The Sa Pa Life and Dog For Dinner

Reaching Vietnam’s northern mountain town of Sa Pa was like taking a much need breath of fresh air- literally. No more of Hanoi’s exhaust and pollution- just clean mountain air surrounded by a place of immaculate beauty. I had originally planned on only staying for 3 days in lovely Sa Pa and ended up lingering for 8 soaking up the relaxing life of the hill tribes.

My days were filled with wonderfully strenuous hikes through the most stunning countryside I have seen in Southeast Asia. I loved watching the small tribal boys, that couldn’t have been more than 9-years-old, herd enormous water buffalo around their land- the massive beasts obeying their tiny masters dutifully. Or observing the women, knee deep in mud, working the rice paddies flooded in golden sunlight. Each day I would stumbling upon breathtaking views, as I got lost on several occasions, looking for remote villages to explore and I couldn’t help but to stare at the tiny, old, wrinkled ladies carrying impossibly heavy loads on their backs up the steep trails, slick with red clay.

Visiting the town’s popular street market was a routine excursion and always entertaining. Livestock would be herded down the main street while the women try to sell their handmade goods decorated with colorful, intricate designs.

There are around 8 different tribes that reside in the mountains surrounding Sa Pa. I became closest with women from the H-Mong tribe. Women from this tribe wear huge, heavy necklaces, several large hoop earrings in each ear and they wrap their waist length hair around their heads- wearing it like a crown. Most marry at the age of fifteen and many have one or two children in tow before they reach twenty. Their arms and hands are generally stained indigo from dying their handmade clothes- something that looked almost like a uniform because everyone wore the same exact thing- and they are tiny! For the first time in my life I felt tall- like a giant actually- walking next to these fiercely strong, little women who barely reached the shoulders of my 5’3” frame.

One wonderful afternoon I befriended a pint-sized girl from the this tribe who took me to her home a mere 8 miles away. 10-year-old Maya walked with ease, never once slowed down or took a break and carried a basket on her back that had to have weighed about 20 pounds. When we reached her home- a wooden shack nested into a cluster of bamboo trees with a million dollar view- I couldn’t wait to sit down and rest my weary legs while she proceeded to race around the house cooking me lunch!

I found it terribly interesting that these hill tribes don’t consider themselves Vietnamese. Being so secluded and holding on so strongly to their rather ancient ways and traditions, I would have to agree- they were definitely different than the Vietnamese I had encountered in the rest of the country. They were a lot more welcoming, a lot more friendly and although they would hassle me to buy things from them- “no” actually worked as an answer and it wasn’t held against me. But what was most surprising was that these people who look so traditional, so primitive-like they haven’t changed in the last 100 years- spoke English very well!!

In addition to my daily wanderings it was incredibly gratifying to sleep in an environment where I wasn’t covered in sweat as I tried to get a good nights rest. Curling up beneath a cozy comforter was something, at the time, I didn’t realize how much I missed. It rained almost daily for an hour or two usually in the morning washing away all my guilt as I slept in late trying to recover from my strenuous journey though the rest of the country.

Anyway, it became sort of a joke among myself and a few people I had been traveling with when we saw something strange or unusual- we would laugh and say that you really see something new everyday… well here in Sa Pa I was out for one of my daily walks and watched a man put a skinned dog into a big pot of water- presumably their dinner. I had heard about the Vietnamese’s strange culinary tastes but I also heard dog has been off the menu for some time now. I almost vomited on the spot and began a fearful account of every meat dish I had eaten in Sa Pa- praying that this house wasn’t supplying the local restaurants with their special meat. I try really hard not to judge these different cultures I come in contact with but seriously- EEEEUUUWWWW!!!! No Fido fillets for me please!

It was so nice to end my time in Vietnam in the town of Sa Pa. Everyday, walking through such breathtaking scenery and among these peaceful people was an invigorating experience. I am always so amazed- well more like impressed- when I come across people who have the modern world knocking on their door and they refuse to answer. They appear perfectly content to live the way their great grandmothers did and although through our eyes they appear primitive I can’t help but feel a little envious of their undying pride.