On the way to Grandma's
Sapa, Vietnam

These kids stay on the mountain top of Sapa, where the conditions were pretty primitive. It was morning when I saw them come up along the path behind me. The girl was leading the way, playfully prodding the soil with her dried bamboo branch. From the looks of it she is the elder sister. The brother was piggy back carrying the little one with nary a grumble. It is not an easy hike for most people but for these kid's, its a daily stroll in the park. Every few minutes, they will stop for a rest, with the middle child sitting on the ground with the baby brother still clinging on the back. To them, its a daily routine, the hiking mountains, walking barefooted, carrying the brother, ignoring tourists; but for me, it's a display of strength and resilience, of survival and love.

My little blue hands
Sapa, Vietnam

When I smiled at her, she stopped but did not look directly at me and stole a few glances. I gestured to my camera and she briefly stared at it and went back to simply standing still and gazing around. She must be really immune to tourists by now. It does feel like as a tourist, I'm invading her privacy in the mountains for there's a whole string of tourists following this path daily. There is this innocence and resilience in her eyes, one that I will encounter again and again on the road.

The dried bamboo stick in her hand is a multipurpose tool for these people. For her, it is a walking stick; for others, it becomes a fence, a roof, a ladle, a wall, even a rice cooker. The blue tint on her hands are really indigo dye, made from the plants found in the mountains. The dyed cloth is waxed with a form of honey from the forests for that glossy look. The cloth itself is made from hemp grown in abundance in the wild. Everything is harnessed from nature. 

Daily routine
Sapa, Vietnam

Trekking these mountains is a breeze to the Black H'mong tribes living here. Everyday, they will traverse these mountains in search for materials or that tourist dollar. The young ones who are not in school will follow the elders on these trips. Besides learning to recognize useful plants and avoid harmful ones, they build up their physical fitness and learn the winding and sometimes hidden paths around the mountains. They will eventually wear the basket on their backs for collecting the materials, and then graduate to donning the traditional dark blue clothes and ply the tourist trades. What drew my attention was the kids' playful voices. They were skipping here and there deftly and moving across the obstacles very quickly. No matter how quick they can go, they will always stop to wait for the elderly lady who maintains a constant pace.

Play time
Sapa, Vietnam

The Black H'mong children gets a very early introduction to the working life on the mountains. When they are not in school (which is sponsored), they will be among the tourists selling traditional handmade items like scarves or purses made with materials they harvest from the mountains; and when they are not doing either, it's playtime! Their arsenal of toys includes the traditional Five Stones, Hopscotch and the Jump Rope games, among others. It is intriguing to me that despite all the cultural, historic and language differences, we all share our roots in such simple traditional games.

Recess time
Sapa, Vietnam

The village schools in Sapa are free to the native children. Despite that, many kids do not attend school and instead follow the adults to walk among the tourists, trying to earn that tourist dollar. I can relate to them, for at such a young age, nothing can beat the instant satisfaction of earning money and spending it immediately! On a realistic note, these children should not be encouraged, hence the guides will always tell you to buy from the adults, not the kids. There should be general awareness among the tribes people, including the adults on the grave importance of education. If they do not break the mold, they will always be stuck with routine of their elders.

Pointers Please
Sapa, Vietnam

the skill of embroidery is common knowledge among the Black H'mong people of Sapa. They learnt the trade at a very young age and continue to perfect it as they grow older. These girls were following my group of tourists trekking up the mountain and at the end of the trip they will try to sell their goods. During a rest stop, I saw these two girls sharing a moment. One of them was showing an elder one her craft and receiving pointers. It looks like she is pretty proud of her work. Such is the simplicity of life in Sapa, one which is not very different from the rest of the world - sharing of knowledge.

This is my mountain
Sapa, Vietnam

This boy left a very deep impression on me. I saw him a few times in a day and he was always busy. Slashing the vegetation for materials, hacking at fallen timbre, towing materials away. He is of age to attend school, but unlike others, he is not skipping school to mingle among tourists. He does the chores others find hard and tasteless. When he wasn't smiling at my camera, he has a grim face of determination and pride. While other kids were happily playing away, he was quietly working. This very young adult should be proud of himself.

Other pictures

Hoi An, Vietnam

More photos on my Flickr