Sa Pa

Jess writes: We flew into Hanoi and an hour later had a tour booked to Sa Pa. It's a beautiful city, situated among the green mountains of Northern Vietnam. The weather here is much cooler and the people are very nice, but definitely different than the bustling Hanoi. There are 5 tribes denoted by the various bright colors they wear. Their clothes are all made of the hemp they grow. They soften the hemp, color it and weave it. The process for making an entire piece can take one entire year to make! It's pretty amazing and very detailed. (And of course, they try to sell all sorts of items to you- most are not authentic, but they are very pretty). The division between men and women is very apparent here. The men work very hard all day in the mountains and the women tend to the children, the crops near the home and the sewing. They are about to start the planting season here so you can see many of the pictures are of the water buffalo pulling a makeshift plow to prepare the soil for planting. Additionally, some of the tribes have created water systems for shucking the outer shell from the rice. They then separate the shells from the rice using a fan. The shell is very light so it blows onto the ground while the rice stays in your hand. They have also rigged hydro electric power systems to create electricity for their homes. Most family's use the electricity to power their TV and maybe a light. Very clever water systems are also set up in order to channel the water from the mountains. Some families in the photos have systems set up in order to send water to each level of their rice crop. From afar the various levels are absolutely beautiful. The green level contains a large portion of rice which they then take and systematically separate into rows on the other levels (the ones that are currently being plowed by the water buffalo). Some families - the ones who have been around for 5 generations have level after level up and down the mountain carved out of mud and rock.

Random, but there are many puppies here - we opened our door this morning to go down to breakfast and a puppy ran into the room. I'm loving it! Donovan on the other hand, is worried that I might take one home with me.

The children here are also interesting. It's not uncommon to see a six your old with a 5 month old baby strapped to her back. They are everywhere along the road, tending to the water buffalo, the cows, the crop, hearding goats and sometimes just playing. They learn at a very young age as many mothers can only afford to take one week off (many times only 3 days) after giving birth. They follow their parents around the field for most of their childhood. By the age of 7 or 8, they are off on their own tending the land and then can be at home cooking their own meals. A striking contrast to American life!

On the second day, I spent four hours with a guide my age, we traveled around two different villages on motorbike. The landscape is just BEAUTIFUL! We had a lunch (and lots of homemade rice wine) with one of the families along the way. A very special experience. Unfortunately, I had to leave Donovan at the hotel. He came down with a fever, and was feeling pretty sick. In the evening, we took the overnight train back to Hanoi. As a side note, Sa Pa is only about 35 km from the China boarder. Although we didn't feel the earthquake in China, other travelers in the town said that they could.