Sapa

This is amazing. After a long overnight train ride to the north of Vietnam (made 3 hours longer due to a mudslide) we got to Lao Cai and took a bus on to Sapa. This is close to the Chinese / Vietnamese border. It's in the highlands -- those photos you see of the terraced fields on steep mountainsides. This is where many ethnic minorities live.

We trekked 3 - 4 miles to the place where we're doing a homestay with a Hmong family. The house is by a river, it is open at the front, and butterflies are flittering through the house. We eat downstairs and sleep upstairs -- all 22 of us on pads on the floor in one long room. There was a dance / performance this evening and on the last number we all joined in. That is, I tried to join in. I wasn't very agile or coordinated.

This only says what it is and not how beautiful and amazing it is. The photos are of the hillsides and farms, of the place where we're staying, and of the women and children accompanying us on our walk. They were walking with us, but they really wanted us to buy their handicrafts. Despite that minor annoyance, their presence made a long, hot walk much more interesting -- and it felt shorter, too.

The Iowa Amish should think of this homestay thing, not just making meals for curious outsiders like they do now. People could stay overnight. Instead of dancing for the guests, the Amish could sing the Lob Leid and demo a barn raising.

Goodnight Mom. Love you.