Northern Vietnam: Culture & Community

Last fall I spent a week in Northern Vietnam (Hanoi, Sa Pa and Halong Bay) traveling with a local guide researching this area for a potential tour for my company, The Dragon's Path.

I began my trip with an overnight train from Hanoi to the SaPa region. The train journeys itself is a bit of an adventure. It began with a surprised shared sleeper car/Carriage...which I was "sharing" with 4 local Vietnamese men. Fortunately I was quickly "upgraded" to the new Tulico Carriage. I guess I'm getting a bit spoiled and prefer some level of privacy or at least to share with people I know or other women. Most higher end western tourist book the Victoria Express (Orient) carriages which are quite nice...possibly a bit more upscale than the Tulico, yet guests are then required to stay at the Victoria Hotels (the package is for the hotel and the train).

SaPa is a wonderful area though I realize the term "eco-tourism" is used a bit too lightly. There are many issues to consider when taking part in popular "homestays" and touring local villages to visit some of the fifty-four distinct ethnolinguistic minorities recognized in Vietnam. The walks, through local paths used to connect villages and rice fields, are well marked and on relatively easy terrain as long as you move out of the way of motor-scooters which make their way through even the muddiest of trails and have become the mountain bikes of the hill country.

My homestay experience was memorable and quite comfortable. That said, I am not confident that this is an experience my guests (generally Americans age 50+) would enjoy. The family was gracious (the mayor of the village and his wife hosted me for dinner). The accommodations very basic. What I find lacking is the education for travelers in terms of what to expect and what is appropriate behavior while staying at these homes. How to use the bathrooms, eating protocol, greetings etc.

From the homestay I moved to a well known "EcoLodge" where I stayed at for one night. The grounds and accommodations was lovely yet this lodge had it's own issues to work through: how are they really interacting and supporting the local community and the environment? Is building a spa and offering European food (the homemade bread American breakfast was great..but definitely not typical of the region) appropriate?

The local people in the area really are lovely, interested and interesting....and the further away from the main tourist villages you get the more authentic the experience.

The Red Dzao is one of the ethnic groups that live in the north of Vietnam. Their name denotes the use red to decorate their clothing. There are two unique features of this tribe. The first is that you can know how rich a woman is by the size of her hat. The second is that to be beautiful it is thought that women should have as little body hair as possible...thus they often shave their hair and eyebrows.

Black Hmong and Red Dzao live in neighboring villages in this region. An interesting feature of Black Hmong women is to bind the calves with material and leather string to hold it in place. This is thought to prevent this area from growing large and muscular. Small calves (and feet) are a sign of beauty for women. Black Hmong like to wear their hair over the crown of their heads. Often wigs made of horse's tail are used to add more body to the bun and then wrap it to form a tall “pin box” type hat.

It was told to me that women generally marry around the age of 16, at that time men often “steal” these young women and bring them to their homes. If the woman refuses to eat for three days she is let go to return to her home. Should she take food, she is “accepting” of the man and will likely marry.

This minority group is also said to pick up languages very quickly. Many of the women selling textiles in town have picked up English and possibly French from the tourists and may end up becoming local guides.

I met a group of women in the village of Ta Phin,Ta Phin, a lush valley nine miles out of Sapa and spent the morning with visiting one woman’s home and watching the rice harvest.

The more I travel within developing countries to regions promoting "sustainable tourism" the more I question the long term effects on the local communities.