Blue hemp and family dynamics

As we ate breakfast I peered out the hotel window, past the mist and dragon flies, and saw the same group of hill tribe ladies sitting down on the side of the road as usual for this time of day. They were chatting with each other, some sitting on the ground, and a couple sitting on overturned wicker baskets that they carry on their backs when walking around the town. They passed the time talking, laughing, and making their handicrafts. Even when strolling they are not idle. Rather, they stretch and wrap yarn from rough pieces of hemp, all the while on the lookout for prospective customers. I usually see them with blue hands, since they dye the yarn themselves, and the dye comes off easily. I've heard that if you buy a bandana you'll likely end up with a blue forehead. Catheleen had purchased a couple of small hemp purses and tried soaking and drying them to set the colours. I wouldn't normally pay attention to something like this, except that the bathroom sink was full yesterday with handicrafts and blue water.

Today we went back to the local park that ran up along the side of a mountain, and I had a proper look around. It was a large park with a few statues of cartoon characters and paths meandering all over, including little paths running under and through black rock outcroppings. John and I were in search of our first multi-stage geocache, where we needed to pick up a clue at one location which would then bring us to another location. The stages brought us up near the summit, but unfortunately we couldn't find the cache. I was just happy to move around and enjoy the rugged views, especially when the mist and clouds occasionally opened up. Once again we needed to pause a couple of times so Vietnamese tourists could pose with us for photos.

The small hotels and restaurants we patron are usually run by families, and we often see family dynamics play out in front of us. Our hotel in Sa Pa holds about a dozen hotel rooms, and our suite was very nice with views of the town and mountains. After breakfast is over in the small lobby and dining area the place turns into the partial living room for some combination of staff, family, friends, and small children. On our first day in Sa Pa we arrived quite early and waited around in the lobby for awhile, sometimes next to a couple of small kids watching Scooby Doo on the overhead television. The restaurants we visit are usually so small that we typically see the restaurant owner's kids in the dining area after school, sometimes watching videos on a laptop or an iPad. Typically there is only one cook and one heating element for cooking, so dishes inevitably arrive one at a time. We never know who will be served first or last. It a common situation to have one or both of the kids watch us eat while they wait. But that's the way it pans out sometimes. I tell them that is how it works in Vietnam - the parents always eat first while the children watch. It doesn't go over well.

It's common for the locals we've seen on our trip to dye their hair. Most women who do so choose some variant of red highlights, which I think looks pretty good, but we occasionally see some wild hair. Some teenage boys like to dye their hair either full blond or with only the top dyed blond or red.

We checked out of our hotel on our last day in Sa Pa and had a few hours left in town before a shuttle bus took us to the station for the overnight train back to Hanoi. We had time for a few last stops, so we walked down the hill from our hotel, veering around the hole in the pavement we call the Sewer Pit of Death. At night, with no street lights on this hill, it's always a good idea to bring a flashlight and walk on the other side of the road to avoid this trap. Then we avoided the traffic coming from all angles, and went past the park where the hill tribe folks were selling birds in cages among other things. We next visited my favourite restaurant called The Gecko which is housed in one of the tall and narrow four story buildings on the main street. Finally after lunch I went back for one last egg coffee at the Cinnamon restaurant. Then it was time to travel down from the mountains along the winding road. John was not impressed by the views and was instead on the lookout for potential "crash scenarios". We made it down safely.

Here's Catheleen at the park with Scooby Doo.