After the market in Bac Ha we drove about 10 miles to a small tributary of the Red River where we were to take a boat ride down stream for a couple of miles. The best part of the trip in my mind was the mile or so walk down hill that led us past some small farmer’s homes. The greenness of Vietnam never ceases to amaze me as you can see by this shot of the rice paddies. After the boat ride we ate at a small local restaurant and I had fresh stir-fried bamboo shoots, which I thought were delicious.
Quyet’s family are/were farmers and he worked on his family’s farm until he was 18. In Viet Nam you have to pay for your children to go to school, and Quyet’s parents put all 5 of their children thru school in hopes they would have a better life. I think this is considered quite a feat, as school is not cheap from everything Quyet has said. Only two of them were able to pass the test that allows you to go to University, Quyet and his sister who is an accountant and who now lives in HCMC (Ho Chi Min City). Because Quyet is the oldest son he is responsible for his parents in their old age. Traditionally there would be 3 generations living in the same house, but now things are changing in Viet Nam. Quyet lives in Hanoi with his wife and 6-month-old son Bin. He sends money to his parents and is able to see them occasionally as they live just outside of Hanoi, he showed us where his village is on one of our outings. As he has said, the family home will someday be his to retire in. Hanoi is expanding so rapidly (unsustainable growth as the newspaper put it) I expect it will be a part of Hanoi by the time he retires.
From what we have been able to gather we are guessing Quyet is in his early 30’s although he looks to be in his early 20’s. He has been a guide for 5 years and he said when he first started guiding he was taking people around in old Russian Jeeps that had no air conditioning.
To become a guide in Vietnam is no easy feat. Quyet has been to university, which means firstly he was able to pass the difficult tests that weed out all but the ones who do the best on the test that year. There are only so many slots to be filled. You may be the smartest in your province, but that does not mean you will be pass the test and be accepted for university. Only 0.01% of the University students come form rural schools. If you are smart enough to pass the test then your parents have to have the money to send you to send you.
After University Quyet had to study for 5 years to become a guide. While he was studying he was allowed to have a job in the tourist industry such as working in a hotel as a desk clerk or hotel greeter. Guiding is considered a good job so it is much sought after. Even once he has finished his training he is required to take a monthly test.
Tourism is only one aspect of Vietnamese life that has grown immensely in the last 5-10 years. With the Government opening of the country to foreign investors money has been pouring into the country. Where as previously something like 75% of the 84 million Vietnamese people were farmers, people are starting to get jobs in factories that are being built here with foreign money and we saw a lot of evidence of this on the outskirts of Hanoi. The Vietnamese have serious pollution issues they need to face in their race to grow. Almost every bike rider and worker in Hanoi wears a facemask due to bad air. Up here in Lo Cai, the city we departed the train we took from Hanoi, government building complexes and shopping centers that are eye-popping in their magnitude and size are going in. As I mentioned before many business people from Hanoi are moving up here and opening shops to cater to the tourist that are interested in visiting Vietnam. the company that Quyet works for Indochina Tours, based out of Seattle, has 40 office workers and 100 guides.
Five years ago there were 5 hotels in Sa Pa. where we have been since leaving Bac Ha and today there are 137, more being built. Sa Pa is one of two favorite spots for a honeymoon if you are Vietnamese and it is easy to see why. We are up at 1650m (almost 5500ft) and it is the first time we have been cool in almost two weeks. It is a beautiful mountainous region surrounded by the highest mountains in Viet Nam. Unfortunately the cloud cover has been fairly thick since we arrived so we have not gotten to see much of the surrounding mountaintops. Last night it poured rain all night and it is raining this after noon as well. We did take a small walk up to a look out above the town and it was beautiful with flowers and amazing rock formations and orchid gardens, very green and lush. I could not take pictures because it was raining.
the pic included is taken right below Sa Pa and is very typical of this mountainous region and the agriculture here in the mountainous north of Viet Nam where farming much like this has gone on since the 1600's. It is so beautiful here and it is amazing to contemplate the work these people do to survive.
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