Sapa!

When I traveled through SE Asia last time, I didn't make it to Sapa and I felt a tug of disappointment every time I talked with someone who had been. So when Anne and I talked about our trip, Sapa was one of the places I put at the top of the list. And I'm so glad I did!

The town itself is nothing special, but the landscape as you move further out of town is breathtaking!!!!! ( Check out the beautiful pics c/o Anne!) Rolling hills covered in rice paddies, and even though it was planting time, the landscape was lush and green. Farm animals roamed free (mostly). And it was so exciting to see fat, healthy looking animals, from chickens and ducks, to pigs and buffalo, roaming around happily. Mother ducks, hens and pigs were all over the place, their babies trailing behind them.
It was sooooo great to be surrounded by nature!

We took a 12km trek (walk with a little trekking) with a woman named Chi. Chi is a member of a guide group called Sapa Sisters. For many years, hotels and guest houses in the area organised treks for tourists, charged exorbitant amounts, and paid very little to the actual guides. Sapa Sister is run by a group of Hmong women, and they're profits are put back into their growing business, and their guides paid fair amounts for their work. I was really excited to support them by booking our trek with them. (I'm a sucker for 'sisters doing it for themselves'~ get it? anyone?)^^

Anyway, Chi is a woman who is part of the Black Hmong tribe. She's the same age as me, the half my height and a third of my size, and a powerhouse of inspiration! She is a strong, independent woman, in a culture where that kind of personal quality is not always seen as a positive. She has worked as a guide for the past six years, and developed her stellar English skills through interaction with tourists. She waited until she was 28 to marry, and chose her husband herself. (Which shows great strength of character, particularly within her community).

She has two children, a boy, 2, and a girl, 2 months. Her baby girl, Aey(sp?), joined us happily on our trek and I was even lucky enough to have a cuddle! Chi worked until the beginning of her 9th month of pregnancy, gave birth at home with her hubby as midwife (whom she sent next door to get the neighbor to come cut the umbilical cord at the appropriate time), and now leads treks 2 or three days a week! She said her labour wasn't too bad, over and done with in 2 hours!!!!

Chi was a wealth of information throughout the day, happily answering our questions about family, lifestyle in the Hmong culture, farming practices and anything else we wanted to know. Unfortunately, we didn't get a pic with her, but I have great memories of our day with her^^

We didn't do much else in Sapa. We stayed another night, then caught the overnight train to Hanoi. Our guesthouse in Sapa was great value for money, and run by an amazing guy, Tony, who is originally from Hanoi. Tony opened the Elysian Hotel just a few months ago and is sooooo dedicated to making it a success. He was super friendly and helpful and you could see in his face just how eager he was to make sure everything was perfect for the guests. It was definitely a welcome change from the dive we stayed in in Vientiane!