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.




Sa House - A Unique Experience

Sa House - Bac Ha Vietnam

We arrived in Bac Ha Saturday morning and left the bus from Lao Cai at the central square.  We were staying outside of the town at "Sa House".  I had spoken with Mr. Sa before we left Thailand and he said to call him upon our arrival and he would come get us.  Unfortunately my wife's phone did not work in Vietnam - no problem - I wandered over to a small pharmacy and managed to communicate with the young woman to call Mr. Sa.  She refused my offer to pay her for the call.  Five minutes later, Mr. Sa arrived on his motorbike.  Duang left him and I started walking up the hill to his place. He then returned to pick me up.


In planning our trip, I wanted to stay in Bac Ha - my plan was to arrive in Bac Ha on Saturday morning, go directly to the Can Cau Saturday Market, spend the night, and go early Sunday morning to the Bac Ha Sunday Market.  I ended up selecting and making reservations at Sa House.  I made arrangements through an Internet discount lodging site and the cost was $9 USD a night.

When we travel our priorities for lodging are: Safety, cleanliness, and hot water.  The overall objective in our travels is to meet and experience parts of the daily life of the local people. We enjoy learning and witnessing other cultures.  As such, we do not seek luxury Western style accommodations.  Why travel to exotic locations to only pay premium prices to insulate, as well as isolate, yourself from the local environment?  Our philosophy has served us very well especially here in southeast Asia.  We have stayed in many $20-$50 a night hotels that we would return to and in some cases we have returned to them.  However $9 a night was to be a new experience ... a fantastic experience.

Dormitory Building of Sa House

Sa House is about 1.5 KM outside of Bac Ha's center and is located in a very small village.  Sa House is more like a homestay than a hotel.  There are two buildings for guests along with Mr. Sa's family home. One building is dormitory style accommodation.  Duang and I stayed in the building pictured above.  The window of our room is shown just left of the stairway.  We had to share a separate bathroom and a separate shower room with the other guests of our building. Everything was very clean and had a very rustic charm - down to our homemade bed with mosquito net.  There were no glass windows or air conditioning.  Open windows and a fan mounted atop a wall kept us quite comfortable.  We never experienced an issue with showering or using the bathroom.  Below our building was a bathroom building with four or five toilet rooms - flush sit down toilets.

Sa House Cook House

We ended up having our meals at the Sa House - cooked by Mr. Sa's wife and his brother in a separate cook house with a large wood fired oven.  As is typical with Duang, she jumped in to help - washing and prepping the vegetables, fresh from the family garden, in the outside scullery.

Our Host - The Incomparable Mr. Sa

I spent the remainder of the afternoon, conversing with the other guests and the incomparable Mr. Sa.  One of the benefits of staying at the Sa House is that the rooms are too small to stay in for other than sleeping.  There are also no televisions.  Guests end up sitting outside under the cover of Mr. Sa's home - the second story of his house creating a nice large patio where tables and chairs are set up to make a nice area to dine, drink, and socialize.  The other guests were quite an eclectic group - a young man from Barcelona on a one year Sabbatical from his job at a hotel, a young woman, a former restaurant manager, from Singapore on a three month journey,  a young unmarried couple from New Zealand, and an older Italian couple along with their Vietnamese guide.  It was great way to spend time eating fresh fruit and soft drinks learning more about local life and his life from Mr. Sa.

Mr. Sa who had arranged our transportation earlier in the morning to the Can Cau Market, arranged transportation to take us to our hotel in Sapa late afternoon the next day.  He is very resourceful and helpful.

On a board attached to the wall of his home, Mr. Sa wrote the menu and price for the evening's meal.  There were six or seven items if I recall correctly.  I do remember thinking as I read the menu that there was food that I would be happy to choose and eat.  All the guests except for the Italians sat at a community table along with Mr. Sa.  I was shocked that we were being served every single item listed on the posted menu - family style!  The food was excellent and around $6.80.  Mr. Sa broke out some specialty that the area is known for ... corn liquor, Vietnam's White Lightning.  The Hmong people of the Bac Ha area are famous for their version of the potent beverage.  The liquor that Mr. Sa served lived up to its reputation - was very powerful.  Mr. Sa also served some plum wine that he made.  It was very good tasting but also strong.  I asked Mr. Sa about if he had added something to it.  He admitted that he had fortified it with ... corn liquor!

After dinner, we and the others at our table, walked down into town.  Someone had heard that there was going to be a party.   We arrived to witness the tail end of a celebration in the center of time - local people as well as a few tourists dancing to Hmong music around a small fire.  The fire burned out and the party was over.  We hiked back up the hill to Sa House and everyone was back in their rooms by 10:00 to rest for the opportunities the next day would over.

Early Sunday morning I was woken by a thunderstorm - up close and personal.  The rain poured out of the sky outside of our window but did not enter our room due to the long overhang of the roof.  The rain and thunder above the tile roof above the open ceiling of our room was an interesting if not disconcerting experience. Fortunately the storm quickly moved on and the sky cleared up - it was obvious that weather was not going to affect the Sunday Market - much to my relief.

I went down to the patio for my breakfast,  Mr. Sa's four year old daughter came to my table.  I cheerfully said "Good morning!" she mimicked me and replied "Good Morning".  I then gave her a long and drawn out lyrical "Good Morning"  she returned my greeting once again and finished with some Vietnamese or perhaps Hmong words.  Out of the corner of my eye and like a bolt of lightning, I saw a hand come down from above to firmly strike her on her bottom.  Her mother was bringing me my breakfast and had heard what she said. Later I asked her 12 year old brother what she had said. He embarrassingly told me "I can not tell you.  It very bad"  I could not help but laugh.  The little girl ran to the threshold of the door to the family home where she laid down for next half hour - sulking and suffering in silence.  Upon our return from the market, everything was OK and we were friends once again.  It was nice to see that precocious four year olds are the same every where and reassuring to see that some parents hold and discipline their children when they cross boundaries of proper behavior.

Upon our return from the market, I wanted a small lunch - nothing large or complicated.  I actually wanted a sandwich on a baguette - the wonderful breads available in Vietnam.  I had enjoyed the sesame chicken from the previous night's meal.  I asked Mr. Sa if it was possible to have a chicken sandwich with any leftover chicken from last night.  He would not hear of it.  He said that they would make a fresh sesame chicken sandwich.  A short time later he presented me with a delicious chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber fresh from the family garden. Price?  I was charged roughly $1.40.

Our van arrived at the agreed upon time in the late afternoon to take us to Sapa for the next segment of our visit to the Tonkinese Alps of Northwest Vietnam.

After saying heartfelt goodbyes to Mr. Sa, and his family, we boarded the van and left - happy and grateful for our experiences at Sa House.

I think that I read somewhere that the US government requires some type of relationship disclosure about things that you write on the Internet that could be interpreted as an endorsement of a business.

I think that they really have much better and much more important thing to worry and deal with.  However there is no sense in risking getting into difficulties when you can spend a little, if reluctantly, time and effort to avert it.

I have written many times that I write about what I have seen and experienced. I do not have any business relationship nor do I receive any compensation for what I write in my blogs.  My wife and I are just ordinary people who travel.  After we return home, I share our experiences and photographs.

A New Gallery Is Available

Tavan, Vietnam

The latest gallery of my photography website is now available.  This gallery contains selected photographs from our trip to the Sa Pa Region in the Tonkinese Alps of Vietnam.

               http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Vietnam-2015

Nothing Stays the Same, Living is Changing - Part 2



Harvesting and Threshing Rice in Tavan, Vietnam

For our first dinner during our 36 hour stay in Hanoi, we took a taxi to one of our old favorite restaurants for pizza - Al Frescos.  Whenever the gang from the jobsite went to Hanoi, we invariably had a meal at Al Frescos.  After a short ride we arrived at Al Frescos - just across the street from St. Joseph Cathedral.  That was a little odd to me, of all the times that we had eaten at Al Frescos, I had never noticed the landmark cathedral.  We entered the restaurant and it looked very familiar even down to the upstairs dining area where most foreigners end up eating.  If there was any change, it appeared that the restaurant was a little bit smaller.  I ended up asking our server and found out that this was actually a new location for Al Frescos!  Yet another change from our previous visits to Hanoi!

The Asia Queen Hotel where I had a run in with a "rip-off" taxi driver on our last visit, is no longer in business as well as Trang An Hotel, where we typically stayed while in Hanoi, are no longer in business - even more changes.

On our second night in Hanoi, we took the overnight train to Sapa (Sa Pa).  We had taken the train seven years before.  Based upon our experience of sharing a roughly 5 foot wide by 6.5 foot sleeper cabin with two strangers along with their luggage seven years ago, I purchased all four beds in a compartment going and returning so that Duang and I could be relatively more comfortable.  This was a welcomed change for both of us!

Speaking of change - there is now a highway from Hanoi to Sapa (Sa Pa).  Buses and charter vehicles offer a six hour alternative to the overnight train.

On this journey to Northern Vietnam, we got to visit and experience the Saturday Market at Can Cau and the Sunday Bac Ha Market that we had planned seven years ago but did not achieve.  On Sunday afternoon after the Bac Ha Market we went to Sapa arriving around 4:30 P.M.

The weather in Sapa is and was very unsettled in early September - with rainy days and most days with some brief showers most days, in between the showers there can be low clouds, fog, and even some sunshine!  I had done my research and tracked the weather for over a month as our planned departure approached.

I was dealing with a dilemma - I wanted to photograph the golden rice terraces of Sapa region and I wanted to photograph people harvesting the rice - most importantly threshing the rice by hand.  From my extensive Internet research I had determined that the best time for what I wanted would be the first week of September - it appeared that the first week is typically when the harvest commences.  I believed that if I had made a mistake in the timing, I still would have great photographs of golden terraces filled with heavy heads of rice ready to be harvested.

Unfortunately early September is typically wetter than later in the month.  I do not particularly enjoy photographing in the rain but I can deal with it.  The problem is ... the rice can not be harvested in the rain.  The rice must be dry to be harvested.  The harvesting typically recommences 24 hours after the rain has stopped and  dried by a combination of sun and wind.

Upon checking in to our hotel, the extremely helpful hotel manager booked my choice of a trek for the next morning.  I expressed my concern about the weather - he assured me that if there was some rain it would be over by noon.  I told him that I was relying upon him to make it happen and I would hold him accountable.

Our Hmong tour guide, Pang, arrived 10 minutes early at our hotel the next morning.  We set off together headed west out of town along a paved road.  We had hiked along the same road seven years ago only under a sunny sky. For this trek, I had selected a tour that not many tourists take - I was excited about the opportunities that such an itinerary would present for capturing more realistic glimpses of typical life.

Not too long, perhaps 30 minutes, into our hike, it started to rain, not heavily but enough to merit wearing a raincoat and to wet all exposed parts.  In a short time we arrived at the guardhouse to the valley.  To enter the valley around Lao Chai, non-residents have to purchase a permit for a nominal amount - 50,000 VND ($2.25 USD) per person.

Duang Showing Photos On Her New Smartphone

We were met by two Hmong women near the guardhouse.  One woman was young with an adorable baby strapped to her back and an older woman.  They set off along the road and trail with us.  I was prepared for this.  On our previous trip we were accompanied, more like hounded and harassed, throughout our stay by Hmong women and sometimes Hmong children wanting you to buy whatever they were offering.  I do not necessarily enjoy this but if they leave after the third time that I decline I can accept it.  If they persist I then become sarcastic in my conversation with them to be followed by silence.  My annoyance is tempered by the realization that they have a much more difficult life than I have ever experienced and that they are just trying to make a living perhaps to just survive.

I realized that these women would tag along with us along our trek and at the end ask us, if not expect us to buy some things from them.  I was prepared for that and did not have an issue with that as long as they were not pushy ... besides they would be good models along the way.

We set off of the road to travel along an extremely rough trail through a forested area headed towards two small villages where tourists do not often visit.  The rain had picked up in intensity and forced me to place my camera back into my pack for protection.  My typical camera backpack weighs around 15 to 20 pounds.  For the trek I had pared it down to 15 pounds for the scheduled 8 hour tour.  Eight hour tour?  Haven't I heard that before?  The theme song to the television show, "Gilligan's Island" which starred Alan Hale?  Was this a forewarning?

The trail that we hiked along was very steep, in many locations a 30% slope, and extremely dangerous.  The trail was filled with ruts - just right for twisting ankles.  The trail had many loose rocks and stones which created many opportunities to roll an ankle.  There were many streams of flowing water on the trail softening up the surface thereby making it more unstable for footing. But most of all there was the mud - thin so as to not even providing some traction by getting your boots stuck in it, nice thin slippery as snail snot fine clay mud.  How slippery was it?  A couple of times I was standing still and started to slide down the slope.

Trekking the Rice Terraces of Lao Chai District

Very quickly I realized that things had changed over the past seven years.  Sure it was dry back then and it was very wet now.  However it became very evident and personal the thing that had changed most of all was ... me.  At 66 years old (67 years old in Thailand) I could no longer do what I had done 7 years ago when I was 59 years old.

I am not as stable now as I was back then - the problem being my knees.  Pang and the older Hmong woman realized my difficulty and distress.  Pang offered to carry my backpack which I finally relented to allow  her to do - not a matter of masculine pride but rather my policy to be solely responsible for any damage that could befall my camera equipment. In not much time of carrying it after my first refusal, it became very evident to me that the gear was at a much greater risk and that I physically was more susceptible to injury carrying it myself than having Pang do it.

Lysa

My humiliation was not over.  I had intended to buy a walking stick from the children that congregated at the old intersection of the main paved road and head of the trail that descended into the valley.  More changes - that route is no longer used and that jumping off point has been abandoned.  As for the children ... Pang told me that since it was Monday, all the children were in school.  We came upon a bamboo fence along the trail, we ended up "borrowing" a piece to be a walking stick for me - something to stabilize my gait and a device for me to lean on to resist falling down or to the side.  The walking stick definitely helped and I carried it for 3/4 of our trek.  However the walking stick was not all that I needed to safely navigate the trail and slopes.  The older woman who turned out to be 47 years old, Lysa, offered me her hand.  As it turned out we ended up holding hands for almost one-half of our trek. Lysa, several times, saved me from falling down or slipping over.  She was strong and most importantly very sure footed.  I know that without her help as well as Pang's help. I might have injured myself or even worse - damaged my camera gear.



Duang and the Others On the Trail

It was miserable and I suspect it was almost as bad for the others.  I saw Duang almost fall a couple times and we were all getting rained on.  I was furious and livid.  Without doubt Duang and our trekking companions were aware of this. I was furious and livid.  The weather? No.  The steep trail? No. The dangerous conditions? No!  I was furious and livid with the painful and fearful realization of the changes ... my changes that were making it so difficult for me to do what I had done seven years earlier, changes that now dictated and forced me to rely upon others along with the assistance of others. Perhaps I was also upset with the perceived loss of some independence and self-reliance.

I made it a point to convey to our fellow trekkers and ensure to them that I was not upset or angry with them but I was angry with myself.

We came to a fork in the forest and stopped.  Pang said that we could continue on the trails that we were on, or take an abandoned road that other tourists take for about another hour at which point we could continue with the remainder of the scheduled trek to Lao Chai Village and Tavan or at that point we could be met by a vehicle to return us to our hotel in Sapa.

I decided to take the road more traveled with the option of returning to the hotel being a very definite possibility.  We made it to the abandoned road and walking became somewhat easier.  Shortly before arriving at a small hut overlooking the valley but more importantly a place where you could buy ice cold drinks and sit under cover, the rain stopped and the sun almost came out.

The Girls At the Best Refreshment Stand In Sapa region

Goal #1 - Achieved, This is one of the photos that I had as a goal

After a nice rest at the refreshment stand, with no rain I was able to take photographs once again. I thought of all the people that I have known in my life who did not live long enough to be 66 years old let alone to be 66 years old and to attempt such a trek in such a beautiful place.  I thought about how few issues I do have and of those how minor they really are albeit annoying.  The more photographs that I took, the more fortunate I realized that I was.  My mood improved even to the point that I was able to joke ... "You know why not many tourists visit those villages?  It is too damn dangerous!"

There were more slippery and dangerous descents to survive before we reached the valley floor.  Although I was still resisting and not accepting the changes to my body, I was in a better mood helped a great deal by seeing people in their 20's and 30's with large mud stains on their bodies from where they had fallen.  I could not help but think that if they had used a walking stick and held the hand of someone like Lysa they would not have fallen.

The Trail to Lao Chai and Tavan

I decided that we would continue on with our scheduled trek especially the part about having lunch in the village.  The weather was manageable now.  The rain stopped around 11:00 A.M. almost as promised by our hotel manager! Things were literally and figuratively looking much better.

As we trekked along the river at the valley floor, I realized that I had chosen the right time to photograph the harvest.  The harvest had just started perhaps one week long that had been slowed by the weather.  The rice terraces were a bright gold from heavy headed rice stalks awaiting harvest.  Some terraces had been harvested and were quite ugly - denuded mud flats with short stubble of harvested rice stalks - not great main subjects for a photographic composition but a useful element, albeit a small element, of an interesting composition.  For me, the opportune time to photograph Sapa rice harvest is just before or just after the start of the harvest rather than later in the harvest.  We had hit the right time.

As we were walking along the flat road towards the village of Lao Chai, I told Duang that our travelling companions were going to ask us to buy some things that they were carrying in woven baskets.  I told her that we would not bargain with them because they had really helped us out and we needed to show our gratitude.  We entered the Hmong restaurant and were brought to a large table at the back of the restaurant.  We invited our trekking companions to join us.  Lysa and the young woman with the adorable baby on her back showed us some items for us to consider purchasing.  I had a certain amount of money that I thought was good amount for each of them and good for us.  We purchased sufficient items from Lysa and met my budget.  She, on her own, tossed in some items for free.  With the other woman we ended up spending a little more than Lysa and she also gave us some free items.  It was a good feeling to have paid what we were willing to pay and what we thought was fair and to get something from them as an expression of their gratitude.  I realized that we had purchased more from the young  woman who had not really helped us compared to Lysa.  I asked Lysa if she was satisfied and happy with what we had done.  She said that she was happy and her smile confirmed it.  The young woman said good bye and left.  Lysa and Pang left us to join the other Hmong eating their lunch at a long table at the front of the restaurant.

After a delicious and abundant lunch of 6 different dishes, we continued or journey to the village of Tavan.

Goal #2 - Achieved, This is one of the photos that I had as a goal

After 9 hours, we crossed back across the river to the meeting point for the vehicle to take us back to our hotel.  After a couple of nice ice cold Pepsi, our vehicle arrived.  We gave Lysa a ride up the road a ways where she got out to walk down to her house.

Handmade Clothing For Sale In Lao Chai

If an artist must suffer for their art, I was definitely in that category after a full day trekking.  However on the first full day of three scheduled days in Sapa, I had gotten the specific photographs that I had planned on and hoped for on this trip.  It was a great relieve to know that whatever happened in the next two days would be "icing on the cake".

We arrived back at our hotel to face the stairs up to our room on the fourth floor room.  I struggled up the stairway - my knees aching and my quadriceps screaming from the exertions of the day.  Duang had a cold and needed some medicine, so I made it back down the stairs to the ground floor in search of a pharmacy.  The desk clerk directed me down a flight of stairs to the restaurant, out of the building, down two flights of steps to a street below, and across that street to two adjacent pharmacies.  After painfully making may way back to the hotel, I stopped at the restaurant for a simple meal of a ham and cheese sandwich on a great fresh baguette and three Pepsi.  Duang stayed in the room for a simple meal of fruit and fresh cake provided each afternoon by the hotel for their guests.

The next day was a washout - literally and figuratively as well as thankfully!  It rained just about the entire day.  I could hardly walk.  Duang was exhausted.  We were content to stay in our room with the curtains open and watch the ever changing cloud formations obscure and revel the surrounding mountains.  I spent the day on the Internet - since we had an upgraded room, there was a computer in the room for Internet access.  I had vowed to be off the grid for our entire Vietnam trip, but the previous day's physical exertions changed all that.  I was happy to check up on the outside world as I contemplated all the changes in my current life.

After a great night's sleep, I was not all that accepting of the changes that prevented me from doing what I had been able to do seven years earlier but I was now determined to adapt to the reality of the changes.  I wanted to return to Lao Chai and Tavan.  As it turned out Duang wanted to return too.  Although she had been very busy taking photos with her new "Appo"smartphone, the day before she wanted to return to have lunch one more time at the Hmong restaurant - as good a reason as any to return!

I spoke with the hotel manager about hiring a taxi, if the weather was acceptable the next day, to take us to Lao Chai village and to return us to the hotel.  I knew that we could see and do everything that we wanted to do, by getting dropped off and hiking along the roads rather than hiking down the rice terrace trails to get to the roads. We would then meet our vehicle at the rendezvous point that we used two days before.  It was possible and the very helpful hotel manager made it happen for us - but that is all for another blog entry.

Those who follow me know that I have written about the Buddhist belief that all life is change and changing, along with the impermanence of things.  I have also stated that the ability to accept and adapt to changes is the key to happiness.  This is easier said than done, but not impossible.  I had to practice what I preached.  Knowing, if not quite fully accepting, the changes that prevent me from doing some of the things that I could easily do seven years earlier, I focused on adapting to the reality.  In the end our day with using a taxi and using roads much more travelled, we had a great day that exceeded all our expectations and made us both very happy.