Hill Tribe Trekking....

We were able to have a sleep in this morning as we do not need to be ready for our tour pick up until 9.30am but that does not mean we got it.....for some reason people staying in hotels here think that when they are awake everyone is awake. I love waking up to the sound of someone hoiking up gollies in the bathroom next to me (Ma, you would have thrown up). Once is tolerable but four or five times is enough already. Anyway, not needing to rush was great. I met my little mate down stairs to go and get a good price for my rip off North Face jacket and backpack before getting whisked away in a mini van to the local villages. Our tour guide, who is from the village, advised us to hire gumboots for $1.50 which was the best advice we had all day. Oh, before we left the hotel the lady named Susu was hassling us to go with her and buy things from her. I told her that we had to go in the bus due to the rain but she wasn't having a bar of it and told me that i made a pinkie promise yesterday and now i was breaking it.....oh god, I am now going to hell. She told me that she was very sad that I wasn't going with her and followed me to the mini bus getting more and more cranky. Can't please em' all. Safely on the bus with our gumboots we headed to the village on a road that in Australia would be condemned and Alvo feared for her life. There were 10 people all up on the tour and we were split into two groups. We were told that we would walk about 2km to the village, have a look around, have lunch and then get back on the bus and come back to the hotel......um, no. We walked about 2km from the bus to the bottom of the hill and then walked to two villages which was pretty easy going and on the kinda road and we were wondering when we would need the gumboots. We had lunch which was basic noodles and delicious ginger tea accompanied by the most amazing view i think i have seen here in Vietnam yet and then walked up through the tiered rice fields and began the hard slog through the mud and rugged terrain. I must emphasise that the track was not your average fun run type track, it was more like a track that had just been cut with a machete and then hit with torrential rain. It was almost untrodden and we were sinking in the mud and holding onto the bamboo to prevent us from falling off the edge of the universe. The hill tribe people are like little mountain goats and just about run up through the winding tracks that we needed to watch our step on. Our guide is 18 years old and has been walking this country her whole life, her English is great and the knowledge of the area and traditions is like gold. We walked and chatted about education, marriage, the future of the village and the roles that people play there, I admire her. A few women from one of the villages walked with us the whole way and were there with a steady hand to hold when the track got more muddy and slippery, they were dressed in traditional clothes and carried bamboo baskets on their backs. One woman carried her grandson on her back the entire way, he mainly slept and was as cute as a button. It took us about 4 hours to complete the walk and we thought we had finished once we made it to the waterfall which was a real sight to see but nope, there was more. Our guide showed us the Indigo plant that the people of the village dye their clothes with, she rubbed it on our hands and it turned them blue. I deeply respect the self sufficiency out here. We walked to the school and then back up what felt like Mount Everest to the bus. We bought goods off the ladies that had our backs the whole way and although overpriced was something we wanted to do. On the way back in the bus the driver drove very close to a waterfall on the way to take advantage of what they said was the car wash. Again the road had Alvo fearing for her life, the view yet again was amazing. Back on solid ground we trekked up the stairs of our hotel and hit the shower before crashing for a while. Dinner was the next decision and we decided to hit an Italian/Vietnamese joint to try it out. I ordered a set menu for $5 which included spring rolls, chicken with lemongrass and chilli, steamed rice, sauteed vegetables and fresh fruit.....yep, a heap of food for one person and Alvo thought she would give a pizza a go. Both meals were amazing but it was really the hot wine that lured us in. It was a delicious blend of red wine, honey, lemon and cinnamon. We ordered more after the welcome drink was offered. We decided to splash out and get a bottle of wine and were prepared to pay the $22 for the French Merlot we chose. We were impressed, it was really good and then ended our night with great conversation with the waitresses and some coffee laced with khalua, baileys, rum and coconut milk. I asked if I was able to order the alcoholic coffee in the morning at breakfast time and the reply was...."Of course" so that will be where we head in the morning after a sleep in. I wanted to mention that we really splashed out for dinner tonight and spent $50 but this included the cute little teaspoon that I got with my special coffee & we did sit there for 3 hours. I really shouldn't have done those squats and calf raises last night, I can feel my muscles cramping up but hey.....gotta get a head start. A night cap is a great sleeping aid so will now be hitting the hay. Tanya xxx.