When mom said we were going to Sapa which sounded really fun because it's in the mountains and a fun hike, we were so excited! But then she mentioned this super long bus ride that was 6 hours long!! But she said that it was a sleeper bus, I didn't really know what that was but mom said it was where you maybe can recline your chair. So that made it sound a little better than sitting in a little bus for that long. So that night we went to sleep early because in the morning we had to wake up at 5:45 or so, to get to the bus! When we got out of our hotel a small bus was waiting for us. I was wondering if we were going to ride 6 hours in this, but 10 minutes later we stopped to get onto the sleeper bus. So first we put all our suitcases on the side of the bus then started to get on the bus. When we first got on it looked pretty nice and big but for some people like dad it was a little hard to sleep in the small space that you had. Each person got a bunk bed. I slept on top of mom and Grayson slept on top of dad. On the way up to Sapa we stopped two times to use the bathroom, and maybe get food or drinks. The funny thing is, you need to take your shoes off in the bus, so when you go outside you can put your shoes on or borrow slippers from the bus. And dad decided to wear the slippers but they were WAY too small for him! But he still did it anyway. Also on 1 of the stops to go to the bathroom next to our bus was this very fancy looking sleeper bus! It looked like everyone had their own personal room for themselves and a TV, and everything else you could want, but our bus was still great. And the bus ride back was also i think a little nicer because the first one was a little broken. But on the way back I was so tired because we didn’t get back to our hotel until 10:30! So I was 12 hours on a bus in all but I think it was worth it.
– Poppy
Our arrival and first day in Sa Pa left a bit to be desired. We were there to trek and see the views and we were greeted with fog and mud. So much mud, in fact, that our tiny shuttle couldn't make it up the hill, so amidst all the honking traffic, we jumped out of our shuttle to meet at the top. We weren't sure which hotel we were staying at. Shockingly it all worked out. Amidst the chaos, the drivers were somehow tracking who belonged where with which bags. The region had clearly been adapting to tourism. While the roads all seemed to be under construction, instagram photo ops were a plenty. Reflecting on our surroundings, Poppy said it looked like the end of the earth. Trae texted our family that Sa Pa was beautiful this time of year.
A highlight, however, was our guide, Chang, who shared a lot with us about her Hmong culture and traditions while showing us through the mud. All the stories we'd heard about at the Hanoi women's museum came to life as Chang told us about getting married young, moving in with her husband's family, and helping in the rice fields during the growing season. Between serving as a guide and farming she only has 2 weeks off for lunar new year. Not a lot of vacation. The rice her family grows only includes one season due to the cold weather in the mountains so it wasn't sold at market and only used to feed her family throughout the year. 8 different ethnic groups live in small Indigenous villages scattered across the region each with their own customs and dress. In her village of about 1000 people, the 3 schools stood out for their shiny newness. Chang shared about the old ways and how the new generation was slowly making changes - including smaller earrings and more choice in life partners. Kim
The second day of hiking was by far my favorite, especially the muddy part. Luckily, before we went hiking through all the muddy rice fields we got these little shoe protectors so that our shoes don’t get completely covered in mud. All in all they didn’t work the best, given the fact that some broke and mud would sometimes slip through, but it was much better than hiking without them. The hiking part might have been muddy and slippery but it was super fun. The views were great, where you could see all the beautiful rice terraces, and the mud made it a special adventure.
While hiking, there were three local village ladies walking alongside us and helping us if we fell. If we did fall (which we luckily didn’t) it would have been very dirty and painful, so the ladies would grab our hand or arm at some parts, and make sure we did not fall. There was this one part where mom was right by the edge and then slipped, but the lady, Koko, quickly stomped her foot to the ground in front of the edge to save the day. Mom said she saved her life. When we were finished with about an hour of muddy hiking, we walked along a gravel road for another 30 minutes or so until it was time for the three nice ladies to go back to their villages. The whole time while hiking they had these giant baskets on their back and Chang, our guide, said that they were going to sell us their hand sewn bags, pillow cases, jewelry, ect. We ended up buying a lot of things including a couple bags and a cloth decoration to hang up. After we finished buying everything they gave us a free mini purse and a bunch of free bracelets (probobly because we bought so much stuff) and we took a group picture, and then they were off.
-Grayson
Comments