Thursday, 12/3, 7:30 pm
So back to the chicken from a few nights ago. I had fresh chicken meat in Ghana and Guatemala, but I never actually saw them kill it. So this whole killing the chicken thing was a new experience for me. Basically, Lee slit its throat and drained the blood while the 2 little boys held its feet and wings. There really wasn't much blood in the chicken - it kind of surprised me. Then he dunked it in boiling water which removed/loosened the feathers and he pulled out the rest. Finally, he chopped it up and then boiled it, I think, though I wasn't in the house during that part. The rest of our meal was white rice (this is part of every meal) and some cabbage/greens that we fried up with garlic and I think some ginger, which was yummy. The chicken was good too - I've been eating a lot of meat here. I don't mind eating meat when I know where it's come from and am fairly confident it doesn't have hormones in it.
We sat around together - the family, Lee, and I - and ate together. It took some convincing to get the daughter to join us since she was scared of me. Also, I think that traditionally, the head of the family (the dad) eats with the guests and then the wife and children eat later...but Lee asked them if we could all eat together and they agreed. We all chatted a bit and the uncle, in particular, had many questions about America. The one that sticks with me is when he asked me if I had to live there in the village for the rest of my life, could I do it? I said that I thought I could if my family and friends could come with me. :) It was actually kind of a profound question, in a way, which really got me thinking. Lee told me about an American couple that did just that. They visited some small village, fell in love with it, and then never left. But don't worry mom, I'm still coming home tomorrow. :)
One interesting thing I left out earlier, which is relevant to my work, is something I observed with one of the neighbors. I noticed this little boy's (maybe 1 year old) foot was tied up, like in a bandage/bandana type of thing. I asked what happened to his foot (via Lee) and the mom said that her son had a headache and that the bandage around his foot would help that. So then I asked, how do you know he has a a headache? (The kid wasn't old enough to talk.) And the mom said that she had pricked his finger, drawn blood, and she could tell he had a headache by the color of the blood...or something along those lines. Some of the explanation was surely lost during the translation. And she briefly showed me where she had pricked him on his hand in a few different places. This is the type of thing that is very relevant to my work because parents often continue these types of traditional practices when they get to the states. In this situation, one can imagine a teacher or concerned neighbor calling child protective services when they find out the mom has been "stabbing" her son's hand enough to make him bleed. For anyone who's read "The Spirt Catches You and You Fall Down" this type of thing should ring a bell.
After dinner, everyone immediately went to sleep...I mean we're talking like 7 pm. I was like what am I going to do for the next 3-4 hours? I didn't bring my book but luckily I had my phone and played suduko and I had my ipod. :) So I relaxed in the bed they made me, which was actually quite comfortable. An uncle of the family produced this large cushion (picture what we would put on porch furniture) and they laid that on one of their bamboo beds - basically a bamboo "platform" about 1-2 feet high so one is not sleeping on the ground. Then they had a large comforter for me to use as a blanket, which was quite warm. I didn't even need to use my REI sleeping bag that I had brought along. It wasn't cold at all, unlike Sapa, Vietnam.
You may be wondering where they got this cushion and comforter. The Hmong in this region are no longer making everything by hand nor wearing their traditional clothing. They're so close to Luang Prabang and the Vietnamese are doing some major business in the area. So now the Hmong buy a lot of their clothes and other items they need. Poof! One day globalization comes along and suddenly many things have changed. I don't know how they feel about it, but I think it's sad since their clothes are beautiful and I would imagine they've been wearing them for thousands of years.
Before I went to sleep, I needed to go to the bathroom. This village actually had a bathroom similar to what's used by the locals in the rest of the region - a squat toilet. I made my way in the dark (the one thing I forgot to pack is that little handy flashlight I bought at REI!) to the outhouse and literally almost stepped right on top of the HUGE pig the village has. I mean this pig is massive - I think it's the biggest pig I've ever seen. And apparently his "bed" is right outside the outhouse. I laughed out loud when I realized how close I was to stepping on him...not really sure what he would've done if I did that. Phew!
In the morning, Lee and I made scrambled eggs with green onions and lots of garlic for the family. This was different for them...apparently they typically boil their eggs and I'm not talking about hard boiled. Like they crack it open into the boiling water and cook it that way...what do we call that? Can't remember. We ate the eggs with rice.
Then the two older kids went off to school. After saying goodbye to the parents, Lee and I went over to the school and observed how their day began. I got to watch them all line up and sing their national anthem as they raised the flag. It reminded me of a cross between how we do the pledge of allegiance and the beginning of each day of summer camp.
The rest of the day was spent trekking to the nearby waterfall where I went swimming even though it was a bit too cold to do so! It's a waterfall that many tourists go to so they had a rope swing which I jumped off.
There's not been too much excitement since then...I made my way back to Vientiane (10 hour bus trip) and spent my 30th bday relaxing. I met up with the Lao/American family, ate some good ol' Aunt Jemima pancakes for breakfast, and had a chat about the Hmong. I got my haircut and eyebrows done, had a nice meal and then got picked up to go to the train for Bangkok. I was going to get another massage on my actual bday, but ran out of time. But no worries, I got one today here in Thailand. So I think I've had 4 in total - one in each of the countries I've been to.
I'm off to do some final packing and then am going to sleep! Will be up at 4 am for my 6:30 flight. I've got some final thoughts/observations about my travels but will write those later.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Na Jong!
Monday, 11/30, 8:30 pm
I have a lot to catch you up on from the past few days. On Friday, in Vientiane, I finally met up with Vikham's sister-in-law who turned out to be the cutest 83 year old ever! She's right up there with Grammie in terms of cuteness. :) She came to the U.S. as a refugee back in the 70's, lived outside of DC for about 10 years, and then decided to move back to Laos once things calmed down. So she speaks pretty good English, though we had a bit of miscommunication on the phone. I think that may have been her hearing more than anything. (Again, like Grammie!) So it took a couple of attempts before we successfully met up, but once we did, we had a great time together. She took me out for both lunch and dinner and wouldn't let me pay for a thing. Lunch was at a casual place, but dinner was at a very fancy place that had great Lao food and traditional music/dancers, but mostly catered to the tourist crowd. We chatted about her life in the U.S. and in Laos, both before leaving and after returning. She's very independent - on the day I left Vientiane, she did too - for Thailand, and all by herself! Maybe I'll still be traveling alone when I'm 83...
On Saturday I took a very long bus ride to Luang Prabang - about 10 hours up a mountain and around all sorts of curves. I did well for most of it but by the end (despite stopping for food and potty breaks) I was kind of car sick and just blah! The "rest stops" were just open fields - Laos' bathroom options for tourists are the same as for locals, unlike Vietnam. It's fine though, I mastered that skill in Ghana. At least the bus was roomy - unlike Ghana. Unfortunately I have to do the same bus ride tomorrow, in reverse. I was going to buy a plane ticket - in fact, I started to, but Lao Airlines doesn't accept credit cards online and you have to send a fax and I was like screw it. Now I wish I would've searched for a fax machine!
Once in Luang Prabang, I *finally* met up with Amy (former co-worker) and her new husband Omar! We've been in the same city on more than one occasion, but never seemed to be able to make it work - mostly because she doesn't have a phone and I had no way to get a hold of her. But the three of us had a lovely dinner swapping travel stories and reminiscing about USCCB (ha). She's on her 3rd month of travel and has a few more weeks until she heads back to DC. Again, it was wonderful to see a familiar face.
Yesterday and today I was on a trek to a local waterfall and to a (white) Hmong village, which was *excellent* - probably the highlight of my trip. It was finally a very authentic experience, particularly the homestay. I sucked it up and paid a guide to take me on my own for the trip - $140, which is like millions of kip here. Before continuing, I should explain that there are 3 main ethnic groups in Laos - the Lao, Hmong, and Khmu. Each has their own language, though most of the Hmong and Khmu also speak Lao because that's the language used in school. But they each have their own culture, including the types of houses they live in, foods they eat, etc.
So my guide was half Hmong, half Khmu and was raised in a Lao village, so he's trilingual and tricultural - perfect for this sort of thing! I got to ask any and all questions and I specifically requested to stay with a Hmong family as opposed to a Khmu family, which is who people on this trek usually stay with. So I'm pretty sure the family I stayed with had never hosted a foreigner before.
Yesterday we started hiking around 10 am and hiked for a few hours. Most of it was going up and I was feeling kind of beat. After only an hour or two, we stopped in a village that was half Khmu and half Lao. Right away the lessons began because you have to greet each group differently ("Smile-ut" versus "Sabadee") yet I couldn't really figure out who's who. The Khmu's skin is a little bit darker and their houses are different...so I had to keep pausing and thinking hard before I'd spit out the right greeting. :) We had lunch in this village and I knew that they hadn't seen too many foreigners ("Falang") because the kids were staring at us eating through the holes in the walls. I have this hilarious picture of the kids' eyes through the holes.
Then we continued our hike for a few more hours until we arrived at the Hmong village (Ban Long Lao II, about 16 km outside Luang Prabang) where we'd sleep that night. When we arrived, I immediately began practicing the Hmong that Lee, my guide, taught me earlier - mainly "Na Jong" for hello and "Aw chow" for thanks. Sounds easy enough, but after learning the basics in Khmer, Vietnamese, Lao, and Khmu, my brain was fried! Lee made sure to do all the appropriate communicating, like greetings and so on because he had never been to this village before and we needed to sleep there. Within 15 minutes or so, it was decided where I would sleep - at the home of Noy, Paw-Chaw, and their 3 kids (this is my English spelling for how to pronounce their names). We went to their house and he explained to me that if there were leaves hanging on the door we couldn't enter because of something about bad spirits. He also had to ask permission to enter, which also had something to do with spirits. (The Hmong believe in spirits, which heavily influence a lot of what they do and believe.)
Lee began figuring out what we'd cook for dinner. Can you imagine some stranger coming into your home and taking over your kitchen?? Lee was very good at "translating" cultural experiences, so I asked him more than once if it was okay/weird that we just showed up and were now cooking in this woman's kitchen and he assured me it was totally fine. They decided that they'd kill a chicken for me and so some of them went to figure out which chicken they'd kill (there were dozens roaming around). Meanwhile I went outside and observed the kids. The Hmong children in this village (about 50 families and some had 10 kids) seemed so happy. They were the happiest children I've seen on this trip and perhaps in any developing country I've been to. Or at least they outwardly expressed their happiness much like children from the U.S. do - lots of smiling, giggling, and tons of playing games. The girls in all the villages I've seen play this game with a rope. Sometimes it reminds me of Chinese jump rope but other times they jump over the rope and it reminds me of the high jump or hurdles. The boys in this village were busy spinning tops - like the kind you wrap with a rope and then whip it so the top spins. Later on the kids found some inedible berries that they ran around and smeared on each other. Some of the older girls were sewing - the Hmong do a type of cross stitch which is beautiful. I just bought some at the market tonight.
This is getting long so I'll fill you in on the rest - the killing of the chicken and getting to know the family - tomorrow. I'm off to take a long (hot) shower for now!
I have a lot to catch you up on from the past few days. On Friday, in Vientiane, I finally met up with Vikham's sister-in-law who turned out to be the cutest 83 year old ever! She's right up there with Grammie in terms of cuteness. :) She came to the U.S. as a refugee back in the 70's, lived outside of DC for about 10 years, and then decided to move back to Laos once things calmed down. So she speaks pretty good English, though we had a bit of miscommunication on the phone. I think that may have been her hearing more than anything. (Again, like Grammie!) So it took a couple of attempts before we successfully met up, but once we did, we had a great time together. She took me out for both lunch and dinner and wouldn't let me pay for a thing. Lunch was at a casual place, but dinner was at a very fancy place that had great Lao food and traditional music/dancers, but mostly catered to the tourist crowd. We chatted about her life in the U.S. and in Laos, both before leaving and after returning. She's very independent - on the day I left Vientiane, she did too - for Thailand, and all by herself! Maybe I'll still be traveling alone when I'm 83...
On Saturday I took a very long bus ride to Luang Prabang - about 10 hours up a mountain and around all sorts of curves. I did well for most of it but by the end (despite stopping for food and potty breaks) I was kind of car sick and just blah! The "rest stops" were just open fields - Laos' bathroom options for tourists are the same as for locals, unlike Vietnam. It's fine though, I mastered that skill in Ghana. At least the bus was roomy - unlike Ghana. Unfortunately I have to do the same bus ride tomorrow, in reverse. I was going to buy a plane ticket - in fact, I started to, but Lao Airlines doesn't accept credit cards online and you have to send a fax and I was like screw it. Now I wish I would've searched for a fax machine!
Once in Luang Prabang, I *finally* met up with Amy (former co-worker) and her new husband Omar! We've been in the same city on more than one occasion, but never seemed to be able to make it work - mostly because she doesn't have a phone and I had no way to get a hold of her. But the three of us had a lovely dinner swapping travel stories and reminiscing about USCCB (ha). She's on her 3rd month of travel and has a few more weeks until she heads back to DC. Again, it was wonderful to see a familiar face.
Yesterday and today I was on a trek to a local waterfall and to a (white) Hmong village, which was *excellent* - probably the highlight of my trip. It was finally a very authentic experience, particularly the homestay. I sucked it up and paid a guide to take me on my own for the trip - $140, which is like millions of kip here. Before continuing, I should explain that there are 3 main ethnic groups in Laos - the Lao, Hmong, and Khmu. Each has their own language, though most of the Hmong and Khmu also speak Lao because that's the language used in school. But they each have their own culture, including the types of houses they live in, foods they eat, etc.
So my guide was half Hmong, half Khmu and was raised in a Lao village, so he's trilingual and tricultural - perfect for this sort of thing! I got to ask any and all questions and I specifically requested to stay with a Hmong family as opposed to a Khmu family, which is who people on this trek usually stay with. So I'm pretty sure the family I stayed with had never hosted a foreigner before.
Yesterday we started hiking around 10 am and hiked for a few hours. Most of it was going up and I was feeling kind of beat. After only an hour or two, we stopped in a village that was half Khmu and half Lao. Right away the lessons began because you have to greet each group differently ("Smile-ut" versus "Sabadee") yet I couldn't really figure out who's who. The Khmu's skin is a little bit darker and their houses are different...so I had to keep pausing and thinking hard before I'd spit out the right greeting. :) We had lunch in this village and I knew that they hadn't seen too many foreigners ("Falang") because the kids were staring at us eating through the holes in the walls. I have this hilarious picture of the kids' eyes through the holes.
Then we continued our hike for a few more hours until we arrived at the Hmong village (Ban Long Lao II, about 16 km outside Luang Prabang) where we'd sleep that night. When we arrived, I immediately began practicing the Hmong that Lee, my guide, taught me earlier - mainly "Na Jong" for hello and "Aw chow" for thanks. Sounds easy enough, but after learning the basics in Khmer, Vietnamese, Lao, and Khmu, my brain was fried! Lee made sure to do all the appropriate communicating, like greetings and so on because he had never been to this village before and we needed to sleep there. Within 15 minutes or so, it was decided where I would sleep - at the home of Noy, Paw-Chaw, and their 3 kids (this is my English spelling for how to pronounce their names). We went to their house and he explained to me that if there were leaves hanging on the door we couldn't enter because of something about bad spirits. He also had to ask permission to enter, which also had something to do with spirits. (The Hmong believe in spirits, which heavily influence a lot of what they do and believe.)
Lee began figuring out what we'd cook for dinner. Can you imagine some stranger coming into your home and taking over your kitchen?? Lee was very good at "translating" cultural experiences, so I asked him more than once if it was okay/weird that we just showed up and were now cooking in this woman's kitchen and he assured me it was totally fine. They decided that they'd kill a chicken for me and so some of them went to figure out which chicken they'd kill (there were dozens roaming around). Meanwhile I went outside and observed the kids. The Hmong children in this village (about 50 families and some had 10 kids) seemed so happy. They were the happiest children I've seen on this trip and perhaps in any developing country I've been to. Or at least they outwardly expressed their happiness much like children from the U.S. do - lots of smiling, giggling, and tons of playing games. The girls in all the villages I've seen play this game with a rope. Sometimes it reminds me of Chinese jump rope but other times they jump over the rope and it reminds me of the high jump or hurdles. The boys in this village were busy spinning tops - like the kind you wrap with a rope and then whip it so the top spins. Later on the kids found some inedible berries that they ran around and smeared on each other. Some of the older girls were sewing - the Hmong do a type of cross stitch which is beautiful. I just bought some at the market tonight.
This is getting long so I'll fill you in on the rest - the killing of the chicken and getting to know the family - tomorrow. I'm off to take a long (hot) shower for now!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving take 2
I got me some turkey and mashed potatoes!! So I was walking down the street this evening when I stopped to observe a woman working on a loom in front of her store. I walked into the store to look around and she started talking to me in good English. She explained that she worked at 10,000 villages in Pennsylvania for a year and then she introduced me to some of her other family members - a couple. The guy's from TN and the woman is Laotian - they met here in Laos and they spend part of their time in Laos and part in the states. And they have 4 cute kiddos. So we talked for like 5 minutes and then suddenly they brought me a plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, and salad - yum! So I guess I got a traditional thanksgiving dinner afterall. :) They've got a great store too - they employ Hmong women and sell everything fair trade, etc. They also gave me some advice on where to go around town, etc.
I also had a lovely exchange earlier with the women at a massage place - after I got the BEST massage I think I've ever had. The women there helped me call Vikham's sister-in-law to make sure I'm clear on where we're meeting up tomorrow. I'm supposed to meet her at 8:30 am at a hotel near her house. It's only 9 pm here but I'm pretty tired since I've been up since 5:30 am. I'm going to walk around a little bit more and then hit the hay. Thinking of you all as you're probably popping your turkeys in the oven.
I also had a lovely exchange earlier with the women at a massage place - after I got the BEST massage I think I've ever had. The women there helped me call Vikham's sister-in-law to make sure I'm clear on where we're meeting up tomorrow. I'm supposed to meet her at 8:30 am at a hotel near her house. It's only 9 pm here but I'm pretty tired since I've been up since 5:30 am. I'm going to walk around a little bit more and then hit the hay. Thinking of you all as you're probably popping your turkeys in the oven.
Thanksgiving dinner - Laotian style
Happy Thanksgiving from Laos! So I arrived in Vientiane this morning and I already love it way more than Vietnam. It's SO much more chill and it makes me happy that you can still hear a rooster crow in their capital city. There is also little to no chance of being run over by a motorbike here.
As soon as I arrived I knew I needed to eat something asap b/c I was starving. (I ran out of Vietnamese money last night and decided to just suck it up til I got to Laos so I didn't have to pay more ATM fees!) So I went to this lovely restaurant where I ordered a feast - my own little thanksgiving feast, Laotian style. I made the mistake of telling the woman I was very hungry and she seemed to think ordering 2 plates would be a good idea. So I ordered the sweet and sour tofu with rice AND the green papaya salad and ended up with a ton of food that was DE-LIC-IOUS. The papaya salad was supposedly only "medium" spicy but my nose was running (Vikham, you know how it is for me!). I should've taken a picture of it like I often do with my plate of turkey.
I spent a couple hours today trying to get organized for my week in Laos. I can't believe I only have a week left of my trip! I will be in Vientiane for 2 days - tomorrow night I'm eating dinner with Vikham's family (co-worker) and then taking the night bus to Luang Prabang (8-10 hours). I'll have a day to chill in LP and then Sunday/Monday I do a 2 day trip of trekking and visiting Hmong villages and it might just be me and the guide. YES! It'll be cheaper if I can find one other person to go with me and I'd be up for that, but hopefully it won't include more people than that. Then one more day to chill in LP and I'll take a bus (maybe at night, not sure yet) back to Vientiane and then that night (2nd, my bday!), I'll take the sleeper bus to Bangkok. I thought I'd be back in Bangkok by that point and could party for my bday, but I don't think that's going to happen. Maybe I can celebrate the night on Dec 1 in Luang Prabang. We'll see! I'm going to be so sick of planes, trains, and buses by the time I get back b/c this week is FULL of them.
I think I'm off to go swimming - there's actually a pool for laps here! Cheers and eat some turkey for me (even though I'm a "vegetarian"). Ha ha.
As soon as I arrived I knew I needed to eat something asap b/c I was starving. (I ran out of Vietnamese money last night and decided to just suck it up til I got to Laos so I didn't have to pay more ATM fees!) So I went to this lovely restaurant where I ordered a feast - my own little thanksgiving feast, Laotian style. I made the mistake of telling the woman I was very hungry and she seemed to think ordering 2 plates would be a good idea. So I ordered the sweet and sour tofu with rice AND the green papaya salad and ended up with a ton of food that was DE-LIC-IOUS. The papaya salad was supposedly only "medium" spicy but my nose was running (Vikham, you know how it is for me!). I should've taken a picture of it like I often do with my plate of turkey.
I spent a couple hours today trying to get organized for my week in Laos. I can't believe I only have a week left of my trip! I will be in Vientiane for 2 days - tomorrow night I'm eating dinner with Vikham's family (co-worker) and then taking the night bus to Luang Prabang (8-10 hours). I'll have a day to chill in LP and then Sunday/Monday I do a 2 day trip of trekking and visiting Hmong villages and it might just be me and the guide. YES! It'll be cheaper if I can find one other person to go with me and I'd be up for that, but hopefully it won't include more people than that. Then one more day to chill in LP and I'll take a bus (maybe at night, not sure yet) back to Vientiane and then that night (2nd, my bday!), I'll take the sleeper bus to Bangkok. I thought I'd be back in Bangkok by that point and could party for my bday, but I don't think that's going to happen. Maybe I can celebrate the night on Dec 1 in Luang Prabang. We'll see! I'm going to be so sick of planes, trains, and buses by the time I get back b/c this week is FULL of them.
I think I'm off to go swimming - there's actually a pool for laps here! Cheers and eat some turkey for me (even though I'm a "vegetarian"). Ha ha.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sapa trip
Wed, 11/25, 6 am
Hi all,
Well I just got off the night train and am back in Hanoi after a good trip to Sapa (booked with Hanoi backpackers hostel and done through Sapa Pathfinders), though I have a number of caveats...
I took the night train on Saturday night and slept beautifully. Sunday morning we headed to a town called Bac Ha to go to their local market. The town primarily has 2 types of Hmong: Flower and Red. (In the US, our Hmong refugees are mostly White and Green Hmong, who are mostly from Laos.) The Flower Hmong, in particular, have beautiful clothing and the market was a lot of fun. It kind of reminded me of the Mayan markets in and around Quetzaltenango, Guatemala since we were in the highlands visiting an indigenous group of people who share (on the surface) similar practices, such as carrying their babies on their backs, etc.
It was immediately obvious, however, how many tourists had passed through this market over the last decade or so. No one even blinked at me or the other tourists and there was little hope of having any kind of genuine interaction with the locals. I chose to walk around by myself to try to be a bit more conspicuous and not so invasive. I plopped down in a couple locations to just observe and see if anyone would attempt to talk to me. I did talk with a couple of women and held one's baby though it wasn't for long. Unfortunately, mostly the relationship between tourists and the Hmong is commercial. There was a lot of "pestering" to buy things with the most common question being "Hello, you buy something from me?" Occasionally a woman would even grab you by the arm and basically drag you into her store/stand. I did buy quite a few souvenirs/gifts though because their textiles (wall hangings, scarves, etc) were so beautiful.
Afterwards they took us on the most ridiculous "tour" of a local village. I was absolutely *horrified* at how many tourists were tromping through this local village like it was a f***ing circus. You also have to keep in mind that many of the tourists here are not just backpackers - they're like middle age/retired, pretty nicely dressed French and British couples with ginormous cameras and seemingly no regard for how invasive they're being. There was also this American girl traveling with our group that was having this ridiculous existential crisis b/c it was her first time in a developing country and seeing "poverty" (this village wasn't that poor) and people that live in houses with dirt floors, etc. She kept saying that she was changed forever and how could she ever go back to her life in the U.S. now, etc. Okay, fine, I can understand - and am glad - that visiting a developing country would change one's outlook on life. BUT it was the ridiculousness of the situation that was making her comments annoying as hell. The whole couple hours in the village were contrived and a circus as I said - not a genuine, meaningful situation and every comment she made was very cliche. I felt sick to my stomach and very disgusted that I was supporting this activity. There are ways to learn about people's cultures and traditions that are much more socially and environmentally conscious - and it's my understanding that many such opportunities are in Laos which I'm looking forward to.
The next day was much better, which was mostly about trekking. There were 5 of us in our group - the American girl mentioned above, another cool Indian American guy who's originally from Ohio and now lives in DC (!), and a Swiss couple who were really sweet. I don't remember how to spell our guide's name, but it was said something like "zoom" and he's Hmong. The mountains around Sapa are GORGEOUS. They're hard to describe and it's no wonder the area has become a tour mecca. I got a ton of great photos, but no photo can do the area justice. The area gets pretty cold at night (maybe 40's? I bought a hat, gloves, and scarf) but warms up a lot during the day (probably hit 70 at points?).
We hiked around the area with our packs for the night for our homestay. I left a lot of my stuff in Hanoi in storage, but I don't have a daypack so still had to carry my big backpack, though it wasn't too bad. In the late afternoon we arrived at our "homestay" which was an "empty nester" couple who has a loft which can accommodate 15 tourists. The reason why I put "homestay" in quotes is because it's basically no different than a guest house with an attempt to not make it "too western" so the tourists could at least get a taste of how the locals live. But seriously, do any other homes in the area have indoor plumbing with hot water? Come on. Though it wasn't as weird as the day before because it was one of those situations where it "is what it is." While my group and the other group of 10 that joined us sat around and drank and smoked (Europeans smoke SOOOO much!!!) I decided to help the host cook. I mean I paid $22 in Hoi An for a cooking class and here was an opportunity for a free one. So I helped her peel and chop all the veggies, rolled the spring rolls, and cook everything in the wok. During and after dinner, we also got to drink a lot of rice wine - they're traditional drink - which was fun.
The next morning I wandered around the town alone and again, realized how many ga-gillions of tourists must have tromped through their town since none of the kids even blinked at my presence. On the one hand it's sad of course, but on the other hand it's kind of nice to be able to sit back and observe their daily life without being "attacked" like I always was in Ghana. I mean in Ghana, kids used to literally chase me and this was definitely not the case in the small town we were in. There wasn't anything too exciting going on except for this big debate how to best carry a squealing pig on the back of a motorbike.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was the best day because the annoying American girl was hungover and not well enough to trek so she took a motorbike back. The 4 of us and our guide were able to do a bit more difficult hike and he also took us on a route he'd never done before, which included a nice spot in the river where we could wade. It was still a little too cold to fully jump in, but we waded, climbed around on the rocks, and I actually washed my hair (which was beyond dirty!). There were way fewer tourists around overall, a much more pleasant day. During our stop for lunch, I blew some bubbles for the kids and was able to have a few more genuine interactions with the woman. One of them let me hold her baby ("Fa") and then she put him on my back. So I got my now-semi-stereotypical picture of me with a baby on my back...I think I have one from each place I visited now.
So I'm back in Hanoi now, just for the day. I didn't sleep well on the train so I'm pretty tired and not sure what I'm going to do today. I think I'll visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and maybe a museum. Tomorrow morning I fly to Laos which I'm really excited about. Something tells me I'm going to wish that I would've spent most of my time there...it's supposed to be way less touristy and as I said, the cultural experiences one can arrange are supposed to be arranged by companies that are much more socially and environmentally conscious.
That's it for now! Such a long post...
Hi all,
Well I just got off the night train and am back in Hanoi after a good trip to Sapa (booked with Hanoi backpackers hostel and done through Sapa Pathfinders), though I have a number of caveats...
I took the night train on Saturday night and slept beautifully. Sunday morning we headed to a town called Bac Ha to go to their local market. The town primarily has 2 types of Hmong: Flower and Red. (In the US, our Hmong refugees are mostly White and Green Hmong, who are mostly from Laos.) The Flower Hmong, in particular, have beautiful clothing and the market was a lot of fun. It kind of reminded me of the Mayan markets in and around Quetzaltenango, Guatemala since we were in the highlands visiting an indigenous group of people who share (on the surface) similar practices, such as carrying their babies on their backs, etc.
It was immediately obvious, however, how many tourists had passed through this market over the last decade or so. No one even blinked at me or the other tourists and there was little hope of having any kind of genuine interaction with the locals. I chose to walk around by myself to try to be a bit more conspicuous and not so invasive. I plopped down in a couple locations to just observe and see if anyone would attempt to talk to me. I did talk with a couple of women and held one's baby though it wasn't for long. Unfortunately, mostly the relationship between tourists and the Hmong is commercial. There was a lot of "pestering" to buy things with the most common question being "Hello, you buy something from me?" Occasionally a woman would even grab you by the arm and basically drag you into her store/stand. I did buy quite a few souvenirs/gifts though because their textiles (wall hangings, scarves, etc) were so beautiful.
Afterwards they took us on the most ridiculous "tour" of a local village. I was absolutely *horrified* at how many tourists were tromping through this local village like it was a f***ing circus. You also have to keep in mind that many of the tourists here are not just backpackers - they're like middle age/retired, pretty nicely dressed French and British couples with ginormous cameras and seemingly no regard for how invasive they're being. There was also this American girl traveling with our group that was having this ridiculous existential crisis b/c it was her first time in a developing country and seeing "poverty" (this village wasn't that poor) and people that live in houses with dirt floors, etc. She kept saying that she was changed forever and how could she ever go back to her life in the U.S. now, etc. Okay, fine, I can understand - and am glad - that visiting a developing country would change one's outlook on life. BUT it was the ridiculousness of the situation that was making her comments annoying as hell. The whole couple hours in the village were contrived and a circus as I said - not a genuine, meaningful situation and every comment she made was very cliche. I felt sick to my stomach and very disgusted that I was supporting this activity. There are ways to learn about people's cultures and traditions that are much more socially and environmentally conscious - and it's my understanding that many such opportunities are in Laos which I'm looking forward to.
The next day was much better, which was mostly about trekking. There were 5 of us in our group - the American girl mentioned above, another cool Indian American guy who's originally from Ohio and now lives in DC (!), and a Swiss couple who were really sweet. I don't remember how to spell our guide's name, but it was said something like "zoom" and he's Hmong. The mountains around Sapa are GORGEOUS. They're hard to describe and it's no wonder the area has become a tour mecca. I got a ton of great photos, but no photo can do the area justice. The area gets pretty cold at night (maybe 40's? I bought a hat, gloves, and scarf) but warms up a lot during the day (probably hit 70 at points?).
We hiked around the area with our packs for the night for our homestay. I left a lot of my stuff in Hanoi in storage, but I don't have a daypack so still had to carry my big backpack, though it wasn't too bad. In the late afternoon we arrived at our "homestay" which was an "empty nester" couple who has a loft which can accommodate 15 tourists. The reason why I put "homestay" in quotes is because it's basically no different than a guest house with an attempt to not make it "too western" so the tourists could at least get a taste of how the locals live. But seriously, do any other homes in the area have indoor plumbing with hot water? Come on. Though it wasn't as weird as the day before because it was one of those situations where it "is what it is." While my group and the other group of 10 that joined us sat around and drank and smoked (Europeans smoke SOOOO much!!!) I decided to help the host cook. I mean I paid $22 in Hoi An for a cooking class and here was an opportunity for a free one. So I helped her peel and chop all the veggies, rolled the spring rolls, and cook everything in the wok. During and after dinner, we also got to drink a lot of rice wine - they're traditional drink - which was fun.
The next morning I wandered around the town alone and again, realized how many ga-gillions of tourists must have tromped through their town since none of the kids even blinked at my presence. On the one hand it's sad of course, but on the other hand it's kind of nice to be able to sit back and observe their daily life without being "attacked" like I always was in Ghana. I mean in Ghana, kids used to literally chase me and this was definitely not the case in the small town we were in. There wasn't anything too exciting going on except for this big debate how to best carry a squealing pig on the back of a motorbike.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was the best day because the annoying American girl was hungover and not well enough to trek so she took a motorbike back. The 4 of us and our guide were able to do a bit more difficult hike and he also took us on a route he'd never done before, which included a nice spot in the river where we could wade. It was still a little too cold to fully jump in, but we waded, climbed around on the rocks, and I actually washed my hair (which was beyond dirty!). There were way fewer tourists around overall, a much more pleasant day. During our stop for lunch, I blew some bubbles for the kids and was able to have a few more genuine interactions with the woman. One of them let me hold her baby ("Fa") and then she put him on my back. So I got my now-semi-stereotypical picture of me with a baby on my back...I think I have one from each place I visited now.
So I'm back in Hanoi now, just for the day. I didn't sleep well on the train so I'm pretty tired and not sure what I'm going to do today. I think I'll visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and maybe a museum. Tomorrow morning I fly to Laos which I'm really excited about. Something tells me I'm going to wish that I would've spent most of my time there...it's supposed to be way less touristy and as I said, the cultural experiences one can arrange are supposed to be arranged by companies that are much more socially and environmentally conscious.
That's it for now! Such a long post...
Friday, November 20, 2009
In Hanoi (briefly)
11:30 Saturday morning (11/21)
Hi all,
Well I flew to Hanoi this morning and got a cab with 3 other girls to the Hanoi backpackers hostel - 2 British and an American. The American girl is only one I've met so far and she's also traveling "alone" though she's now been traveling with the 2 British girls for a month. She lost her job and decided to use the opportunity to travel. Very cool.
I just booked a 4 night/3 day trip to Sapa, which is a town pretty far north from here - about a 10-12 hour train ride. I think there's about 8 people going tonight and so we'll take the night train together. The trip is going to be awesome - I've heard such good things about it from other travelers. It will be a combination of trekking and visiting with the local people - mostly Hmong I think. My timing is good b/c this version of the trip includes going to the Sunday market and only leaves on Saturdays. I decided to do this version of the trip and will skip Halong Bay, which is also highly recommended by other travelers...but I just don't have time and the weather is not that great here now. Pretty chilly (I'm wearing my fleece) and it's been raining a lot. Very different than Cambodia and southern Vietnam when I was sweating so much!
Yesterday (last day in Hoi An) I took a cooking class which was awesome. So much fun! The class was about 15-20 of us and we learned to make the specialities of Hoi An and I'm bringing all the recipes home where you all can be guinea pigs. Ha ha.
Okay, I've got the day to kill here in Hanoi (my train leaves tonight at 8 pm and has a bed). I'm going to try calling Nicole's old roommate here and see if she wants to get some lunch. Cheers!
Hi all,
Well I flew to Hanoi this morning and got a cab with 3 other girls to the Hanoi backpackers hostel - 2 British and an American. The American girl is only one I've met so far and she's also traveling "alone" though she's now been traveling with the 2 British girls for a month. She lost her job and decided to use the opportunity to travel. Very cool.
I just booked a 4 night/3 day trip to Sapa, which is a town pretty far north from here - about a 10-12 hour train ride. I think there's about 8 people going tonight and so we'll take the night train together. The trip is going to be awesome - I've heard such good things about it from other travelers. It will be a combination of trekking and visiting with the local people - mostly Hmong I think. My timing is good b/c this version of the trip includes going to the Sunday market and only leaves on Saturdays. I decided to do this version of the trip and will skip Halong Bay, which is also highly recommended by other travelers...but I just don't have time and the weather is not that great here now. Pretty chilly (I'm wearing my fleece) and it's been raining a lot. Very different than Cambodia and southern Vietnam when I was sweating so much!
Yesterday (last day in Hoi An) I took a cooking class which was awesome. So much fun! The class was about 15-20 of us and we learned to make the specialities of Hoi An and I'm bringing all the recipes home where you all can be guinea pigs. Ha ha.
Okay, I've got the day to kill here in Hanoi (my train leaves tonight at 8 pm and has a bed). I'm going to try calling Nicole's old roommate here and see if she wants to get some lunch. Cheers!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Confirmed itineray for rest of trip!
Hi all (especially mom!),
I just spent the past 2 hours or so booking flights, talking to fellow travelers sitting next to me, and finalizing the last 2 weeks of my trip. Flights within SE Asia are more expensive than everyone told me they were going to be - urgh - so I'm glad I'm booking them "ahead" of time! Oh well, I need to make the most of my time here, or else my main flight purchase wouldn't be worth it.
So here's what I'm up to:
- Sat morn (11/21) - flying to Hanoi. I don't really care too much about seeing Hanoi, as I anticipate it will be a lot like Saigon with plenty of motorbikes to run me over. So, I will likely take the night train the same day to Sapa, so that I arrive in Sapa early morning 11/22.
- 11/22 to 11/24 in Sapa - I will most likely do one of the semi long treks which include a homestay with a family. Most of the villages up in this area are Hmong.
- 11/25 - sleep/recover in Hanoi, maybe visit with Nicole's former roommate
- 11/26 (thanksgiving!) - fly to Vientiane, Laos
- 11/26-11/27 - hang out in Vientiane, hopefully meet Vikham's family :)
- 11/28 - 11/29 - Bus to Luang Prabang and hang out
- 11/30 - 12/1 - Hopefully a home stay with one of the indiginous families outside Luang Prabang
- 12/2 (I turn 30!) - Fly from LP to Bangkok, buy lots of souvenirs, and party like a rock star
- 12/3 - Meet with OPE staff and pack
-12/4 - fly out at 6:35 am
Yay! My poor credit card...I just booked 3 flights!
So today was nice...after a tour of My Son (ruins) I literally ate my way through Hoi An. Yum! Besides Vietnamese food, there's the French influence so I had a yummy banana pancake and some other fried goodies. Then I picked up my 2 skirts and bought 2 more dresses - I couldn't resist! So cheap! Then I got a pedicure and a massage and now I'm off to the local drinking hole. Life's pretty tough, eh? Peace!
I just spent the past 2 hours or so booking flights, talking to fellow travelers sitting next to me, and finalizing the last 2 weeks of my trip. Flights within SE Asia are more expensive than everyone told me they were going to be - urgh - so I'm glad I'm booking them "ahead" of time! Oh well, I need to make the most of my time here, or else my main flight purchase wouldn't be worth it.
So here's what I'm up to:
- Sat morn (11/21) - flying to Hanoi. I don't really care too much about seeing Hanoi, as I anticipate it will be a lot like Saigon with plenty of motorbikes to run me over. So, I will likely take the night train the same day to Sapa, so that I arrive in Sapa early morning 11/22.
- 11/22 to 11/24 in Sapa - I will most likely do one of the semi long treks which include a homestay with a family. Most of the villages up in this area are Hmong.
- 11/25 - sleep/recover in Hanoi, maybe visit with Nicole's former roommate
- 11/26 (thanksgiving!) - fly to Vientiane, Laos
- 11/26-11/27 - hang out in Vientiane, hopefully meet Vikham's family :)
- 11/28 - 11/29 - Bus to Luang Prabang and hang out
- 11/30 - 12/1 - Hopefully a home stay with one of the indiginous families outside Luang Prabang
- 12/2 (I turn 30!) - Fly from LP to Bangkok, buy lots of souvenirs, and party like a rock star
- 12/3 - Meet with OPE staff and pack
-12/4 - fly out at 6:35 am
Yay! My poor credit card...I just booked 3 flights!
So today was nice...after a tour of My Son (ruins) I literally ate my way through Hoi An. Yum! Besides Vietnamese food, there's the French influence so I had a yummy banana pancake and some other fried goodies. Then I picked up my 2 skirts and bought 2 more dresses - I couldn't resist! So cheap! Then I got a pedicure and a massage and now I'm off to the local drinking hole. Life's pretty tough, eh? Peace!
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