Photos Tagged: Sapa
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The Black Hmong women are identified by the dark indigo color of their clothing which stands in contrast to their accessories and brightly-colored embroidery. Their legs are wrapped with a velvet type cloth to keep them warm in the winter months.Hmong have high cheekbones and broader faces, in comparison to the Vietnamese. It is believed they migrated to this region from southern China in the 18th century. Within the general Hmong ethnic group, there are several subdivisions - Black Hmong, White Hmong, Flower Hmong, among others.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
A Black Hmong girl looks into the valley in Sapa.Instead of backpacks, Hmong girls wear baskets to carry their goods to and from market. They also wear leggings and multiple layers for warmth in the wintertime. They are surprisingly light on their feet, even on the steepest and muddiest of paths. Quite the opposite from all the clunky foreigners who held onto them and available trees in order to keep balance. Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
The Black Hmong women are identified by the dark indigo color of their clothing. Their legs are wrapped with a velvet type cloth, to keep them warm in the winter months. The dark color is highlighted by embroidery on the arms and with accessories. The terraced rice fields that mark Sapa are in the background.
When we were in Sapa in January, rice had just been planted. The water from the mountains serves as irrigation. The area will turn from muted tans and browns to a dazzling green as the rice approaches harvest time.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
Decorations remain up long after Christmas, as these Black Hmong kids take a foggy afternoon stroll past the cemetery in Sapa town. Most kids will go back to their village in the evenings, but a few stay in town with relatives for several days in a row to work in the markets or in the tourist trade.
Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
The women of the house were dyeing cloth outside when we arrived. Large vats of indigo dye and meters of dark cloth lined the house. The women make hemp cloth by hand. The indigo dye, extracted from flowers, easily stains the skin.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
We were impressed with young boys and their abilities to manager large water buffaloes. This one, in a Sapa shirt, looked like a walking advertisement.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
A Black Hmong girl makes her way home, as a late afternoon fog moves into the Sapa valley.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
Fresh chillies, ginger, garlic and shallots play a prominent role in Vietnamese cooking.
Water buffaloes are prized animals for their work in the fields. Given their value, they are sacrificed after an older person dies to ensure that the person's soul makes it to a better place.The water buffalo is then eaten. Given their usually long tenure in the fields, the meat is often as about as tender as boot leather. We know this because we once ordered chicken curry, only to find after a few strenuous chews that unbeknown to us, buffalo was happily substituted.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
Chillies, shallots and garlic - the foundation of a beautiful meal.Read about Sapa, Vietnam.
Although still a large fellow, this young water buffalo was still really furry and looked soft (although we dared not touch him). He probably has a hard life of farm work ahead of him. Until then, he seems to be enjoying life in the rice paddies.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
We're not sure, but the woman behind the boy may be his mother. It was very difficult to tell the age of people in this region - life can be difficult thereby accelerating the aging process, but the fresh air and natural environment sometimes provides a youthful counter-effect. One of the games people play to engage you in conversation is to guess your age, and then for you to guess their age....that can get tricky sometimes.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
These girls take a break from hawking and accosting tourists for a quick game of pick-up sticks. Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
We found this boy by himself on the roadside in his hat, shirt and galoshes. In the time that we spent trying to engage him, we didn't see anyone else. We felt guilty just leaving him there on the roadside, but he seemed to be in the right place somehow. Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
We were told later on that the priest here died not too long ago, but the authorities didn't want him replaced. So, the townsfolk and villagers come to church every Sunday, but they run the ceremony themselves based on memory and the few books they have.The church is in a main town square, so there are street restaurants and street stalls all around. Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
Two Red Dao women make their way home by motorbike. Many of the villagers live quite a distance from the town of Sapa, meaning that they can either walk for hours or pay the $1-$2 for a motorbike to take them home in a fraction of the time. The decision often comes down to how the day went at the market or how much was sold to tourists on the road. Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
One of the many kids we saw along our walk the first day to Cat Cat village. He was at the entrance to the village with his mother. He was testing out the tastiness and strength of her embroidery.
During our trek, men were few and far between. These two were given the task of schlepping heavy pieces of wood up the steep hills.Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
Dogmeat is considered a delicacy and good luck in this region, so seeing full-grown and well-groomed dogs was a rarity. These two seemed to act as sentries along the mountain pass. Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
One of the last villages we walked through produced incense sticks, drying them on the edge of the terraced rice fields. Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
The dark colors of the indigo dyed cloth are highlighted by embroidered belts, arm bands and purses. Most of the girls we talked to had embroidered their own - it's a skill that girls learn when they are young.
While walking back from Cat Cat village to Sapa, we came across a group of Red Dao doing embroidery along the road. Their colorful goods are displayed in front of them, and the muted hills of Sapa are behind.
Bright and curious!Read more about the hill tribes and trekking in Sapa.
