Northern Vietnam - SaPa Day 5

Artisan at work...hand-carved...slow and intimate journey...wabi-sabi.

Rubbing my eyes from slumber and sleep, I found Tom already awake. Guessing about the day ahead and wondering how Peter was coping, initiated Tom to make a move to the bathroom to freshen up for breakfast. By the time I got to myself ready and shook off any tiredness, Peter and Tom were sitting by the outside table assembling their breakfast.

Tom having breakfast before our hike.

Breakfast was crepes with fruit - conventional, simple and effective. This homestay accommodated to their western guests, understandable, because in Vietnamese culture (and other Asian countries), there is no difference between what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only exception is congee, but even it can be eaten throughout the day. I express “conventional” lightly because it is assumed that breakfast has always been done.
However, breakfast was created as part of the 3-meals a day concept only in the 17th century by the Brits and the French.

Young boys contributing to the daily operations
of a household.

Looking over my shoulder was the youngest son of the homestay and his neighbour friend, both sitting under the verandah peeling baby bamboo shoots. Shoot ! I thought. This image is no longer seen back at home in suburban Australia or Western culture. These young boys understand their duties within the household, which in turn, show their respect for the family and appreciation that they are fed, sheltered and clothed. In the Vietnamese culture the women “generally” do most of the harvesting. On this early morning, the matriarch went up to the plot of land they owned on the hills behind us to harvest the bamboo shoots. This vision I see in front of me jolts me back to my Australian childhood memory when my sisters and I were woken up way past midnight to clean up the banquets that my parents held in our home for their friends, storytelling of a past life in their beloved Vietnam.

Cu joins us for breakfast and gives us the rundown for today. We will walk to the next village Su Pan and have lunch there. There’ll be a bus to pick us up and take us back to the resort base in Sa Pa town, where we grab all our belongings in the storage room, say goodbye and be on our way. Cu assures today’s walk is a walk, nothing like yesterday’s hike, this one is about 3 hours long and mainly on road. At this point, Peter intercepts and tell me that his back is in pain and he wants to catch a taxi back to Sa Pa town and stay at the resort base. As much conviction I could muster, I replied to Peter, “Can you please trust me and go with my plan for today?” I then turned to Cu and asked if he knew of this homestay within Ta Van village called, Lucky Daisy? Lucky for us, Cu says “it’s just up on the corner.” I then ask Cu, if he could take me there to see if I could book for two nights. Cu obliged.

Cu takes me to the front of the Bamboo Bar and tells me that this bar belongs to the same owner. I walked in and was greeted by Hien, one of the owners. I asked if the loft was available to book for two nights. Hien said all their private loft and villas were booked out. However, there is a private family room available for tonight, but tomorrow they would need to move us to a double room within the shared area. I said that would be great. I followed Hien up a steep hill to inspect the rooms. I was very delighted by the cleanliness and the soft beds. The view was breathtaking.

Sitting under the communal porch at Lucky Daisy accommodation,
enjoying the view below and beyond. 

I told Hien that I'm travelling with my adopted father, Peter. And I was hoping she could organise a helper to escort Peter to our accommodation once he had finished his treatment at The Charm Destination Spa. Hien said she would try.

Once deposit was finalised, Cu and I went across to The Charm Destination Spa. I booked a one hour and a half treatment for Peter. I stressed to the owner nothing too strenuous due to Peter's back pain. And if no one from Lucky Daisy appears to have come to collect Peter, would he be so kind as to take him to the Bamboo Bar reception desk.
Coming back to our homestay, I told Peter the plan: I’m going to go with Cu and Tom on this hike and back to Sa Pa town to collect our belongings. While you (Peter) are going to have a 90-minute massage just up the hill. Once you're done, a girl from Lucky Daisy should come to the spa to escort you to our room. Be sure to please have your Messenger App up and running so we can be contactable. With apprehension, Peter said “okay”.

Crossing the river via a footbridge, leaving Ta Van village.

Cu, Tom and I started along the river bank in the main valley of Ta Van. It was the shortcut to get onto the opposite side of the river via a walk bridge and onto the main road towards Su Pan Village. Looking down the river back onto the homestay, it was such a pretty picture. A moment thought that I could enjoy living a quieter life like this.

Upon the main road, a new home or business is being constructed. In awe of the basic natural resources that the builder (most likely the owner too) had gathered locally to create the scaffolding for this multi-level structure. It costs them nothing but time and when they are finished with its use, they’ll return it to nature or transform it into something else.

Ingenious really, a declaration of how people can live within nature and are of it. And just around the bend were motorcyclist utilising the abundance of fresh pristine water mother nature has provided from the high mountains. In Western civilisation everything has a price, if it doesn’t, we tend to disregard its intrinsic worth. Vietnamese people deal with financial limitation, this makes them resourceful with their surroundings, which in turns, gives appreciation and respect to nature and its seasons.

It is the end of the rice harvest season. It is now time to cut back the stalks and gather in the straws to be food for livestock, the excess to be turned into tools such as brooms and baskets. Terraces are burnt back and the nutrients go back into the mud for the next new growth. There were a few local women outside their property forking away at the rice straws making mounds. Nothing is wasted, everything has its purpose, even being burnt it becomes food for itself.




Walking along, I could not help but be captivated by this beautiful stunning woman. Her jawline could slice glass, her face belonged on a cover of Vogue. I loved that she was showing her son her masculine attributes. Vietnamese women are known to be strong and resilient, quite business-minded as well. Though the men sit at the head of the table, enjoy the social/political and “wheeling and dealing” scene, most Vietnamese women are the brains and the machine behind the scene. Stereotype much?!

The stunning beauty was bossing at this very moment.

A few doors up, amongst the rubble of rocks a little boy is sifting through its content looking for something. Once again, a childhood memory pops into my mind: I used to follow my brothers down to a creek behind our backyard to catch yabbies. This one particle day, I stood by the rocks and watched my brothers catch yabbies instead. Because the previous time my tiny finger got caught by a yabby and it stung me. I remembered looking curiously at the rocks and stones around and beneath my feet and wondered why they were here, existing, and not somewhere else. I wonder if this little boy had thought the same thing I did? I’m certain this kid has a creative mind with nature being his playground.

This image may depict a lonely, poor child through Western culture lense, however, this is the most natural setting for a child to grow up together with nature, and to be nature. In current Western culture, we tend to over stimulate our senses to the point of being frazzled and anxious.

And another few doors up, boom, an unknown artist carving out their masterpieces out of derelict dead tree trunks. The craftsmanship is insanely mind-blowing. Inside the shed or home, is a work in progress of the Enlightened One, Buddha, sitting under the Banyan tree, which later becomes known as the Bodhi tree. The joy in Buddha’s face is radiant. I wonder if this Buddha carving is commissioned or whether the artist would sell it onto a retailer? Looking at the shed or home, I’m saddened by the thought that the artist is not making a comfortable living. Surely, these masterpieces are going to some opulent places with opulent prices. I hope someday the artist will be acknowledged for their skills and talent by being paid closer to their true worth.

Through the open door is happy Buddha sitting under a Banyan tree.

We arrived at our pitstop in Su Pan Village. Lunch was simple, Tom and I both had instant noodles with some greens, and Cu chose a bowl of rice with grilled pork belly. Tom was explaining his next journey to Ha Long Bay via catching a sleeper bus in Sa Pa town to Hanoi. Tom had good feedback on sleeper buses, that they were affordable, comfortable and fairly clean.
Getting back to the resort base in Sa Pa town, I bee-lined to the storage room to grab Peter’s and my belongings. By the time I got them all together, Cu had already disappeared. Tom graciously tipped Cu on behalf of Peter and me, which I thought was top-notch. Tom and I wished each other happy and safe travels. Tom walked towards the bus depot and I lugged the bags up to reception to book a taxi back to Ta Van village.

The cloud cracked open to reveal the stunning valley
and mountain slopes from Sa Pa towards Ta Van.

Driving towards Ta Van, the clouds broke away giving sunlight unto the undulating land. The view was just spectacular. Multitasking between soaking in the scenery and trying to take the perfect shot, I tried to contact Peter via Messenger App to no success. Unsure how Peter was, or where he has ended up, I closed my eyes to wish that everything had all worked out fine on his end. And it had, to my relief.
Peter was happy to have had a good massage and a nice soft bed to settle in for tonight. We were both stoked to be sitting in a lovely communal space, taking in the view of the village below. I’m so glad Ta Van had worked out for us in the end, with the next couple of days at a nice Zen pace.

Grains of rice laid out on the verandah to dry, this is known as paddy drying process.
The further north of Vietnam, the more seasons it has, compared to the southern part which only has a wet and dry season. Having four-seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) annually, the place usually gets one harvest of rice per year. Whereas, having the two-seasons the growers in the south can harvest up to three times per year.

I hope you pleasantly enjoyed reading my blog. To continue the next day, click North Vietnam - Sapa Day 6
You can click on North Vietnam - Hanoi Day 1 to read my journey from the beginning.
Or you could click for the previous blog North Vietnam - SaPa Day 4

See you around soon X