Here’s another photo of the Red Dao lady that accompanied us on our hike through the terraced terrain of Sa Pa Vietnam. They made for cheerful company despite not speaking any English.
Apr 102017
Feb 212017
When we arrived in the Mekong Delta it was late evening. There was an old lady sat in our lobby who offered to arrange a guide for us in the morning. I was a little suspicious of this seemingly too convenient option, particularly as a guy who had been on our bus repeatedly tried to direct us to the wrong hotel just before our arrival.
But, it was late and we knew we needed an early start to get to the markets so we decided to go for it. She didn’t let us down as she escorted us to meet our guide who would take us out for the day. She picked up a load of reeds on the way and spent most of the day making little handicrafts for us as she meandered through the markets and streams that make up the Mekong.
Jan 312017
My Vietnam trip was capped off by two nights in Sa Pa. We took an overnight bus to get here, which provided me with a “bed” about 1 foot too short for me to be comfortable. The first day we spent there it was so foggy you couldn’t see more than five feet in front of you. As a result we found a small bar that was occupied by other travelers in a similar predicament. We spent the whole day there.
The next day we decided to go for a hike regardless and, thankfully, the fog lifted a bit. We were accompanied on our walk by two Red Dao women and one Black Hmong lady. They were members of the ethnic tribal minorities that live in the area.
At the end of our walk we bought a few trinkets from the ladies and I asked to take a picture. One of the red Tsao ladies was happy to pose. Here she is below:
Feb 232014
I had read about the Tz’utujil women of Lake Atitlan’s hats made of meters of ribbon wrapped around their heads. I couldn’t even begin to picture what it would like though. I was glad when I found this lady and now I know exactly how these hats look.
