Buffalo Chocolate

Entry 10:

Most people think of Vietnam as a lush, tropical paradise near the sea. However, Northern Vietnam is dominated by high mountains reaching more than 10,000 feet in elevation. The town of Sapa is the gateway to the mountains and its surrounding hill tribes. To get there from Hanoi you need to take an overnight train and a minibus. The town itself is small, comprised of about 3 main streets. However, the main attraction that draws tourists is trekking through the rice paddies to see how the native people live and work the land. We joined a small group of Spaniards and began our trek. We spent one night in the traditional residence of the tribe Zao. Along the way, we were accompanied by an entourage of Black Hmong people who later expected us to purchase handicrafts from them. The phrase most heard in this region is, "you buy from me," or what we've termed as YBFM. Marc is looking forward to naming his future radio station by that name. They are named Black Hmong because of their black clothing. We were disappointed that the tribe we stayed with, the Z'Dao tribe, were the most plainly dressed. At least they made a wonderful dinner for us. Luckily, the other travellers on our trek were also vegetarian.



As soon as we left the main road, our guide Kiem advised us to beware of "buffalo chocolate," which became a running joke for the whole trek. The region attracts many water buffalo. What they leave behind is not the gourmet type of chocolate one regularly desires, but something to avoid at all costs, particularly because it comes in extra large sizes.



Most of the trekking was manageable. However, we reached certain problematic areas where Kiem was kind enough to carry Marc on his back across the stream. Apparently he is not used to carrying Americans because he thought Marc was really heavy. That being said, Kiem probably weighs all of 120 lbs.

You can rest assured that the shower was well received upon our return to the town of Sapa. We paid $5 for our room and after showering, hit the town. There were plenty of Israelis walking around. Some restaurants even had signs written by previous travellers in Hebrew to let Israelis know they can trust the food there. Because we were so exhausted, we decided to get foot massages. Forty-three minutes later, feeling well rested, we both discovered that a foot massage includes a small Vietnamese woman climbing on your back. No extra charge for this special treat.



We were woken at approximately 4am by really loud squeeling of a pig that we assume was being prepared for breakfast. Fortunately, we were both able to fall back asleep, but by 5:30am we were again awoken by the sounds of cats either mating or fighting, not sure which. Despite all this, we were well rested before heading to Cat Cat village on foot. The village was mostly scenery, which included mountains, rice paddies, and a huge waterfall. In addition, we managed to see half the farm: pigs, chickens, goats, water buffalo, and horses. Check out this link for more photos: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com


After meandering through the local market, trying on the pointy cone hat and seeing all forms of animals parts, we finally found a place to have lunch. The restaurant was named after a Vietnamese dish called pho, which is a large bowl of soup consisting of noodles, vegetables, and mint leaves. Normally, it is difficult to find a veggie version of this wonderful soup, but we were so happy to sit down for $1.5 a bowl. Our friend Mai back at home would have loved it, but would have demanded more mint leaves. Finally, we boarded the night train back to Hanoi.