Human Interest Story #2: Li in Sapa

Having safely made my way by night train to Sapa from Hanoi, I was hiking down a mountain 2 hours later. Myself, an American girl (Casey) and Hungarian girl (Ildi) were under the careful watch of Li - a 27 yr old member of the Black H'mong people. Her ethnic group is one of many who reside in the northwestern mountains of Vietnam. Various tribes seem to be distinguished by little other than their dress, but there is very little intermarriage despite the good terms they're on with each other.

My first impression of Sapa was nothing short of awe. It looks like nowhere I've ever been before, and is what I imagine the Andes and Peru to look like. The mountains are covered in green - mostly rice terraces. People (mostly women - can't figure out what the lazy men do!!!) young and old glide over the mountainsides laboring all day in the hot sun. I'm sure that the tired, sweaty westerners are highly amusing to them.

Yesterday we hiked for 7 hours, stopping briefly for lunch mid-day. Most of our trek was downhill - much of it over rocky or muddy terrain, which made it quite a challenge. Casey had some sort of food poisoning and potentially a fever and Ildi was badly sunburned and having troubles with her shoe. Comparatively I was in good shape but took an ungraceful spill as we were crossing a stream and banged and bloodied up my shins and knees pretty well. Quite the bunch. We arrived around 4:30 at a home in the village of Ban Ho - a Thai village (not like Thailand, but another ethnic minority). After resting for a bit, we walked down to the river for a dip and some jumps off a big rock. We were the only ones in the isolated spot and the cool water plus the setting made it feel like heaven. We were prepared a delicious meal over a fire before heading to bed in a loft with a mosquito net (Malaria Shield!!!).

An interlude on Li...
Li is a 27 year old woman with the energy, humor and spirit of a teenager. Her English is very good, but sometimes difficult to understand through her thick accent. She dresses in traditional clothing - at least when she's serving as a guide. We developed an amazing rapport, constantly joking and teasing. I was talking with her about how Americans were fat and lazy so she began calling me an American buffalo. She, on the other hand, is like a small chicken. So I told her that I thought maybe buffalo liked to kill chickens and she better watch out :) Her laugh is infectious and her spirits always high.

Li is an only child, which is rare among the H'mong. Small families have 6-7 kids and the average is about 12. I think the standard childbearing years are about 18-35. Li's mother was 51 when she was born (we asked about this multiple times - am pretty sure this is right!!!!) and her father died when she was 4.

Most H'mong teenagers marry between 13 and 17. If they do not have a child within 1-2 years they get divorced as the woman is seen to be unfit. This happened to Li in her late teens. She was fortunate enough to remarry and have 2 children who are now 5 and 3. She left her husband 2 years ago when he was drinking too much rice wine and they were fighting all of the time. She told me that she'd written to her American friend that "she'd die for sure" if she didn't get divorced - so I'm not sure if there was a physical abuse aspect as well. With the help of this American friend she was able to leave her husband. She had to pay the equivalent of about $150 US (an unfathomable amount for her, hence the help from her American friend) to get the divorce, and then moved back in with her mother, who now helps her with her children. She's in a very difficult situation as the sole bread-winner for the family, and in a family without extended family to help support her and her kids. Luckily, she's da bomb tour guide and I think it's a good job for her.

After a sound slumber last night we woke for the shorter return hike this morning. We hiked for only 2 hours but our energy and spirits were MUCH lower than yesterday. It was 5-10 degrees warmer, stuffy, and it was all uphill. Luckily the plan was for us to take the short hike then have a jeep come to pick us up! Despite the short hike we felt very accomplished at the end.

I would recommend a trip to Sapa to anyone who enjoys hiking. The scenery here is unbeatable (photos when I'm back in Hanoi!) and it's a unique experience to be led by a local guide. If this alone was my only stop in Vietnam it would have been worthwhile. A highlight for sure!

Tomorrow my trek buddies will be gone, but Li is taking me out for a private hike! Only a half day and I told her to take it easy on me :)