Things have been busy in the Kingdom of Wonder and I am sorry to say that blog entries have slipped. I have a few almost ready to go, and have been capturing all my adventures, but have been very lax at writing things up. Too busy living it! So, here goes....
Back in February 2017 I wasn't lucky enough to head to Vietnam to do a recce for an upcoming philanthropic travel trip for one of my clients donors and interested travellers.
I flew into Ha Noi on the Sunday evening and was met by my guide and driver. I headed to the hotel and relaxed and got some rest. I had been Ha Noi in 2015, so took a small walk around and fund a nice local restaurant.
Day one involved exploring one of Ha Noi's most stunning hotels for the group to stay in. The rooms were lovely...
..and the views form the roof looked out over the lake and Turtle Tower - whose legend can be read here: http://www.travelingthruhistory.com/turtle-tower/
Next I had several NGO visits, who support a range of things from education to supporting children who live n the street to anti trafficking. If you have an interest in these NGOs and their work take a look here http://gophilanthropic.org/gophil-expands-trafficking-work-vietnam/
After several days visiting inspiring NGOs it was time to head north to Sapa. You have a couple of options to get there, one is a mini bus that takes around 5 hours, the other option is an overnight train. The carriages are shared between 4 people and I would recommend a bottom bunk - the top ones are tricky to get in and out of if you need the loo in the night!
"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer." - Corrie Ten Boom
I slept ok, but not wonderfully and landed in Sapa early doors. I was picked up by a driver and headed to the hotel for a shower and a few meetings with trekking companies and hotels.
I had been careful to book the trip around Tet (Vietnamese new year) and had three meetings with trekking companies booked. Unfortunately, after Tet comes some of the festivals for the ethnic minority tribes in the region - which no one had mentioned when I was booking these meetings, not helpful!
I met with one company - the fabulous Ethos Spirit. Owned by a Vietnamese lady and her husband (from down the road back home). They were so knowledgeable about trafficking and the reality on the ground in the area. The stories and information they shared were fascinating and super sad.
The things I learned as a part of researching that trip, on the trip and since have been amazing. There are so many awful things that go on in this world and the world of trafficking is so complex. Again, I urge you to look here http://gophilanthropic.org/gophil-expands-trafficking-work-vietnam/
The mist in Sapa was insane. When I was there the year or so before you could see stunning rice steps for miles, this time, you could see no more than 20 meters and may as well be walking on the pennines!
One of the first ports of call was to check out the main hotels. All shrouded in mist, but lovely non the less...
The two best days of the trip were to follow between hill trekking and a local festival.
The first of these days was spent with one of the Black Hmong guides from Ethos Spirit.
At the time my back was still in recovery, so I could not do a huge amount of trekking, but had trekked the region the year before (some cute pics here: https://thetravelsofladyg.blogspot.com/2016/05/trekking-in-sapa.html ). This trip was more to get a feel for the trekking company, guides, region and local knowledge.
After a short time observing the English class for the guides...
...we headed to a local market and picked out some good - pork, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach etc.
We took a short drive and then a short trek to our guides house...
...before preparing the food and cooking together...
...and then the family all joined us for lunch...
Our guide showed us the grain mill in her house too.
We then headed back and it was time to chill out at the hotel for a while.
Next day, I was due to meet with the other trekking companies, but everyone was at the Ta Van festival in the next valley. Yesterday's driver hadn't been too keen or too flexible, but todays driver was lovely and very much up for a trip to Ta Van, so off we went. Once we arrives he left me too it and I headed into the valley...
This festival was a really special time of year for the whole community. It is a great time for people to meet people, catch up with family, play games, keep their culture alive...
...and possibly meet a husband or wife. In Homing culture it is traditional for the boy to 'kidnap' the girl - she will stay at his home for a few days and if she wants to marry they can, and if not she can leave. The trouble with this is that if a girl goes missing for a few days the families do not worry so much as they assume she is with another local family. In fact, in today's climate she may have been tricked my a trafficking broker and within a day could be miles into the interior of China being sold as an unwilling bride or prostitute with no local language ability or way get home. These festivals are great fun and, as for any teenager, the chance to meet a potential boyfriend / girlfriend very exciting, but in modern times it is important to be super cautious.
At the festival there are dancing shows...
...and games - which seemed to largely involved balancing, climbing or catching animal skills.
This one involved chasing and trying to catch ducks - whoever catches the duck wins the money. I definitely felt sorry for the ducks, but they were not injured and infact I think the men got more injured bumping into one another!
As any festival there were plenty of toys and food and souvenirs to buy.
And even a place to get a blessing.
Soon it was time to get the train back to Ha Noi for one final night before flying back to Cambodia with a head full of travels and new knowledge.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”
― Mark Twain
― Mark Twain
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