Culture Shocks: My time with a native tribe

[dropcap] F [/dropcap] or me, there is more to travelling than simply posing for tourist shots like holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa or pinching Lady Liberty. Having spent six weeks of my summer travelling around South East Asia; specifically Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, there is one particular adventure that will last long in my memory. My homestay with the Black Hmong hill tribe of Sapa, northern Vietnam, was an experience that opened my eyes to both the simplistic, pure lifestyle of the locals who reside here, as well as the beauty of a country that has become synonymous with warfare and tragedy.

The north-western Hoàng Liên Son Mountains, some 38km from the Chinese border, is the more precise location of this particular tribe. Its close proximity to China meant a rich diversity of people living there; although the language barrier was an issue at times- with even some of the Vietnamese people not fully understanding them- their friendly nature meant it was easy for me to tackle this minor obstacle.

There is more to travelling than simply posing for tourist shots such as holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Having taken an overnight bus of nine hours from Hanoi to reach them, the three day residency began with a hike deep into the mountains from the Vietnamese town of Sapa, my drop off point. Immediately I was in awe of the ease in which a collection of ladies, far older than myself, took to the treacherous dirt roads that wound up and around the mountains and concluded for us at their village. The hike itself revealed to me the remarkable manipulation of the landscape; the residents, having varied the different gradients, have created almost a stair case up the sides of the peaks, allowing them to grow greater quantities of rice. It’s a sight that words can only go so far in doing justice.

After a demanding day of travel, arrival at the village meant only one thing; rustic Vietnamese food. A completely new style of both cuisine and cooking technique awaited me; the villagers here opt for an open fire method of cooking with minimal meat. Rice is not the only substance grown in abundance there, both cannabis and opium are innovatively used for numerous things. For example, cannabis is used to make the hemp for clothing and opium, and, much to my merriment, for recreational use. I was fortunate enough to partake in the consumption of opium in its liquid form with one of the locals, which was a special experience as it’s not often offered to westerners; not without a price attached anyway. Initially I was sceptical but it was nothing short of ecstasy (pardon the pun). It was the combination of both intense and casual activities that helped shape an authentic insight into the lives of these individuals and gave me a truly unique memory from my time in Vietnam.