Hello everyone! This is Leanna here to inform all you lovely people on our wonderful adventure through the Sapa hill tribes. To start with let me begin with our voyage to Sapa. Instead of taking the usual bus ride to our destination, we were fortunate enough to go on an over night train ride. It consisted of 2 bunk beds, with extremely comfortable mattresses, and beverages presented to us. We all felt like high-class passengers compared to our usual mode of transportation, and we soaked it up completely.
After our sleepy train ride we arrived in the lively town of Sapa. The air was cooler and cloudier than what we’ve been used to, and the vast mountains surrounded every corner of our eyes. The second we stepped off of the shuttle to our hostel we were bombarded by hmong ladies dressed in their traditional sashes and robes who pinky promised all of us to buy something from them. Their bubbly personalities and beautiful smiles made it impossible to keep our wallets in our backpacks.
The next morning we arose ready to conquer our 5 day trek ahead of us. We met our guide Mai, a giggly and affectionate lady, who was accompanied by three other hmong ladies who would lead us up the mountain. During our 5 hour treck we talked to the hmong women, asking them questions about their culture and way of living. They were all so open to our questions and amazingly friendly. We would soon learn after getting to know Mai and her friends and family, that their smiles and laughs never faltered. The hike was mostly all in the clouds, which added to the mystical landscape of rice terraces and bamboo houses.
After our first day treking we arrived at Mai’s charming wooden house where she prepared food for us and we played with her four adorable children. That night we absorbed the most amazing fresh vegetables, chicken, noodles and rice into our hungry stomachs and fell asleep exhausted and full of home cooked food.
The next day we headed off the a neighboring village which took us around 6 hours to get to. On the way we stopped in on Mai’s grandmother who is 120 years old! Her name was Lak. We met her in another wooden cabin similar to Mai’s which was dark and smoky on the inside. She was sitting in the darkest corner of the room, the intermingling smoke from the fire and her wooden pipe colliding around her aging face. She was tiny, curled up with blankets, hats, and scarfs. She didnt seem to notice that 10 foreigners had waltzed into her house and we staring at her with amazement. She didnt make any sudden movements, and when she did it was with ease and intention. Her wrinkles seemed to submerge her face like tick marks of all the years she has lived through. Her hands we small and delicate, her every vien and wrinkle visible, her years apparent and alive. She moved so easily, without any assistance . There was the occasional cough but besides that no sign of sickness whatsoever. We were all in shock that she was 120 and had never used any modern medicine. We sat there, listening to her converse with Mai in a quiet and husky voice. After an hour we painstakingly left and continued on the hike.
The next day we once again threw on our backpacks and hiked back up the hill we had come from. The hike back to Mai’s house was mostly all uphill and surpisingly enjoyable. We listened to motivational music on the way and proudly compared the sweat marks on our backs. The breathtaking lanscape of hundreds of lush rice fields and green mountains distracted us from the never-ending uphill. When we arrived at Mai’s warm little house we crashed with exhaustion and giddiness and once again devoured one of Mai’s amazing meals.
The fourth and last full day in the hmong tribe village was our rest day (yay!!). The day was foggy and rainy, which added to our relaxed body and minds. We spent the day writing songs, drawing pictures with Mai’s children, listened to stories by the fire, and helped Mai in her corn field. We helped hoe and garden around her corn plants. It felt rewarding to be giving back to this women who had been cooking for us and teaching us everything about the hmong village.
Before heading off on our final trek back to Sapa, we took pictures with Mai and her family, and presented her with gifts from all of us to show our appreciation for her kindness and hospitality. We bolted along the road back to sapa and arrived within 3 hours. To end the trek we sadly said our goodbyes to Mai and headed on to our next and last leg of our journey which I will be telling you all about in the next blog post. Untill then, catch you all on the flip side!