A walk in the Hmong Valley

We got a call at 9PM saying its raining and maybe the hike tomorrow we'll start later when its warmer. It poured al night, but by 10AM was sunny and warm. We drove a few km down the valley and met up with a "flock" of young Red Hmong girls/women. Their language is somehow similar to English making it easy for them to learn English, which they do by talking to tourists. The flock had lots of questions for us and we for them. While walking a young woman who looked 13 and professed to be 23 with two kids was finger spinning hemp strands. This will be woven into cloth and maybe patterned with bees wax, ala batik and died with indigo, which is grown in many local gardens.


The road was paved with concrete in places, rocks elsewhere, narrow and windy around rice paddy.


No one is too young to start selling trinkets to the tourists and learning English. Most of these girls don't like going to school or staying in the village or at home, which they find boring or too hard work. they'd rather be interacting with tourists with the odd chance of making some money. It felt exploitive to not buy anything and then ask them for their pictures, so I didn't get any photos of our flock.


Instead I stuck to landscape and animals who roam or lounge freely. Our guide Thuan says everyone knows whose critter is whose;-)





We ended with a delicious lunch of duck, veggies and pork with rice.




-on the road with Kathryn

Location:Sapa