ease and comfort with which she communicates with people from shop owners to taxi drivers to her host family and church community.  What a joy to be able to share in her life in Vietnam!

After church, we had lunch with her friend Will and two Vietnamese girls who were new to the church.  We had a delicious meal of an assortment of typical Vietnamese food, all of which was quite tasty!

The lunch crew

After lunch, we spent a lot of time wandering around the old quarter of Hanoi, bouncing in and out of shops and observing everything around us.

There were so many shops that sold reprints of different works of art...

A typical vendor

There were so many women balancing these bad boys on their shoulders as they walked down the street

Maren took us to the only Catholic church in Hanoi and we were sweetly greeted by several children as they left the church.  We stopped at a third floor cafe for refreshments and to plan the rest of our time in Hanoi.  Will met back up with us and suggested we get fruit cups.  These fruit cups were bonkers.  A pint glass was filled with about five kinds of fruit and sweet and condensed milk (how can that taste good, right?).  Then, you stir everything around with as much crushed ice as you can work into your glass before you eat it.  So weird, but so tasty!

Also, most street food eateries involve you sitting on small plastic foot stools.  The same stools in the next size larger sometimes serve as tables, while other times there are actual plastic tables that look like they would function for a little kid's picnic or tea party.  Observe these gentlemen who ate dinner a little ways away from us later that night:

Typical street food setup - my legs did not fit under the tables...

The next day, our first stop was to eat a breakfast of one of the most famous Vietnamese dishes: phở (pronounced like the sound the letter F makes when sounding out a word).  It is basically chicken noodle soup, though each time we ate it, it contained thinly sliced beef.  The best part, for me, was the abundance of cilantro in the soup.  I began to crave this dish in the few short days we were in Vietnam.  It was so tasty!

These girls ate next to us and fought off a boy who was trying to flirt with them - nothing comes between them and their phở!

Phở!

Jill and Maren enjoy a meal seated on tiny stools, just like the Vietnamese!

Next, we booked plane and train tickets for the rest of our time in Vietnam.  The rest of the day was spent snagging souvenirs in the old quarter of Hanoi, recovering my luggage from the airport luggage delivery man (I was starting to get pretty anxious when my luggage hadn't arrived by the second afternoon of our stay!) and preparing for the next segment of our journey.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of Jill and Noelle take Vietnam by Storm with Maren's Guidance, of course.  It's a doozy - trust me!

A little group shot action...