My exploration of the famed highlands of Sapa begins the minute I arrive at the nondescript bus stop at the edge of this town.
As I disembark, I am greeted by my host Sushu – a beaming Black Hmong lady, who instantly identifies me as the Indian ‘brown girl’ :).
She wastes no time and follows her pleasantries with “We start now, 5 hour trek to my village, must reach before sunset”.
Ah well 🙂 .
Sushu and her golden smile.
And so we begin the exploratory walk, gliding through the town, as Sushu points out some landmarks along the way – Quang Truong Square, the stone church, few cafes and massage places.
Navigating through tangential roads and the town’s main market we both walk briskly, in a hurry to leave the noise and town behind.
I am reminded of the busy market streets from hill stations in India – signboards advertise ‘Honey Moon hotel’, ‘2$ backpacker rooms’ etc. and women from various tribes walking around selling jewelry and offering homestay’s.
The town ends abruptly and we begin our uphill trek on a barely visible trail of crushed grass.
As we climb, Sushu points out villages visible at a distance, telling me of the tribes that live there and how they are culturally different from hers. She points toward terraced rice fields, the swaying fields of ‘happy leaves’ and gleefully mentions that a bowl of happy rice water awaits for me at her home. 🙂
Gradually, the vegetation clears and opens up into a dusty rocky uphill route and signs of village life become frequent.
Well-fed goats and poultry run past us, kids’ wave shy hellos, women walk past in their gorgeous dresses and jewelry and the men are out and about surveying and gathering things.
The town is now a mere memory from another place and another time.
Terraced rice fields pop up around every corner in the undulating uninterrupted landscape of green, blue and happy smiles, and I remember, this is why I am here in this part of the world.
Exploring Sapa and getting to know its culture and its people, was unlike any other experience in this beautiful country.
Although the two days went by real quick, by staying at a home-stay I experienced a little slice of how the tribes live here. These tight knit tribes work together – there are common farming zones where everyone from the village contributes and the profits are shared proportional to the efforts from each family.
There are definite similarities in the lifestyle of villagers from Sapa and the lifestyle of the villagers in India, however, there is something extremely optimistic about how the individuals here live.
An unspoken system of being extremely resourceful – kids helping out in all household activities, adults and children putting in hours to learn English , everyone’s involvement in community farming while nurturing individual farms, inviting foreigners into their homes – the whole space is vibrant with possibilities of tomorrow being slightly better than today.
During my stay here, I got to taste very basic and nutritious food like blood and cabbage stir fry cooked over wood fire and just as easily a packet of instant ramen was opened for a quick snack.
The highlands are gorgeous, but if there is one stand out reason why you must visit Sapa, is it because of its people.