The Promise - yet to define its content

Last June, I was on a work mission in Hanoi. As we planned the work mission, I secretly planned my collective holiday with a group of four friends, five including me, to explore the beauty of nature in North Vietnam. As the trip date grew near, we completed occupied by the busi-ness of the work and the fact that one of our friend might not be able to make it to join the trip. While everyone grew their anguish and frustration of not getting the full team and what to expect from a trip to places we have never been too, today looking in a quiet office and watching the video a dear trip companion has put together reminds me of how beautiful that trip has been in my recollection.

It was nearly nine o'clock and i have promised to come and meet my 3 friends at their hotel upon their arrival from Phnom Penh. I was waiting. The hotel staff was a kind young Vietnamese guy who offered me water and confirmed that my friend has not arrived. Then my phone rang! My friends could not located the taxi driver that was supposed to pick them up at the airport. After back and forth call with the taxi organiser, it turned out, that there was no clear communication that the taxi driver was supposed to meet them at the domestic and not international arrival hall at the airport. Well, the confusion caused a delay of arrival at the hotel for about 1h30mn. Thus, my friends advised me not to wait for their arrival as it would be late. Then, I decided to leave the bus ticket with with hotel staff and returned to my hotel. As kind as always, the hotel staff offered to call a company taxi for me to avoid over-charged by the late night driver, a common thing experienced by too many tourists/travelers in Hanoi/Vietnam.

The Next Day - The start of the Journey...

We supposed to arrive the bus station at 6am to catch the bus to Sapa. I bought the tickets for all with an exclusive travel agent and it was really comfy and worth the price. We planned to arrive early because we did not want to sit at the back of the bus. It was a strategic task allocation when the bus arrived, one of us would go on the bus and get four seats for all of us, one/two would get the luggages into the storage and me, just walk to and get on the bus. Always a lucky traveler...

The journey on the national high way from Hanoi to Lao Cai provincial town took 4 hours with a stop for coffee along the way. From Lao Cai to Sapa town was about 45mn to 1h in a short distance of about 30Km length but in between the hillside. The big bus finds it hard to move in between the hill as the time we arrived that section of the journey is the time that bus leaves from Sapa to other destination so the confrontation of two buses always a challenge. But the view along the way made us cannot stop clicking our camera. There were beautiful green scenery of rice fields built on the terrace of the mountain in a very picturesque way. We also passed many local indigenous people, women and small children walking along the way, predictably coming back from the rice field or collecting fruit, food or vegetable for their home food.

Indigenous children walk back from collecting fruits

Rice field on the slope of the mountain, taken from bus

Sapa is a small town built on top of the mountainous area. The population comprised mainly of four indigenous groups who were originally from China. The Indigenous H'morng comprised the largest of the population. Besides rice growing which is the obvious occupation of the people in Sapa, they also depends on tourism and providing services for tourists as ways of earning incomes. When were were near to Sapa, the local guide on our bus informed us that we might find the local people very friendly. We of course did not pay attention to that or consider what he supposed to mean. As usual, at the tourist destination, people could appear over-friendly because they have some kind of services they would like to sell to tourist. Once we arrived and experienced it ourselves would we understand what that means.

My first impression upon arrival is that all indigenous people I saw in town are women and girls. Where are all the men go? Are they off working on the rice fields at the rice terrace or they are at home? I didn't get the chance to ask the local this question. Nevertheless, these women and girls dress in a traditional custom and ordains with beautiful jewelry. when arrived, the women surrounded you and ask you to buy their products, mostly hand-made bag, small wallet, bracelet, jewelry etc. If you dare make a promise to buy, they dare follow you throughout your trip! SO No Promise!

When we were able to maneuver our way through the over-friendly sellers, we end up having our late lunch in one of the local restaurant. The waiter could spoke basic Thai and one of my friends speaks Thai so they make the order all funny and entertaining. While we were waiting for our food, guess what? One of my friends promised on lady that she would buy some products from her but later after we finished our lunch. So the lady seller was near the restaurant waiting for us to REALLY finished our meal so she could sell to us. Isn't she a good seller and having such persistent quality?

The hotel we booked through the famous Agoda is called Sapa Asiana Hotel. We presented the name of the hotel to the taxi driver and as soon as 3 minutes later, he stopped in front of a hillside hotel room. It was a surprised and a shocked!!! There were two indigenous women sitting in front of the place with a sign that reads "Asiana Hotel", one was trying to find lice from another. When we asked to speak to a receptionist, the lice finder spoke, "Yes it is. Welcome to Asiana Hotel" in a beautifully brilliant English Accent." We located our luggage to our respective rooms, one of the room was windowless. It was a chilling afternoon. While I was down talking to the receptionist about arranging a trekking trip for the next day, my friends were in deep discussion with the woman selling jewelry and they were charmed by the woman that they ended up bought some beautiful bracelet and bag a rather high price!!! They only found out it was a high price when the business deal was concluded and they tried converting the cost from VND to USD. Even I myself ended up buying a small bag I later gave to my niece for a good sum of price. 

After carefully went through options for the trekking, we decided to purchase a package that lead us to trek 3 villages starting from 9am in the morning; we would be returning to town by mini-van. A indigenous H'morng tour guide would meet us in the morning after breakfast to start the day.

After all settled, four of us decided to go for a walk to explore the town of Sapa. It was a little chill after the rain fall - a nice weather for a walk. As the hotel set on the high point of the city, we went up to the roof of the hotel for a look of the town view. It was  and it was a really nice feeling to be up there. 

Sapa town actually comprised of two main roads, each populated with the tourist shops and restaurant and one or another types of tourism service provision. We walked along one long strip of road that have many other tourists walking along, chit chat, drinking, having hair-wash or nail polishing. This section stretches for about 1km length and we already came to an end which houses the local residential area. We looked at each other face and then decided to return. While the sun was beginning to set down, the ray of sunshine over the dark blue natural beauty of the mountainous range is just a breathtaking scenery. A stop at a local restaurant, one friend suggested we get some coffee/beer to refresh ourselves. It was a very nice choice we made. Two coffee for my two-coffee-lover friends and two Lao Cai beers for two-drinkers-who-can-take-late-afternoon-coffee. I don't know about my three other friends but for me, a sip of this local beer feel divine, light and chill. My connection to the scenery, the reflection of the sun on the mountain range and the privilege i had sitting there looking at this rich spectacular view made me cannot thank enough to the nature. Nature has always provided for us but we do not take care enough of nature!

After a few bottles of beer and a few funny dish of food, we finally felt we needed to get more walking. As we passed through more local shop, I observed they either sell different gears for trekking or fine craft products made by hand. A few window shopping to the trekking gear shops made me realise that I have to check on a friend who is generally fashionable with her shoes that are not very compatible for walking. It turned out that I needed to ensure that she has proper trekking shoes or the whole team will be in difficulties as the shoes problem emerged. We landed ourselves in one shop that appeared to have the large variety of gear to choose from. Four of us walking in this one to find a pair of shoes for one person BUT four of us walking out of the shop with 4 pairs of walking shoes, one pair of sunglass, one winter coat, and 2 umbrellas. We were unbelievably a shopper. I ended up asking the group, why are we are here in Sapa? and one of them who bought quite a bit, ended up saying, "We are Here in Sapa to Buy Walking Shoes." The lesson I took from this one shopping place is that if you are friendly and a good talker with your customers you can make many of them opens their wallet and get many things even though they do not really needed it. But if you are racist, if you think the customers do not have money to buy your products, or you do not think they would buy anything from the look of their dresses etc, then you should not be a seller!!!

After who many stuff in hand and our wallet is a little thinner, the rain fall again, harder and we do not want to return home under the rain. I think of nothing but the boll of hot soup in my hand and sitting listening to the rain. My fellow traveler who spent quite a bit suggest we get some cup noodle to eat at the hotel!!! heeheh that is not going to work with me. The soup next door smells too good for us to walk away from. And we did not end up eating a little but a lot. Few hours over the hot pot and chatting is good for us to reflect on our plan, our country, our government, and our way to lives. The rain still did not subside so we needed to get a taxi back to our hote, which is just less than 10mn walk. It was a good spent of the first day in Sapa.

Day 2: The Trikking of the Mountain Range

We start our day with the beauticul breakfast included in our hotel, the pancake made so thin and in many layers for each of us. It is to be soaked in honey and eat with banana. The hotel also provided us hot coffee but i have to say it was  not as good as the Vietnamese coffee. But anyway while we were having our breakfast, our H'MORNG LADY TOUR guide arrived.  So we pAcked the rest of our pancakE and took our materials needed and started our journey. We each had an umbrella as we know it would be raining. As we thought S soon as we started the rain fell slightly. The scenery is truly beautiful and green and lively and lovely. Also the day is added with further beauty because the government of the states (?) approved on gay marriage. Then a friend of mine had with her the rainbow umbrella so we stopped on our way to join in the international celebration of LGBT day.


Next update is on the way!

Team and our two H'morng children that helped us through our slippery slopes

Next update is on the way!