Gave Me Some of That Good Ol' ...

In planning and scheduling our trip to the Tonkinese Alps of Vietnam last month, I was fixated on timing for the rice harvest.  We had previously visited the area in late April at the tail end of the rice planting  season.  I wanted to capture photos of the ethnic tribes people harvesting the rice by hand, or at a minimum if my timing was off - photographs of golden rice terraces ready to be harvested.

It was difficult to determine exactly when to go in order to achieve my goal.  I contacted some people in the area and did not get a specific answer. The harvest depends each year upon when the crop was planted due to weather conditions in April or May, the weather conditions during the growing season, and the weather conditions leading up to the harvest. The harvest even depends on the location of the crop - elevation and micro-climate can drastically affect the rice cultivation.  My research indicated that the harvest season was early September to the end of October.  I decided to err on the side of caution - preferring to be too early rather than miss the entire event.  I chose to travel to the Sapa region during the first week of September for the rice harvest.

I was very pleased upon our arrival on 5 September to discover that the rice harvest had just begun.  I was also surprised to find that we were just at the tail end of the corn harvest.  Corn is grown in the area by the Hmong people.

Harvesting Corn From Patch Along the Roadside

Cultivating corn in Northwest Vietnam is similar to rice cultivation.  It is all done manually.  Small plots of land carved out of mountainsides or along the banks of streams or rivers are used.  Even if the people could afford to purchase or rent mechanized equipment, the size of the plots prevent the use of machines.

Harvest Basket of Corn Straight From the Field

There are Hmong food dishes that use corn.  I suspect that since Hmong people raise pigs, that the corn is also used as animal feed.  What I did not appreciate, until this visit, was how much of the corn is used for the production of "corn liquor" - "White Lightning","Moonshine", "Hooch".

Bac Ha is famous for, besides its Sunday Market, its Moonshine and Tam Hoa plums.  The Hmong people have a very long tradition and culture for making corn liquor.  The Hmong people around Bac Ha are famous for the quality and quantity of the Moonshine that they make.

For hundreds of years, the Hmong people practiced and most definitely enjoyed this aspect of their culture.  There were attempts on the 1960s and 1970s to regulate Vietnamese traditional alcohol production but the attempts failed.  The government failed to recognize and appreciate the strong tradition of the ethnic tribes for their culture of making booze.  Sound familiar?

The most recent attempt by the central government to regulate, if not control, the production of traditional alcohol was in 2013 when people who manufactured traditional alcohol were supposed to register and obtain a permit.  Based upon my conversations in the area the people's reaction is very similar to the famous quote by the character "Gold Hat" from the 1948 movie, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"

 - “Badges (Permits)? We ain’t got no badges (Permits)! We don’t need no badges (Permits)!  I don’t have to show you any stinking badges (Permits)!”

I find it refreshing as well as reassuring that there are still places, but more importantly people, who resist the intrusion of centralized government into their lives and culture.  I am even more impressed to learn that some governments know better than to push their luck and not aggressively impose their will on traditionalists.

The baskets of corn from the field are brought to a central location where they are emptied and the harvest is consolidated into empty recycled sugar, rice, or fertilizer sacks.  Depending upon the quantity of the harvest and number of motorbikes available, the 50KG bags of corn are brought to the home on motorbikes or farm wagons.  I saw some horse drawn carts during our visit and I suspect that may be used too.

Once back at the farm house the corn is spread out to dry in the sun.  Provisions are made to shield the drying corn from the numerous rain showers that still occur in early September in the mountainous region.

After the corn is sufficiently dried, it is shelled - the kernels are removed from the cob by hand or with a specialized machine - either manually or electrically driven.  The corn kernels are then spread out on a tarp in the front yard and often times alongside the road that runs in front of the house to dry further in the sun.

 On our trip up to the Can Cau Saturday Market, I noticed many people buying 20 liter (5 gallon) translucent plastic bottles filled with liquid.

The next day at the Bac Ha Sunday Market, I saw many more of these containers being purchased.  At first I thought that they might be containers of cooking oil.  I knew that they were not bottles of diesel or gasoline because the liquid inside was clear.  Based upon the lack of color and sheer size of the bottles I eventually ruled out cooking oil.  Still somewhat confused as to why mountain people in an undeveloped area with plenty of rivers and streams would end up going to a weekly market I settled on assuming the people were buying drinking water.  It was only upon our return to our hotel that I found out that the people were buying 20 liter containers of moonshine - mountain dew, corn liquor, hooch.  Twenty liters costs $30 USD ($1.50 USD a liter).  Many people were buying more than one container too.  A good profit can be made selling smaller quantities out of the 20 liters and even better profit is made by aging it for a year and then selling it in smaller containers - so I was told.  The going price in a year is around $5.00 a liter.  I am still trying to figure out how storing alcohol in a plastic container improves it after one year. Well if that is what the people believe and it works for them, who am I to spoil it for them. Perhaps I should go back in a year and taste for myself  - if some of the 17 containers will still be around then.  Whiskey is aged in oak barrels to develop much of its flavor and all of its color.

Bac Ha is famous for its Moonshine and Tam Hoa plums.  What if the two were combined?  I know.  I know from experience.  With our dinner at Sa House on Saturday night, all guests were offered Moonshine and "Plum Wine".  The corn liquor was potent - I believe it to be 90 proof.  I tasted the "Plum Wine" and was surprised how strong it was.  It had a pleasant flavor but also packed a punch.  I asked if the moonshine had been added to the wine.  Yes, it had been "fortified" with corn liquor.

Duang does not drink so I ended up with two generous shots of corn liquor and two shots of slightly less potent "Plum Wine".

Duang had complained about having trouble sleeping in Hanoi because I was snoring.  Sunday morning I asked her how she slept or at least how she slept until the early morning thunderstorm.  She said that she slept "Very good.  You not make noise.  Whiskey good for you!"

Bac Ha Sunday Market



Breakfast At Bac Ha Sunday Market

Duang and I accepted Mr. Sa's offer to take us down the hill from Sa House to the weekly market down the hill in the center of Bac Ha.  We rode down on the back of motorcycles driven by Mr. Sa and his brother who works at the hotel.

In no time at all we were at the intersection of the village road and the main road in town that leads on to Can Cau and the border with PRC.  The center of town, which was quite quiet and boring just 24 hours earlier upon our arrival by bus from Lao Chai was now teaming with people and the air was charged with the excitement often encountered when people from rural areas go into "the big city" for periodic shopping excursions.  However the difference here was the unique cultural aspects of this local market.  Most of the patrons of the market were hill tribe people - typically Flower Hmong and Black Hmong.

Flower Hmong People Selling Produce From Their Family Garden

There were two main reasons that they had come into town for the market - to buy things and to sell things.  People came to sell fresh produce from their family gardens. People came to buy things such as rice threshing machines, ready made clothing, plastic toys, livestock, and large translucent plastic filled containers.  Side activities included socializing and getting haircuts with perhaps a restaurant meal.



Checking Out A Manual Rice Thresher

Unlike the Can Cau Market, 20 km to the north, which is set in a rural location, the Bac Ha Market is in a more "urban" environment.  I have researched the population of Bac Ha town but I have not come up with any statistic other than the population of the entire Bac Ha District which is roughly 50,000 people.  My guess is that the population of the town is around 5,000 - small by many standards but large enough to have  a couple hardware shops where foot operated rice threshing machines can be purchased and where people can get their chain saws repaired if they choose not to buy many of the new ones on display in the shops.  Other permanent town shops offer goods and services that the rural people are unable to make for themselves.

The Bac Ha Sunday Market is situated in the town square area and like tentacles of an octopus or squid reaches out along side streets as well as alleys adjoining the square.  It seems that every open space during the remainder of the week is commandeered on Sunday - merchandise is sold off of tarps and sometimes just an empty rice, sugar, or fertilizer bag set on the ground tended by vendors squatting next to their goods sometimes under a handheld umbrella for protection from the sun.

In the more "developed" sections of the market, stalls are set up underneath large tarps, typically blue, Suspended from temporary wood columns and tied off to just about anything that the people can find.

Shelling White Corn At Bac Ha Sunday Market

Woven Baskets for Transporting Animals - Small Animals and Tightly Packed Animals

At the edge of the market is the area where animals are bought and sold.  There were only a few water buffalo for sale but there were plenty of ducks, pigs, chickens and even some small dogs.  The pigs were small and spent most of their time in a gunnysack.  When an interested buyer showed up, the piglet was pulled out by its hind legs and displayed for the potential buyer to checked out.  No matter if a sale was concluded or not the pig, often with some difficulty, was returned to the recycled  rice, sugar, or fertilizer bag.



Bac Ha Pig Market

Ducks as well as chickens were kept in either hand made woven baskets or commercially made wire baskets.

Bac Ha Poultry Market

As you will find at all markets in Southeast Asia, there are plenty of stalls, booths, and outdoor restaurants where you can buy a snack or a "sit down meal"  The sounds and smells of ethnic foods being prepared as well as cooked adds to the exotic atmosphere of these markets for foreigners.  You want to know what the local people eat?  Go to a market and watch.

Markets are also a great location to people watch and for environmental portraits - portraits of people doing what they typically do and where they do it - a moment captured as well as a glimpse into their everyday life.

Markets are also a family affair - often 4 generations of a family along with extended members travel together for their "day" at the market.  They arrive on foot, in the back of pickup trucks, in the back of stake body heavy vehicles, on the backs of motorbikes (2,3, 4 and sometimes 5), mini-vans, mini-buses, with a few even arriving on horse back.

One of my favorite locations at the Bac Ha Market was a section where a couple of stalls were selling bulk tobacco.  The vendors had large mounds of chopped new tobacco on their tarp placed on the ground.  This chopped tobacco did not look like the tobacco that you find in commercial cigarettes.  The tobacco at the market looked exactly like shredded tobacco leaves direct from the outdoor drying racks that you can find outside of the homes where it is grown.  I guess it didn't have all the 599 ingredients that American companies have admitted to using such as ammonia, Ethyl - whole bunch of different stuff, Dimethyl - whole bunch of stuff, grape juice, Sodium - various things, Sugar - not components of tobacco but things that they added to THEIR tobacco.

Customers Sampling Some of the Tobacco Mounds

Customers are encouraged to sample the tobacco that is offered for sale.  The vendors had 4 to 6 bamboo bongs readily available for their customers to use.  Smoking for many people in southeast Asia, especially hill tribe members, is very different than what many foreigners are accustomed to.  First of all they do not typically smoke cigarettes or even in what we call "pipes".  The people smoke the tobacco using bamboo and sometimes PVC bongs 4 to 6 inches in diameter.  They also do not use a great deal of tobacco when they smoke - about 1/8 teaspoon placed in a very appropriately sized small bowl near the bottom of the bong connected at an angle with a small diameter tube.  The tobacco is ignited and the user sucks in with their mouth and nose the prodigious amount of smoke that exits from the top of the bong.  The smoker savors the smoke for a short while and then blows it out through their mouth and nose.

After spending time at the tobacco vendors, we walked over to the edge of the market where two men had set up competing barbershops on the opposite sides of the footpath just down from the pig markets.  As we approached, one of the barbers and his customer enthusiastically welcomed us and motioned us to sit down on the small home made wood bench at his area.  After walking around for at least three hours with my 15 pound camera gear backpack on, I welcomed the opportunity to take it off and to sit down.  Duang, however, had other ideas.  He walked over closer to the barber and off to his side.  After the barber and his customer finally realized that speaking Vietnamese to Duang did not do any good, they realized that she was just observing and not interested in sitting down.  If I had $1 USD or 22,000 VND for every time that people thought that Duang was Vietnamese, I would be writing this blog entry from Vietnam on our second trip to Vietnam in a month.

Haircut Time In Bac Ha

Why was Duang so interested in observing.  Nine years ago she graduated from beauty school.  Since then she has cut my hair every month.  She does a very good job but she is slow.  I have often joked with her that if she had a beauty shop, she would go out of business fast - doing 4 haircuts a day at $3 each.  Duang cuts my hair mainly with scissors and finishes it off with electric shear.  Most of the barbers that I have seen use the electric shears and finish off with the scissors.  Duang has her way and I do not complain - when you are retired, what difference does it make if it takes 30 minutes for a haircut or 5 minutes?

We had a nice time - the customer and barber trying to get me to have my hair cut while I kept telling them that Duang cuts my hair at home - for free.  We all gave as good as we got.  I kept busy photographing while Duang was observing.

A Satisfied Customer  "Hansum" Man

The other barber across the walkway was doing just as much business.  He also had observers but unlike Duang, they were actual Vietnamese people

We have been home back in Thailand now for a month.  Duang has cut my hair once - applying the technique that she learned back at the Bac Ha Market.  She now uses the electric shears for most of the cutting and uses scissors to apply the finishing touches.  She is thrilled and ... much quicker now.

In doing my extensive research for our trip to Vietnam, I came across several blogs and websites where people wanted to know about which market was the best to visit and if you could only go to one, which would you pick?  Some of the answers as well as some reviews of the markets talk about the markets in terms of losing their ethnic flare, becoming too commercialized (hmmm - rather odd for markets?), and being crowded with tourists - Vietnamese, Chinese, and Westerners.

Well - here is my quick answer - "It is up to you"  Personally I would go to both!  One is on Saturday and the other is on Sunday.  An overnight stay in Bac Ha is not expensive.  My attitude is typically - this is a trip of a lifetime and when do you think or expect that you will return.  Getting somewhere is typically the biggest cost - spending an extra day or two to see everything is much cheaper than returning again.

As for guide books and Internet travel sites - I read them all the time and use them to plan our trips.  My wife and I are travelers rather than tourists.  Travelers?  Yes - travelers go places and do things that tourists do not.  Perhaps they are orientated more for tourists than travelers. Our travel style and preferences are shared in these blogs.

 As for the Can Cau and Bac Ha Markets being crowded with tourists - that was not per our observations.  I saw perhaps 10 to 20 obvious tourists - people who did not appear to be locals.

 I ran into the same issue in regards to attending the Poi Song Long Festival in Maehongsong - "crowded" according to the "experts".  Our experience for all three visits - 40 - 50 for the daytime processions but 4-6 tourists at 4:30 AM, "the best time", when the boys are dressed and have their make-up applied by family members inside the designated Wat.

Travel guides and some reviews advised against visiting the refugee camps of the Kayan people ("long necked women") referring to them as "human zoos" and "circuses".  I have been there 6 times and Duang has gone 4 times and did not have that experience.  We ended up making friends and learned some of their life as people without a country.  The key for us was to spend up close and personal time with the residents - not jumping out of a bus with 30 other people with 30 minutes to spend.

My research for a trip to Cusco, Peru for Inti-Raymi indicated that the city was crowded for the festival.  In reality, I had no difficulty booking my hotel of first choice, or watching the 12 hour parade in the center of town - crowds were 2 to 4 people deep along the parade route - overwhelmingly Peruvians.  Leaving the reenactment site for the festival was crowded ... but that is to be expected for event with thousands of spectators again the vast majority being Peruvian.  I considered it to be part of the event experience.

My use of travel resources is to determine locale opportunities and to develop my initial expectations but never to make a decision to go or not go to a certain locale or event.  My mind is made up, and my goals are defined before I start my research.  I have yet to be disappointed in not completely trusting travel resources.

The Can Cau Market and Bac Ha Market visits, eight years in the making, were work the time, money and effort.  For me a highlight of our trip to Vietnam was being told by my wife, who had vowed to never return to Vietnam 7 years ago - tell me out of the clear blue sky (well actually overcast sky) that she wanted to come back soon with our grandsons, Peelawat and Pope.

In the end, as Duang so often says "Up to you"

Can Cau Market




Water Buffalo Section of Can Cau Market

After seven years, my wife and I finally got to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the Can Cau Saturday Market and the Bac Ha Sunday Market in Vietnam.  I had planned on us visiting these two attractions back in 2008 during our last journey to Vietnam.  Unfortunately on that journey, our detailed arrangements were made through a friend and then through a travel agency that subbed it out to another agency.  In the end we ended up pretty much with a standard tour to the Sapa Region albeit a private tour but excluding our specific wish to visit Can Cau and Bac Ha.

This year I personally handled all our arrangements either through the Internet or through the hotels where we were staying.  It was all quite simple and - we got to experience exactly what we wanted.  Vietnam has changed a great deal in the past seven years.  The best change and most welcoming change is the growth and increased awareness for service in the tourism industry.  You still have to be aware of taxi scams and some "fly-by-night" travel companies but the Internet can greatly help you to avoid them and provide reliable and honest alternatives to them.

After spending 36 hours in Hanoi, we boarded the night time train to Lao Cai in the Sapa Region.  We arrived in Lao Cai at around 6:15 A.M. after a sleepless and restless night aboard our "soft sleeper" car.  We had anticipated not getting much sleep based upon our previous trip in 2007.  However as is often is the case in long distance travel to exotic places - the excitement and enthusiasm to discovery new experiences carries you through the day after a night of little sleep.

We exited the train station in Lao Cai to find ourselves in a  large parking area in front of it.  The parking area was filled with vehicles of all types, sizes and condition.  Many of the larger and newer vans and buses were there to take people up the mountain to the town of Sapa (Sa Pa).  Some vans as well as cars were from tour companies waiting for their clients to go to Sapa.  The older and less fit, buses were public transportation to the various towns and villages in the area.

We did not have a reservation and did not know what we were doing other than we wanted to go in the opposite direction from all the others going to Sapa.  That is not a problem.  You do not even have to speak Vietnamese.  But you do have to know where you want to go!  I spoke to a man who looked like he was available to take people where they wanted to go.  We headed across the lot with him towards a newer looking van, I finally got him to give me a price - $50 each.  I did not like the sound of that and told him that it was too much money.  I had read somewhere during the Internet research that the price from Lao Gai to Bac Ha was $18 each.  We wandered through the lot towards the main street at the perimeter of the area.  We encountered another young man and his price was roughly $40 for both of us.  We accepted his offer.  He took us across the street to wait with some people who were sitting around a couple of sidewalk stand selling drinks and food.  The people were friendly and pleasant.  We did not have long to wait before the young man reappeared standing on the running board of the doorway of a small mini-bus.  A mini-bus is a bus type vehicle with capacity for about 20 passengers.

Our mini-bus was most likely at least 20 years old and covered with dust.  It did appear to be in reasonable mechanical condition.  We entered the bus and walked around a beer keg that was in the aisle.  We walked past some seats that were stacked with cardboard boxes and cloth bundles.  We took seats at the back of the bus.  We were the only foreigners on the bus. It appeared that we were in for an adventure.

We headed off in the bus with the young man standing on the running board at the open doorway.  It was obvious that he was looking for more passengers to join us.  We drove slowly towards the outskirts of town and picked up a couple more passengers and their cargo. I was anticipating that we would be picking up crates of live chickens or even a trussed up pig but it never happened - somewhat to my disappointment. The people had been to the market and were returning to their villages and perhaps their restaurant with fresh food.

Twice outside of the town we stopped and the young man got out and talked with some people along the way. He then returned to the bus to retrieve a box for the people.  I was thinking that at our current pace, we would not get to Bac Ha.  After awhile the bus picked up speed to a normal pace and we headed up the hills to Bac Ha.  We made a couple quick stops to discharge people and their cargo including that keg of beer.  Our driver was a good driver and we were able to enjoy the surrounding countryside and sights as we traveled along.

Upon checking in to our hotel, Sa House, in Bac Ha, I informed Mr. Sa that we would like to visit the Can Cau Saturday Market. A quick phone call and 30 minutes later we were on our way to the market.

The Can Cau Saturday Market is located on the main road 20 KM north of Bac Ha and just 9 KM south of the border with the People's Republic of China.  The surrounding countryside is mountainous and punctuated with many rice terraces carved into the mountain sides.

The Can Cau Market is situated on the down slope side of the road that goes to the border.  On a promontory that juts out into the valley below, the Market fully utilizes the available space - the top of the jutting land, its slopes, and the land surrounding its base.

South Side of the Market

 The Market is roughly divided up into sections with each section dedicated to a specific type of merchandise and goods.  The North side of the market - the top as well as slopes and even the base of the promontory is dedicated to buying and selling of animals - mostly water buffalo and a few head of cattle.

Duang Passes A Muddy Water Buffalo On Her Way to Bird Market

At the base of the market, in a small wooded area was the bird market.  In the bird market, many nicely constructed wood bird cages were hung from the overhead tree branches.  Clusters of potential buyers stood and stooped around the cages observing and carefully listening to the songs of the captive birds.  Birds are selected for purchase based upon their beauty and singing skills.

Another section of the market is dedicated to hill tribe fabrics typically embroidered strips of colorful cotton.  In this section, coin purses, handbags, pillow coverings are also placed for sale - either hanging from bamboo poles or on makeshift tables constructed from rough wood or bamboo.



Hill Tribe Fabrics For Sale

Along the steep paths that lead to the various levels of the market, people had set cloths and tarps on the ground upon which they sold surplus vegetables from their home gardens or items that they had collected in the forests.

People Selling Some Produce From Their Gardens

At the east end of the upper market underneath and next to a permanent octagon structure were vendors of clothing.

Clothes Shopping at Can Cau Market

The market area, a conglomeration of some permanent structures but many more temporary booths created from bamboo posts and beams covered with either the ubiquitous blue tarps or recycled corrugated metal roofs, was the place for the local peoples to meet and socialize.  Shopping at local markets is as much a social experience as it is an opportunity to purchase what you need ... be it clothing, livestock, moonshine, vegetables, meat, fruit, knives, machetes, farming tools, tobacco,  kitchen utensils, snack food, and toys from China.

It was a very interesting place with plenty of interesting people and activities going on.

Across the road from the main market area, there was a temporary barber shop set up and doing a good business.  I thought of the old days back in Connecticut when men would get their hair cut on a Saturday morning too.

Scattered about the markets were open kitchens where people could sit down and enjoy a freshly cooked meal and a drink.  The smells of exotic foods and spices wafted through the market area.  Every where groups of men and other groups of women stood about in conversation. It is not the culture to rush in, get what you need and then make a fast track back to your home.  People spend quality time amongst themselves and the vendors.  Most of them linger until around Noon when the market starts to shutdown before headed back.  Like many of the locals, we left at noon to head back to Bac Ha.  Although we were headed back to our hotel, we were not rushing.  There were opportunities and people to meet along the way.  But that is another blog for another day.




Hmong New Years Festival 2013

Hmong Young Ladies In Luang Prabang, LPDR

Early in December, we flew from Vientiane to Luang Prabang for a holiday.  We typically go to Luang Prabang in December because it is dry season and the temperatures are very moderate, perhaps even on the cool side.  Most importantly, December is usually the time when the Hmong people of the area celebrate their new year.

Hmong New Year in Laos is a celebration that is the longest and most popular Hmong cultural event that is typically celebrated in December after the rice crop has been harvested and when the moon is darkest.  Traditional it was to start with the first rooster crow on the first day of the new moon in the 12th lunar month.  The celebration can last from four to seven days.  There are many festivals in cities and villages of all sizes.  The actual start day can vary each year as well as each locale and sometimes will slightly change at the last minute.  After stumbling upon the festival on our first visit in 2008, we use local contacts in Luang Prabang to determine the exact dates before finalizing our arrangements.

The Hmong New Year celebration consists of "in house" rituals and public festival.  The "in house" rituals are meant to give thanks to the ancestors and spirits along with welcoming a new beginning.  Duang and I have not witnessed these rituals ... yet.  The "in house" rituals include calling back home ancestor spirits to enjoy the celebration and the the making offerings to the spirits, that guard each home, with the living family members. The young members of the family pay respects to the old and in-laws - asking for blessings from the the elders of the home, elders from their clan, and the elder in laws of other clans.

Among other in-house rituals are offerings to the spirit of wealth, cleaning of the body, if a shaman is a member of the family - a special ritual to the spirit of curing allowing the spirit to have a vacation for 3 days at which the spirit is called back to do curing, a ritual to get rid of all problems, issues, misfortune that occurred to the family in the past year , some special feasts, and a ritual to release the souls of all dead family members.

Hmong New Years festival, the public celebration, is the only holiday shared by the whole Hmong community - an occasion where members of all the clans come together.  This is extremely important to know and understand a major function of the celebration - courting.

Young Hmong Maiden In Traditional Dress

At the Hmong New Year Festival, Hmong people of all ages dress in traditional clothing to eat traditional Hmong foods, drink, socialize, listen to traditional music, play games. and to enjoy themselves.

Young Hmong Play Pov Pob

A central part of the Festival is play a Hmong game called "Pov Pob".  At face value it is a rather simple game of two lines of people facing each other tossing a cloth ball or more typically these days, a used tennis ball, back and forth.  The ball is lobbed gently by one hand in an arc and caught in one hand.  If someone drops the ball, they are supposed to take an item from their clothing and give it to the player opposite from them.  The items can be recovered my singing a love song to the opposite player.

Young Man and Woman Pov Pob Players

The rules are rather simple.  But as in any game, it is the nuances, skills, and manner in which the game is played that define the game.  What one may superficially observe and know of the rules of a simple game often does not give a true understanding of the games subtleties and complexities.

In the case of Pov Pob, many of the players are playing a variation of a game of skill played for thousand and thousands of years by mankind - courting.

In the Hmong culture people are not allowed to marry within their clan.  Since the smaller villages typically inhabited by members of the same clan.  The residents of the villages have very limited access to potential acceptable mates.  However it is during the Hmong New Years Festival that the clans come together in a single location.

An Elderly Hmong Man Playing Pov Pob

Several games of Pov Pob go on at the same time.  Most of the games are played by adolescents or young adults younger than 18 years old.  However there are some games played by adults - much older adults.  Widows and widowers also have their own Pov Pob - a game of meeting, socializing, and perhaps courting leading to marriage.

Games of Pov Pob are relaxed and low key pastimes.  Although the games are meant for Hmong people, I was privileged to be invited to participate in a game and the young people were eager to teach me how to play.  There were some specific girls and sequence that I had to follow in tossing the tennis ball as well who would be tossing the ball back to me.  It was not, as the saying goes, "It's all Greek to me", rather it was all Hmong to me.  I did what I was told when I was told, laughing and enjoying it all just as the other players were.  Most importantly, for me and my pride, I made every catch one handed of balls tossed my way.

Just as most things in life there is the way that things are supposed to be and the way that they actually are.  I am convinced the same in playing Pov Pob.  I believe that some players purposely drop the ball in order to become better acquainted with some one that they are interested.  Many of the players were softly singing songs without having the need to retrieve an item of theirs - sort of getting right to the point.

One of My Pov Pob Playing Partners

In writing this blog I learned additional rules for playing Pov Pob - by the book.  Boys and girls in pairs set up two opposing lines about 5 to 7 meters (15 to 20 feet) apart.  Boys toss the ball to girls.  Girls can toss to either boys or girls.  However boys can not toss to other boys.  You can not toss the ball to members of your own clan.  You also can not date a member of your own clan - so meeting people at these festivals is extremely important in searching for a spouse.

My coaches for Pov Pob were young Lao men from the United States.  There was a diaspora of Hmong peoples to the United States and other nations in the 1970s.  They say that "Time heals everything".  I am not sure that everything is healed for the Lao peoples throughout the world but they are now welcomed back to their homeland.  We have met many of the original refugees as well as their children and grandchildren during their visits to Lao.

Elderly People, At the Periphery of the Pov Pob Field, Enjoying the View

During our two days at the Festival we saw many examples of four generations of family enjoying themselves.  Even young children and babies wear traditional Hmong clothing.  The clothing is very pretty - intricate patterns, multiple colors, heavy beading, faux fur or feather trim, silver coins, reflective metal disks, extensive embroidery, silver jewelry accents along with just as interesting hats. Some young men wore costumes covered with small highly polished thin metal disks.  The girls and young women also had excellent make-up with particular attention paid to their eyes.

Hmong Young Women Check Out Their Selfie

A Happy Attendee 

On one end of the Pov Pob field there was a line of booths selling all kinds of foods and beverages.  We had lunch one day at Mr Lee's booth.  Mr Lee?  "Lee is actually the name of a Hmong clan.  We and our driver dined on noodle soup, Qwetiou with sides of raw cabbage, fresh mint leaves, and small chili -just like the soup we eat in Isaan.  We also had some grilled sausages, Pepsi, and fresh pineapple.  Later as I was taking photographs came up with a cone of coconut ice-cream as a treat for me.

Hmong Girl Prepare Spicy Papaya Salad -"Pauk Pauk"

Past the food booths, there were several booths made from suspended tarps where people, more specifically young couples, could have their photo taken in front of many different back drops.  If the couple were not wearing traditional clothing, some of the booths had Hmong clothing that they could don for their special photograph.

There were also several booths that were selling Hmong music CDs and DVDs.  Other booths sold various sundries such as ear-rings, hair ribbons, hair clips, combs which were of great interest to the young girls.

A Grandmother Reads A Palm

Over at the area where the elderly people were congregating , at a table selling some herbal remedies, a grandmother was reading the palms of people - no doubt advising them if they had indeed made a "love connection" at the nearby Pov Pob games.

An Enthusiastic Toddler Plays Her Own Game of Chance

Gambling is a big part of culture in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.  Gambling is legal in the LPDR unlike in nearby Thailand.  From our experiences in Lao, it appears the game of choice is a dice game.  The game consists of a plastic cloth with various large printed and colorful pictures on it.  Grid lines separate the various characters on the betting cloth.  Players place their bets on the character of their choice or on the lines that separate the characters for a combination bet.  Three large dice with the same printed characters are placed by the game operators on a hinged shelf inside the lid of a wooden box. The box lid is partially opened to create a roughly 45 degree ramp down to the bottom portion of the box which lays flat either on the ground, platform or table.  After all the bets are placed, the operator or someone in the crowd designated by the operator pulls a string that releases the hinged shelf which sends the three dice tumbling down the ramp to the enclosed area of the bottom portion of the box.  The top exposed characters indicate the winning bets and combination bets.

The one time that I played the game at New Years Festival of the Khmu people near Muang Sing LPDR, I won several times ending up with 40,000 Kip.  I gave my winnings to Duang since she was still gambling.  She returned to where I was taking photographs with no money.  In 15 minutes, she had lost her money as well as my $5.00 USD of winnings.  No matter the loss, it was great entertainment to play and interact with the local people.

Most of the gamblers that played the game with us in the Khmu village were children mostly between the ages of 8 and 14.  Upon leaving the festival in Luang Prabang we walked through one of several gambling tents located at the entrance to the festival.  Each tent had several tables where many people crammed around gambling.  The action was load and very animated.  It was obvious that the people were really enjoying themselves.  At one table that was not in operation, a precocious toddler was imitating the gambling frenzy that was surrounding her.  She would select one of the characters printed on the cloth, pretend to place a bet on cloth, she would then shout out in joy as she celebrated winning.

Our third visit to Hmong New Year Festival had been very enjoyable.  We most likely will return once again this December.  On this upcoming visit, I hope that we are able to witness some. if not all, of the "inside rituals".  We have 10 months to see what arrangements can be made.  There is always something to do and this will be added to the list.