Sapa, Vietnam - My Special Tour Guide, The Hmong Girl
There was this particular Hmong girl that
has left me with a lasting impression. I do not have a picture of her, but she
looked somewhat similar to the child in the picture. I got to know her the very
first day when I was in Sapa and she was running around carefreely with her
playmates. The moment she saw us, she gave us a very big smile and said
'Hello!'.
In Sapa, children as young as 5 years old actually start to bring home the bread
and butter for the family by selling local handmade artifacts. Thus at a very
young age, they have to learn the skill of dealing with tourists and knowing how
to charm them into buying their goods. I do find these children very adorable,
however the moment they started to sell their goods to me, they could get very
pushy and I would be turned off.
But this child was different. She did not seem to care about selling anything to
us. All she did was talk and talk and talk, asking us about our lives and in
exchange she told us about hers. Her laughter was extremely contagious, and
everytime she laughs, the mood amongst us gets lighter and more enjoyable.
As we enjoyed her company very much, we requested for her to be our tour guide
for the next few days during our stay in Sapa and she agreed immediately. We
were all awed by her enthusiasm..
This picture is not taken by me, but the home looks somewhat similar to the home
I've been to an eye opening visit..
There was this once I visited her place during lunch time. Her family lives in
this little hut, and within the premises, there was a cooking area and a large
wooden table. I did not see any beds around. For lunch, all they had was rice
with vegetables. There was this odd and brownish dish which might contain some
meat, but I'm not too sure about that. After the meal, I was told that her
family could survive on a mere 10 thousand Dongs a day (equivalent to S$1 or
US$0.80). I cannot imaging myself living with such an allowance. Even for
myself, I need at least S$15 a day, 5 dollars for each meal.
Simple is good..
From her, I've learnt that there are plenty of things in my lives that I took
for granted. All the basic necessities, such as plumbing system is a luxury to
them. Needless to say, even a cellphone, which is essential for communication,
is something which they don't even dare to dream on having.
Though they were surviving with so little, I did not sense a tinge of
bitterness in their lives. In fact, all of them were happy about their simple
carefree life. Everyday, they would go out to earn money and return home to have
meals together. I guess the wealth in their lives are not measured by what they
eat during meals or what kind of furnishes they have at home. But, their wealth
is measured by the people around them, how they live and interact with one
another. It is this bond between the people whom matters most in their lives
that made their lives so enriching and so worthwhile to live for.
Unlike the Hmongs, People in developed countries are working so hard to improve
their lifestyle that they have neglected the people around them, and that is
sad. My father once told me that we should never measure the success of
someone's life based on materialistic goods. In other words, success should be
measured by how much this person meant to people whom he is close to and the
fond memories they have left behind for their loved ones. In this case, I guess
the Hmongs are one of the few people on Earth who has lived their lives to the
fullest as they do have strong relationships with the people around them.
How this Girl taught me a lesson
It was our last day in Sapa, and we decided to give the Hmong girl a treat to
show our gratitude for her company throughout the stay. We brought her to this
fance pastry shop which was just beside our motel
In the shop, they sold all kinds of pastries, ranging from tiramisu to chocolate
buns. Initially, she was very hesitant on getting anything because the price of
the pastry was extremely extravagant to her. The pastry cost around 5-7 Sing
dollars each and eating one of those was equivalent to her family's whole week
spendings. Yet, after much persuasion, we finally got her a chocolate bun and a
chocolate cheese cake.
She liked the chocolate bun, saying its very sweet and nice, finishing it in
minutes. However, she really had a problem with the chocolate cheese cake. It is
not really to her liking as she has never tasked something like this before, and
there was a lingering weird taste after the cake was consumed. Similarly, my
tiramisu cake tastes weird too, and I did not like it. After a few mouths full,
I decided to stop having it.
This was when she got rather worked up. She was not really angry, but was very
upset that I was throwing away 'expensive' food. she felt that I should not do
it as that piece of cake could actually feed her family for at least 4 days. She
called me a 'spoilt boy'. As I have seen what her family was living by, I was
not really offended by her actions. Immediately, I apologized for my ignorance
and finished all my cake in front of her. It was then that she lightened up and
started to be friendlier. I guess, from where she comes from, food is a very
precious commodity, and it should never be wasted.
Sapa Budget Tours
- Sapa Day Tours - Sapa Day Excursions - Day Trips Sapa Vietnam
- Sapa Walk and Bac ha Market
- Sapa Hard Trekking Two
- Sapa Hard Trekking One
- Sapa Medium Trek Two
- Sapa Medium Trek
Sapa Trekking and Adventures
- Fansipan peak conquering VIP tour (3 days - 2 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering VIP tour (2 days - 1 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (4 days - 3 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (3 days - 2 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (2 days - 1 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Standard tour (4 days - 3 nights)
Sapa Cycling Options
- Sapa - Binh Lu - Lai Chau(with biking)
- Sapa - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Ban Ho
- Sapa Biking Tour - Ban Ho Village
- Sapa Biking Tour - Binh Lu - Lai Chau
- SaPa - Bac Ha Market with biking
- Pedalling The Remote Sapa\'s Northwest
Sapa Luxury Holidays
Traditional Minority Discovery Packages
- Green Sapa bus (Hanoi – Sapa)
- Eco Sapa Limousine Van (Hanoi – Sapa)
- Private car Hanoi Sapa
- Hanoi Sapa Private Cabin bus
- Coc Ly market with boat trip
- Cao Son market -boat trip on Chay river- Sapa Tours
Sapa Classic Trips
Northern Mountain Discovery Packages
Topas Ecolodge Sapa tours
- Topas Ecolodge and Market Package 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge and Market Package-2D/3N
- Topas Ecolodge and Victoria Sapa Package – 4D/5N
- Topas Ecolodge and Victoria Sapa Package – 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge Package – 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge Package 2D/3N
Top hotels in Sapa
Vietnam Top Hotel
