On this journey we encountered minority ladies working in the fields. There was wildlife galore and beautiful landscape and agricultural lands with not another western tourists in sight. Many little wild pigs chickens and were scrambling around the pastures and fields foraging for their food.
We were invited into a little timber house (approx 5 metres x 8 metres) to our amazement there were 17 children huddled in a little corner of this house, watching TV, there were 4 men playing cards, there was barely any light in the little house with the power generated by water (most of it operating the TV). Where were the ladies you ask? The Black H'Mong women of this household were out tending the fields in the misty rain. They did come out of the filed while we were visiting.
Another sticky moment for the cultural attache at Suoi Thau when we were invited into a family home to watch the distilling of rice wine and he joined in a little communal rice wine drinking around the table with the men. As they placed another set of chop sticks on the table I thought with some trepidation, how will he manage this sticky moment, knowing that it is likely to the most basic offal of the pig. He managed to somehow graciously decline much to the dismay of the men. However, they poured yet again another shot and had a little salut in Vietnamese, Hmong and Australian - cheers mate. We later discovered through a little H'mong interpreter Mu that the contents of the bowl were pig heart and stomach.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the rocks of the stream at Ta Giang Phin, much to the apparent intrigue of the local minority women, children and the occasional man who stopped to stare in amazement as we sat eating our lunch. It was peaceful and serene as we sat on the rocks with the stream whirling past while we watched the passing traffic on the small bridge, a few goats, children and the occasional motorbike carrying an entire family. Three little girls came close to us investigating this apparently foreign scene and were rewarded with a share of our meal. One of the remarkable things we discovered is that despite the remoteness of these communities, their access to technology is quite advanced. In particular, mobile phones and the extent of telephone network coverage available. It certainly makes our service at home look somewhat pathetic. Another universal theme emerges, Mu (who is now 19 years old) tells us that she has had her mobile phone for 4 years now and her father used to get quite angry if she used it after 9pm.
It is easy to make value judgments when confronted with strange and unusual concepts and situations in different cultures. I have heard many tourists comment both recently and over the years about their concerns for the manner in which animal husbandry is conducted in south east Asia generally. While I share some of these concerns myself, I have to say that on the whole there is something of a reverence and at the very least and appreciation for the animals, many of whom are truly free range and roam the fields foraging at will. Once harvested, not a skerick is wasted. It is never optimal and we also have a long way to go on the issue of the humane treatment of animals in many regards.
Dinner with Mu and Bu
Mu kindly invited us to a dinner at her home. She has been married to Bu for 6 months. She explained that her parents (Black H'Mong) had travelled by foot for 3 hours from their village to visit her cousins sick child in the local hospital and that they would also be visiting for dinner. We accepted her thoughtful invitation. The cultural attache went to the market with Mu who purchased half a chicken breast, thigh and drumstick (where there was much debate over how much she required for her meal). Mu asked the market lady to cut the chikcens head off thus reducing the overall cost. She then purchased green peppers, morning glory, chocko leaves, half a carrot and some bamboo shoots. Mu collected us from our hotel and escorted us to her humble abide in a small local community in Sapa. Mu and Bu live in a small room, 3 metres x 4.5 metres. There was a bamboo double bed with foam mattress which also provided the only seating in the room other than the limited floor space. There was a wardrobe, a cupboard and the corner a little kitchenette and pantry. Mu and Bu cooked the most lovely dinner on their 2 burner portable stove - an absolute feast of sweet potato fritters for starters, stir fry chicken and vegetable, pork and an array of side dishes of vegetables. Bu serves the small shot glasses of wine which appears to be something of a ritual (the manner in which it is done). A few shots later and beers are provided by the guests. On the issue of the multilingual family, let me explain the language dynamics in this household on this particular night, Mu speaks Vietnamese, H'Mong, Zao and English. Her husband Bu speaks Zao and Vietnamese, Mu's mother speaks only H'Mong, while her father speaks Vietnamese and H'Mong. Bu can speak to his father in law in Vietnamese but can only speak to his mother in law if Mu translates. Mu's parents were fascinated by the TV, there is not one in their home in the village so hence the close attention to it. Mu was happily playing her H'Mong karaoke which she had purchased while with us the previous day at Coc Ly Market. Another universal theme emerges, Bu wants to watch a Japanese soapy which is over dubbed in Vietnamese (here it is the one person providing all the overdubbing, usually a woman's voice, so very difficult to follow) . Mu wants to stick with the karaoke and tells us that she and Bu think they need another TV in their tiny abode. Bu wins this one, but when his show ends the remote cannot be located (anotehr universal theme). We later discover that the cultural attache had been sitting on the remote for quite some time.
Marching on Ma Cha and Ta Phin
The following day we walked 11 kms through the village of Ma Cha and Ta Phin. The rain was incredibly petulant and unrelenting but we persisted and were rewarded with some incredible rural scenes and interactions. There are many little wild pigs, chickens and large geese all freely feeding of the pastures.
The crop terraces create the a lush backdrop as the clouds temporarily lift. Then the rain comes and remains persistent for the remains of the day. There are many red Zao women on this trek, trying to sell their wares. The sale of these handcrafts allows them to purchase fertilizer and other items to encourage their crops along. You can never truly appreciate the demands of this lifestyle and it is not really possible to construct a picture that accurately reflects how hard these women work, the unrelenting demands on their time. We can only imagine their sustained lifestyles within the context of this modest experience, knowing that is overshadowed by the abundance luxury of our own lifestyles.
We walked through the beautiful terraced areas coming across the tiny Ma Cha school. There were 3 little girls sitting at the entrance of the school who we discovered did not actually attend the school (they were quite little). It was sad to see a longing in their face to be in the school but to know that these girls will likely be exposed to the leanest of educations. Access to education for young girls remains an ongoing challenge, and it is understandable that it is not highly valued in a community where women are required to till the land and transport the good to sell at markets many kilometers away, sometimes walking 3 - 4 hours to market towns from their villages.
We also trekked to a cave in Ta Phin and it was all I could do to keep Greg from going on an exploration. We stopped for a luxuriating soak at the red Zao herbal sap - This is definitely not a western style spa and is far more rustic than those to which we know at home. The Red Zao ladies place the herbal leave which are obtained from trees and plants in a huge boiler and stoke it up with wood fire, heating it up for 3-5 hours. They then hand bucket the herbal water into wooden barrels (which are about 80cm in diameter at the top and smaller at the bottom) and about a metre high (not quite deep or wide enough for the cultural attache but he did manage to take the dip - a little squashy)
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