Hiking is the main activity around Sapa. Weather in the mountains can be uncertain, but not on Monday. It was certainly raining and foggy. And the trails were certain to be muddy and slippery. No doubt about it. So we put on our rain gear and started out on what Huyen said was the best hike in Sapa. (Her idea of a good hike is one where you get wet and muddy and fall down at least once.)
A group of Black Hmong women were waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs and would follow us all the way to their village, Lau Chai. Vingh, our guide, said the same women follow the groups each day, hoping to sell them something. We were with a Chinese couple, two French girls and Marty, a 50ish Californian who retired early from the software industry. The hike was 12 km, all blessedly downhill through the terraced rice paddies that are unique to this area. The rain slowed enough for some good photos and at times we could even see patches of blue in the sky. But the trail was slip and slide all the way. The Hmong women had cleats glued to their plastic sandals for traction but despite their helping hands several trekkers from other groups took muddy spills. We all got a bit splattered but there was no serious damage.
We reached Lau Chai around noon and had lunch in a little café beside the rice paddies. The women waited like vultures outside to give us their sales pitches. They are wonderfully friendly people and I always feel bad when we buy nothing. Their goods look authentic and are really cheap but we would have a ton of luggage if we bought something everywhere we stopped.
We visited a couple of Hmong schools in Lau Chai. While they are not up to US standards but are miles ahead of anything we saw in Uganda. The Hmong are poor but the schools are government funded. Vingh told us that the Vietnamese schools are better than the schools for the Hmong and other minorities. Some pigs are more equal than others. Our hike ended at the Zay village of Ta Vin where Marty remained for a home stay while the rest of us caught a ride back to Sapa.
On Tuesday we hiked again, this time to Ta Phin, a Dzao village 13 km away. We joined Agu and Theresa from Baltimore and Michel from Belgium and our guide, another young woman named Zlin. The weather was much nicer and the trail wasn’t as muddy and we picked up our obligatory women, this time Dzao, who badgered us with “You buy from me,” not a question but a command. As we passed through Black Hmong areas they said they could communicate with the Hmong but “no marry!” While the Hmong wear black head scarves the Dzao wear red, about the only difference I could see between the groups. Even their handicrafts look similar. The scenery was interesting and we saw some people engaged in other activities, otherwise both treks were pretty much alike. But the area around Sapa shouldn’t be missed.
