Hmong and stay awhile

Up here in Sapa it is over 3,000 feet in elevation.

It's a good thing that I brought my North Face goosedown jacket with me. I have been wearing it nonstop for days now. The concept of bringing a down jacket to SE Asia is a new one on me. In most of the SE Asia, one wears shorts, a t-shirt and sandals and applys plenty of deodorant. Not up here. I am in the mountains near Mt. Fanispan, the highest peak in Vietnam.

The roads were finally dry enough yesterday for a motorcycle ride. Once again, the available rental Minsks were in such disrepair that I settled for a nearly new 100 cc Honda Wave instead. I hired the services of Ngyuh (the adorable little sister of my hotel man) to be my guide.

She has her own Honda and knows the road, I merely followed. Riding here is a "not to be missed" experience for a motorcyclist, the roads are twisty and the scenery terrific. There is the little matter of the mist and fog though. We would ride up through the fog to where I could barely see her taillight, then back down out of it again and again. All day long there were views to die for. And if I hadn't been paying attention to the road, I would have.

I am particularly interested in the crops grown 'round these parts. Not at all what you would expect. I mean there are the usual cruciferous vegetables, but also I spotted cardoons, sweet potato and the one that really blew my mind: long stemmed roses. They are grown here for the Hanoi market.

The plan was to visit a market with a specific ethnic tribe who lives near a valley a couple of mountain passes away. We stopped now and then because road construction or because an errant water buffalo was blocking our way. The distance was about 40 kilometers in the scrotum-shrivelling cold but it was a lot warmer down below in the valley. The market proved not to be all that interesting, after all. We retreated to a nearby cafe to have a bowl of duck pho and a couple glasses of green tea to warm up and then we rode back to Sapa. But not before buying some trinkets.

The hill tribe women in these parts are distinctly different in dress and language but they all share one attribute: they have many trinkets for sale. They are very persistant saleswomen. This time I ended up with a couple of hand-tooled bracelets. The day before it was some embroidered tat. The day before that it was some batiked something or other. Different tribes, different rinkets.

Back to Sapa, turn in the bike and drop in at my "local", the "Viet Emotion Cafe" to warm up. In just a few days, I have become a trusted regular. It has decent food, decent music, good coffee and a much-appreciated brick fireplace. The owner also offers free advice about the area and tours. His English is perfect. I am hooked on their breakfast omelettes that contain local sapa mushrooms. The other night I had goose sauteed with springs of local mint. Last night I had grilled wild boar with mushrooms and chili. It came on a sizzling cast iron platter, as if I had ordered fajitas. Dinner is washed down with dry red wine from Dalat.

Put Sapa on your "short list" of places to visit.