Sapa

Sapa was a highlight 

Map of the Sapa region. Lao Cai, shown at the top of the
map, is right on the border with China.

Northern Vietnam is the oldest settled part of the country, and Sapa, is a frontier town and capital of Sa Pa District in the Lao Cai province in northwest Vietnam. The area was first inhabited by people who left hundreds of rock engravings, which experts think date from the 15th century. Today, it is one of the main market towns in an area where several diverse ethnic minority groups such as Hmong (52%), Dao(25%), Tay (5%), Giay (2%), and Pho Lu/Xa Pho live. The total population of 36,000 also includes native Kinh (Viet (15%). Approximately 7,000 live in Sapa, the others are scattered in small communes throughout the district.

Paul tries to relax on the train to Lao Cai

For Paul and I, Sapa was a highlight of our Tet holiday. Travel to the region is by overnight train to Lao Cai, a border town with not much to recommend itself other than the termination of the train trip. We left Hanoi at 8:30 pm and arrived Lao Cai at 4:30 am. We paid extra for a 2 person cabin - most accommodate 4 people. There are two washrooms, one on either end of the car. On the way to Lao Cai, one of the toilets was clogged - imagine, 40 people and one toilet!! Luckily, Paul can sleep anywhere and I enjoy the rocking motion of a train, so we both managed to get some sleep!

Sapa!

Located in a beautiful valley close to the Chinese border, Sapa is a former hill station built in 1922. The French military had come to the area in the late 1800’s in order to control Chinese incursions and political resistance in the area. Sapa’s appealing climate was seen to have health benefits, and by 1912, a military sanatorium for ailing officers had been erected along with a fully-fledged military garrison.

Black Hmong ladies in Sapa town.

Jesuit priests first arrived in 1918 and they sent word to Hanoi, already established as a French colonial town, of the breathtaking views and pleasant climate. By 1922, Sapa was established as a hill station where the French built villas, hotels and tennis courts and Sapa became a summer retreat. The French enjoyed this idyllic setting until the Japanese invasion of 1941.

Our guide, Van

Our Red Dao guide, Van, is 25 and married with a 5 year-old son. She and her son live in Lao Cai and she pays $25 US a month to send him to a private kindergarten. Her English was excellent and when we asked about it she said she learned it from tourists - she did not stay in school past about grade 8, which is very common for the women of the hill tribes. She married very young, an arranged marriage. She told us her husband did not work, but 'sat around her village, drinking'. She wanted a better life for her son so she took the initiative to learn English and become a tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and provided many insights into the lives of the people in the area.

We spent a day trekking through the region.  As you can see, the views were spectacular!

Terrace field for wet rice cultivation

Rice cultivation: A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing semiaquatic rice. Paddies are built into the steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such as rivers or marshes. They require a great deal of labor and materials to create, and need large quantities of water for irrigation. Oxen and water buffalo, adapted for life in wetlands, are important working animals used extensively in paddy field farming. In Vietnamese literature, a rice field is described as wide enough for a flock of storks to span their wings across and the sway of rice plants in the wind is compared to waves of the sea. 

Black Hmong ladies

Ethnic Minority Peoples:

Most of the ethnic minority people work their land on the sloping terraces. Their staple foods are rice, corn and rye. Hemp and cotton are grown for cloth. Rice is a labour intensive crop and subsistence farming is their main source of survival. The unique climate in Sapa has a major influence on the ethnic minorities who live in the area. With sub-tropical summers, temperate winters and 160 days of mist annually, the influence on agricultural yields and health related issues are significant. Many ethnic women have turned to tourism as an additional means of support for their families, selling appliqué, embroidery, jewelry and other handicrafts.

Van leads us through a rice paddy

From WWII, successive wars against the French, the US and China in 1979, took their toll of the Sapa region. Nearly all of the 200 or so colonial buildings in and around Sapa were destroyed. The old hotels built by the French were allowed to fall into disrepair and the vast majority of the Viet population fled for their lives. Sapa was forgotten by all but a handful of residents and the former town lapsed into poverty and obscurity.

Paul and Van

In the early 1960s, a migration scheme set up by the new Socialist regime saw the migration of new inhabitants from the lowlands to the region. Later, with the implementation of Doi Moi in the ‘90’s (economic reforms and the move by Vietnam to a ‘socialist-oriented’ market economy) and the gradual opening of the country to tourism, Sapa has begun to regain the distinction it realized during colonial times. The town is in full economic boom, thanks mainly to the thousands of tourists who come every year to walk the hundreds of miles of trekking trails.

Black Hmong

Hmong
One of the largest ethnic minority groups in Vietnam, the Hmong emigrated from China to Vietnam in the early 19th century. The Hmong (including Flower, Black, Red) live in houses of mud, wattle (a frame of rods or stakes interwoven with twigs, branches, etc.) bamboo and thatch. The Black Hmong hill tribe are the largest ethnic minority group in and around Sapa. They are called Black Hmong because of the deep, indigo-coloured, hemp dress they wear. The dye is hand-made from indigenous plants. As a result, most of the women have darker than usual hands! They wrap their legs, from ankle to knee, in black velvet which is held in place by a colourful band. They decorate themselves with many silver bracelets and large silver hoop earrings. On their head they often wear a tall round black hat or colourful plaid scarf.

Van is of the Red Dao tribe. She chooses not to shave her eyebrows
and does not wear the traditional red head-dress.

The Dao:

The Dao (pronounced Yao) are believed to have started migrating from China in the 13th century. The women wear some of the most colourful and diverse costumes of all ethnic groups but can be identified by their black trousers richly embroidered with flower or small star patterns. Their jackets can be red or black usually with embroidered borders. The ensemble is topped by a black or red turban together with chunky silver jewelry. In addition most Dao women shave off their eyebrows and foreheads as this is traditionally regarded as a sign beauty.

The main lodge and dining hall.

After our day long trek, (and don't forget, we were up at 4:30 after an overnight train ride), we were taken high up a mountain to the Topas Ecolodge. Topas Ecolodge is based on sustainable principles to ensure that the lodge has a minimum impact on the surrounding environment. Local people are employed and local products and goods are used.

the view from our bungalow

 It started around 1993 when Topas Travel from Denmark arranged tours to the area in corporation with a local Vietnamese family. The building project was launched in June 2003. Topas Ecolodge is situated 18 km outside Sapa town and the bus ride is approximately 45 min. It was an adventurous bus ride because the road is narrow, conditions were poor and we were traveling up the side of a mountain. I didn’t look out the window for most of the trip!

Paul on the balcony of our bungalow

The bungalows have no TV or other entertainment and there is no swimming pool or spa facilities. The employees are young people from local minorities and not all are equally proficient in English. However, the location was very unusual with spectacular views and lots of unique trekking and mountain biking trails in the backyard. Great place to stay!

Our bungalow was spacious and authentic, with a thatched 

roof and complete privacy.

Nuoc Mam (and more)

the staple of Vietnamese cooking

Yes, Richard Parker, you can have nuoc mam with your dinner. 


Fish sauce or Nuoc Mam is a staple of the Vietnamese diet. It is made all over Vietnam, but the largest producers are in the Mekong Delta and on the island of Phu Quoc. The amber-coloured liquid is made by fermenting layers of fish and salt in large vats. The resultant liquid is tapped from the bottom of the vats at intervals. The first tap, Nuoc Ma No 1 is the best quality and so on down to Nuoc Mam No 7. Fish sauce is also used extensively in the cuisines of Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines.

the fish and salt are fermented in wooden vats

Fish sauce is not only added to dishes during the cooking process, but also used as a base for NUOC MAM CHAM, (recipe follows) a dipping sauce for fish, shrimp, pork, and chicken. Most Vietnamese fish sauces are made from anchovies or other raw fish, although some use dried fish; most from only a single species, others from whatever is dredged up in the net!

The fermented liquid is drained from the bottom of the vat. Best quality nuoc mam is that which is drained first.

Hoa, my Vietnamese teacher, came over to teach me how
to make goi cuon. Notice the nuoc mam and oyster sauce
on the counter!

Fish sauce is not only added to dishes during the cooking process, but also used as a base for NUOC MAM CHAM, (recipe follows) a dipping sauce for fish, shrimp, pork and chicken. 

our goi cuon

Hoa and I made goi cuon (fresh spring rolls) with 2 dipping sauces:

Dipping Sauce 1:
4 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. fish sauce (to taste)
1 teas. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. chicken or vegetable broth
1 garlic clove
1/8 teas. pepper
1 teas. Asian hot sauce

Heat all ingredients in sauce pan. Slowly bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool.

Hoa and I make goi cuon

Fish sauces can contain only fish and salt, or have a variety of herbs and spices added. Vietnamese prepared fish sauce is lightly sweet and salty tasting, and can even be sour and spicy if lime and chile peppers are added. The fish sauces used in western cuisine are generally prepared using fresh or packaged fish, not made from fermented fish. Fish sauce that has been only briefly fermented has a very fishy taste, longer fermentation reduces this and gives the product a nuttier, richer and more savory flavor.

Vietnamese made fish sauce stopped being exported to Europe and NA in 1975 when the Americans pulled out of Vietnam and imposed an embargo on Vietnamese products. Markets opened up again in the late 1980’s and Vietnam has struggled to re-establish its market share, lost to China and Thailand. In early 2002, an agreement was reached with France and the EU to register its Phu Quoc trademark. Similar agreements have been negotiated in North America and Japan.

 In Vietnam, there is also a popular food item called mam, which is made the same way as fish sauce, except that both the fish and the liquid extract, not just the liquid, are kept, and mam is fermented for a shorter period than fish sauce. It is either eaten as is (uncooked), or cooked in soups or stir-fries.

At this restaurant, patrons are able to choose the seafood they want to eat or purchase it to take home.

At the same restaurant, we were served frogs' legs. (there were live frogs on display as well). As much as I like frogs, I must admit, they were very tasty.















 Another restaurant we visited specializes in Vietnamese pancakes, which are made in full view of the restaurant patrons. They are similar to omlettes or crepes, or even pizza, with a huge variety of fillings available.

Making 'pancakes'

Hot work!

The picture at the left is taken in my kitchen! I have 1 small sauce pan and a wok, so asparagus soup is made in the wok! And yes, a teaspoon of nuoc mam was added!

Nuoc Mam Cham (dipping Sauce)

1/2 cup of water

1 tablespoon rice or plain vinegar (optional)

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

2 tbsp sugar

1 hot red chile pepper or Jalapeno (or more to taste)

3 cloves of garlic

1/8 cup fish sauce, adjust to taste

pickled carrots and daikon, optional. (shred a couple carrots and daikon and p;ut in a large mason jar. Cover with distilled white vinegar, 1 tsp. salt and sugar to taste. Let sit 1 hour before using. Daikon is also known as white radish – use North American red radishes if you can’t find daikon)

store brand chile garlic sauce (optional)

 Directions:

Add water and sugar to mix well to dissolve. Add lime juice and vinegar (optional). Mince garlic and chiles together and add to the mixture. Slowly add the fish sauce a few tablespoons at a time. Taste frequently and stop when you feel it’s just right. For a deeper red color, add some chile garlic sauce. Add pickled carrots and daikon to the mixture according to your taste.

Fish Fillet with Lemon Grass (with thanks to Victory Star Cruise Line)

2 skinless white fish fillets

2 sticks fresh lemon grass

2 teas. grated ginger

2 tbsp. oil

3 teas. NUOC MAM

1 teas. oyster sauce

1 teas. sugar

1/2 an onion, chopped

2 shallots chopped
1 peeled carrot
1 stalk celery
fresh dill to taste
1 red chile, minced
Directions:
Marinade: Peel lemon grass and chop.
In a bowl, mix ginger, nuoc mam, oyster sauce, sugar, half the chopped lemon grass, 1 tbsp. oil and 1 teas. minced red chile.
Slice the fish into cubes and mix with the marinade. Marinade at least 2 hours in the fridge.
Chop the onion and carrot, mince the shallots.
Heat the wok or pan on high heat. Add 1 tbsp. oil. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and remianing lemon grass. Stir 1 minute and add the carrots, keep stirring while adding, after 30 seconds, the onion. Stir and add celery. Cook 1 minute and add fish. Continue stirring at medium high heat and add chicken stock, dill and remaining red chile.
Cook all at least another minute (or until fish is done).
Serve with steamed rice. Serves 2.

Chopstick Etiquette

The finer points of chopstick etiquette vary from region to region in Asia, but the principals are the same. The Chinese use a longer style than other countries, wood sets that come to a rounded or blunt end. The Japanese use short, wooden sticks that come to a sharper pointy end.
The Koreans use shorter, metallic, wood or plastic sticks that are often blunt at the end.
The Vietnamese use longer sticks that also come to a blunted end as in China; often wooden, but can be made of plastic as well. 

• never wave chopsticks around, bang them like drumsticks or use them to move bowls or plates.
• never hover over food with your chopsticks, deciding what to choose, or poke the food looking for some special ingredient
• when picking up a piece of food, never use your chopsticks like a spear. They can be used to tear larger items
• when not in use, rest your chopsticks horizontally on your plate or bowl. A chopstick rest can also be used to keep the ends off the table.
• never stab chopsticks into food or bowls or leave them standing upright. (this could be thought to represent an incense stick that is used to honour deceased relatives). 

Halong Bay

Halong Bay

On February 5, we left Hanoi with the Klines on a four hour drive to Halong Bay. Halong Bay’s is located on the northeast coast of Vietnam on the Gulf of Tonkin. Actual counts vary, but most sources agree that there are over 2000 limestone towers and islets which make up this Karst Landscape. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 and in 2009, one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Our private car took us to the pier in Halong City, which has little to commend itself other than a place to stay and eat. From the dock, we transferred by tender to our junk, The Victory Star.

Our junk. The sails are for show only, but look impressive.

Tourist junk before 2012

The Junks: Before 2012, the wooden junks were mostly dark brown. The Quang Ninh’s People’s Committee, issued a decision in 2011 that all tourist boats, except dragon boats, would be painted white with brown sails. Boats which failed to conform would have their licenses revoked.
The move was aimed to tighten government control over tourist transport, especially the boats providing over-night accommodations in Ha Long Bay. The decision also aimed to enhance and create a unique image for boats sailing in Halong Bay, after the Bay was named a ‘New7Wonders of Nature’. Soon after the decision came down, which affected more than 500 boats, cruise operators reacted, saying the change was unnecessary, because tourists prefer the traditional brown of Ha Long Bay’s wooden boats, adding that costs and time to repaint were prohibitive. As a result to this fierce opposition from Halong bay cruise operators, the Quang Ninh’s people’s committee decided to soften its decision and impose the use of white color for some details only. As it turned out, almost all the junk had to be painted white, leaving only a small amount of trim left in the original dark colour.

View from our stateroom.

Our stateroom was comfortable with a small balcony and large bathroom, with both a tub and a shower.








Formation: Halong Bay is a mature Karst environment: more limestone has been eroded away than remains. Karst topography is characterized by subterranean limestone caverns and extensive cave systems, which are dissolved from the limestone over millions of years. These karst outcrops are made of sediment that settled on the ocean floor millions of years ago and which ultimately rose to the surface through upheaval and erosion. The limestone dissolved easily in the mild carbonic acid commonly found in rain water. As water seeped into natural faults and cracks in the limestone, it slowly dissolved the rock and gradually widens the cracks and faults into tunnels and caves. Halong Bay is one of the best examples of tower Karst in the world.

Cruising the Bay towards Hang Sun Sot

    

Paul and Randy in Sung Sot Cave

Hang Sun Sot (Cave of Surprises) is the largest cave in Halong Bay. From the pier, there are 156 stone steps which lead up into a series of 3 large chambers. There is a stone and pavement path over 500 metres long that directs tourists from entry to exit. Certain features are illuminated in an interesting way, without spoiling the 'cave' experience. On exiting the cave, there were fantastic views across the Bay.

 

Hang Sung Sot

part of the welcoming committee

On exiting the cave, there are a number of wooden and stone steps leading back to the pier. This fellow was sitting calmly on the railing as we walked by. Our guide called him a yellow monkey, but I have been unable to find any information about this species.

The Legend: Many years ago, soon after the Viet people settled in the area, invaders came. The Emporer called to the heavens to Mother Dragon and her children to come to earth and help the people vanquish the enemy. As they charged towards the coast, their flailing tails gouged out valleys, crevasses, peninsulas and beaches. They arrived at the shore at the same time as the invaders and they immediately spat pearls from their mouths, which turned into thousands of stone islands. The enemy boats could not stop in time and crashed into the islands. The boats were destroyed and no one survived. Halong Bay (descending dragon) was named in honour of the Dragons and their victory.

cruising the Bay

entrance to Luon 'Cave'

inside 'Luon Cave'

We visited Luon Cave by rowboat. Not really a cave: called a lagoon by our guide, but presumably salt water. The lagoon is called Rua Lake.









The limestone walls surrounding the lake rise almost straight up, 10 to 15 metres. Still, many monkey families manage to survive in this area. There were areas of luxurious tree and plant growth and many hanging orchids.

a tiny formation in the middle of the Bay

It is interesting how the cruises work. Most boats offer a 1 night/two or 2 night/three day cruise. Both are mixed on the same boat. In order to co-ordinate two different schedules, on the second day, the 3 day guests are taken onto a 'private day boat' while the 'mother ship' takes the remaining guests to some sites and returns them to the pier. Our day boat was large and comfortable, and an amazing seafood lunch was served.

Relaxing on the day boat!

Also relaxing on the day boat as we cruise to the
floating fishing village.

The day boat took us to Cua Van village. There are several in Halong Bay and they include not only hoseboats, but also floating fuel stations, herb gardens, kennels and even pigpens!

Our rower for our tour of the fishing village

A community of around 1,600 people live on Halong Bay in four fishing villages. They are sustained through fishing and cultivating other marine plant and animal life. Over 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks live in the shallower waters of the bay.

Washing up in the fishing village

house boats in Cua Van village 

Kayaking through Halong Bay

Climbing to the top of Soi Sim Island

 

View from the top - beach visible in centre

Halong Bay was really a wonder, with its striking karst landscape and traditional way of life. Sadly, it appears that tourism is having a disastrous impact on the area. In October 2011, the World Monuments Fund included the bay on the 2012 World Monuments Watch, citing tourism pressures and associated development as threats to the site that must be addressed. The goal of Watch-listing is to promote strategies of responsible heritage-driven development for a sustainable future.


























































Unfortunately, we observed first-hand the impact of tourism on this breathtaking natural area. As we cruised, we could see the plastic bags and bottles and lots of other garbage floating by. Kayaking was great, but we had to paddle through a stream of debris before we reached our secluded destination. We swam only once, on our first evening at Titov island (named in honour of Russian cosmonaut, Gherman Titov, in 1962). There was an artificial beach and beautiful sunset and we went for a chilly dip in, what looked like, pristine waters. That was the last swim we had!






Still, in spite of the pollution, Halong Bay is a natural wonder. And the cruise junk was an excellent way to see it - the food, activities and accommodations were excellent.