We be staying with the HMONG in a village outside of SAPA, Vietnam

After breakfast at the Sunny Mountain Hotel in Sapa, we went to our room, grabbed our small Camelpak, and filled it with 3 liters of water and some essentials. Our hotel stored the rest of our items after we told them that we would be back in a couple of days.

Our hosts from right to left: Chu (pronounced Joo), Mama Xa (pronounced Seh like “said” without the “d”), and Chu (pronounced Tsu or Q ) met us outside at 10am and looked like they were posing for a picture in National Geographic in their traditional Hmong outfits… Their intricately embroidered hand-made dark blue outfits and colorful head scarfs made them stand out. This was their everyday hiking gear….hmmm…a little intimidating and also quite beautiful!

We would later find out that these clothes took a year or more to make and started with plants grown in their back yard. The fabric was painstakingly made from the fibers picked and spun from hemp and the dark blue color was derived from a dye process using the indigo plant. Once the fabric was woven, dyed and stitched together with skills passed down by their ancestors, it was ready to wear for a mountainous hike with two Americans!

We, on the other hand, wore garments made in probably less than 30 minutes by some factory in some far off country by people we will never meet.

The next couple of days were full of humbling thoughts such as this…not because the Hmong lived, by Western standards, in poverty, but because they had an incredible knowledge of how things are made and what is really important in life (in our opinion).

We left Sapa and walked for about 5 hours along a dirt trail that lead us over steep hills and through deep valleys to their village called Hâo Thào. These elaborately dressed, strong, petite women set a steady pace. We stopped and ate a couple of fern roots to keep up our strength. (Sweet with a bitter after-taste…) We passed through a small mountain village with livestock wandering the streets and kids looking at us with interest and waving. There was no paint or prefabricated items to be seen anywhere. All buildings, tools, etc were hand made in this town. There was no sound of cars and we did not pass a tourist for the first several hours. An occasional motorbike traversed the path, but could only travel on the smoother sections.

The hike between this village and Hâo Thào was beautiful.. There was a 9000 ft mountain range that framed the valley. Along the way we saw a couple of marble quarries, a passing funeral, and a few Hmong villagers.

After stopping for a late lunch, we arrived at our host’s house around 5:00. The outline of the rice terraces were all around us… and the sounds of pigs, roosters and children filled the air.. Men and women were preparing for super by dragging or carring the wood/bamboo needed to prepare their meals and heat their homes.

Walking to the Hmong village from Sapa-

It was a very modest house with old natural wood planks for walls and dirt floors. Sleeping on planks and having smoke fill the rafters in the morning took some getting used to….

Learning how to sew a Hmong pattern while we relaxed around the fire after dinner.

In the garden they grow hemp, Indigo, and food. The hemp is processed by hand to become fabric, taking 2-3 years. Then it is dyed in Indigo water for 30 days to get the dark blue color.

Trying our hand at gardening-


Woman preparing 2-3 years worth of hand rolled hemp for weaving-

Home cooked food right from the garden!lt;

Making a ring at the house of the village Jeweler, Kho. In Hmong culture, this is a man’s handicraft.

I loved feeling like one of the family! The whole village helps one another and loves to laugh. Here, Xa’s mother-in-law, Tsom, looks on as I practice my sewing. The boy in the background is making bamboo flags.

Dressed in brand-new clothes for New Years! Xa in between us and her baby, Jung, on Steph’s back. John is wearing a basket, a Hmong man’s handicraft.

Hmong women helping Stephanie to put on their traditional clothing-

Stephanie is doing her Hmong baby dance..

Feeding the farm animals in the morning. Grains for the poultry, pumpkin for the pig, salt for the cow.

Morning scene-

En route with Chú to Xi, the Shaman, through rice paddies and breathtaking scenery. We saw lots of pigs, buffalo, geese, chickens, goats, dogs, cats and their babies!

It was an honor to buy textiles directly from the artists, especially after seeing and experiencing the hard work put into each and every element.

Experience Hmong life for yourself:
Call Ms. Xa +840975408994 or Chu +8401632777685
and btw… their mountain has better cell reception than all of Scotland, according to our berth mates on the train back to Sapa!

The best website ever, Seat 61, will give you all the info you seek for trains to Sapa.