Vietnam is an unusual place in that it has the ability to evoke strong images for people who have not yet set one foot inside this beautiful country. The reasons behind this lie in a vision of Vietnam that is indelibly linked to war, and one which suffers in the West from a legacy of conflict perpetuated by the Hollywood dream machine.
Cut off from the outside world of travel for decades this image has prevailed, but if travellers follow the less well-trodden paths of North West Vietnam as I did myself, you will find a country that has an enchanting atmosphere; colourful peoples that feel comfortable in their own skin, place and time, regardless of the pace of the West; genuine hospitality; and mountain landscapes so breathtaking that words won’t be able to do it justice. In fact on your return home your vision of Vietnam may be rather different to the one with which you left, as was mine.
Michael Herr’s quote illustrates this perfectly "All the wrong people remember Vietnam. I think all the people who remember it should forget it, and all the people who forgot it should remember it." So by adventuring into an unknown world, the traveller, like an artist with a blank canvas can find a new and more realistic interpretation of Vietnam and its peoples.
Northwest Vietnam has a ruggedness and primitive infrastructure which offers a real thrill for those who want to discover the unknown. Even Sapa, which has been brought to the fore in term of tourism, is still a very beautiful place with hidden enclaves and a rich tapestry of peoples just outside the town itself.
Planning a trip in these remote areas of Vietnam as a solo traveller might not be the wisest decision primarily due to the need for special permits in the less well-discovered areas. I decided to take an organised tour with Gecko Travel, so all the necessary paperwork was looked after by our tour leader and local guide, the latter also playing an invaluable part when it came to holding conversations with the tribal communities which we came across. I say came across, as we travelled by minibus from Hanoi out into the mountains ensuring that we had a chance to stop whenever and wherever we decided, making this a true adventure in more ways than one, with the travellers directing the story.
Myths and Legends
The country has 54 ethnic groups, giving Vietnam the richest and most complex ethnic makeup of SE Asia. The majority of the ethnic minorities live in the hilly regions of the northwest, with other tribes being scattered in the central highlands and the South. However, the North West is the best place to start, as traditional dress in the central and southern parts has taken a more casual approach.
The plush mountain territories along the Lao and Chinese borders where we were to visit accommodate the most prominent tribal communities. Several of these groupings represent about 1 million people while others have dwindled to as little as 100. Most of the communities share a rural agricultural lifestyle – a prominent focus of our tour as we travelled in harvest season at the beginning of October.
Little is known about the origins of the tribes, some of whom already inhabited this area before the ancestors of the Viet arrived from Southern China around 4-5,000 years ago. At some date the Viet finally emerged as a distinct group after absorbing smaller communities settling on the Red River Delta, until they became the dominant culture; while other indigenous groups, chose to keep their independence and maintain their place in the highlands.
The country itself is rich in folklore and legend and one story which accounts for this fundamental split between lowlanders and the montagnards (or hill tribes) has a rather more romantic leaning, based on the marriage of the Dragon King of the South to the beautiful Northern Princess Au Co. At first the pair lived in the mountains where the fairy princess gave birth to a hundred handsome strong boys, however, after some time had passed the Dragon King began to miss his watery lowland home and decamped with half of his sons leaving 50 behind in the mountains, the ancestors of the ethnic minorities. While this remains mere fiction there is still something quite mystical about the tribes themselves, all with their own specific rituals, practices and cultures which exist in harmony with Viet society and one another.
Stark Contrast - Leaving Hanoi
Our starting point was Hanoi which bustles with its bright lights and commercialised nature. This busyness further pervades the atmosphere on a visual and acoustic level with the city’s numerous motorcyclists who travel en masse like invaders winding through the streets and around pedestrians who feel part of the adrenalin rush. Even within the old quarter the buzz follows you, each street defined by its identical traders who sell their wares side by side, interspersed with nearby street food stalls, dotted haphazardly along the way. Some of our two-wheeled friends parked up outside the ice-cream parlour, perhaps reminiscent of times spent by their American counterparts, to enjoy a little respite while the hum of the city carried on blissfully unaware.
The remote North West provides a strong contrast to this modern day Vietnam, which became more apparent as we left the city, heading southwest on Highway six. The slim Vietnamese houses petered out, and mountainous terrain opened up with rice paddies as far as the eye could see.
The geology of Vietnam is mainly limestone and the effect of the country’s humid tropical climate on this soft rock has resulted in numerous streams and rivers. Breathtaking cones and towers (tower karst) rise from the flat alluvial plains with spectacular vertical walls and overhangs. Bamboo thickets are dotted along the landscape with glorious green rice paddies and Thai stilt houses springing up on the outside of small hamlets. The scenery tells of an irretrievable age when life was perhaps simpler and more innocent, earning its title as the Garden of Eden, an unspoilt paradise.
The Road to Son La
The first stop was not planned, but borne out of pure hospitality, which while being less contrived seemed a comfortable start for our party as an induction to new cultures. We had stopped by the road side to view a picturesque backdrop from a bridge overlooking the Red River next to a Muong village. Our first thoughts were on taking some air and simply admiring the view, however, as we walked to the end of the bridge we found a group of villagers running a small stall with drinks, food and other refreshments. Helped by our local guide we chatted about our being there and then we were offered the opportunity to visit the village and share in a cup of what seemed to resemble green tea.
The people of the Muong tribe occupy the lower hills from the Red River Valley and total a population of just under 1 million. They are believed to have shared common ancestry with the Viet but split around 2,000 years ago to take their place independently in the highlands. Living in an aristocratic societies, communal land is given in return for labour and tax contributions - their symbols of authority being drums and bronze gongs, some of which adorned the house we visited.
Dien Bien Phu – The Seat of Victory
Dien Bien Phu, is one of the most remote parts of Vietnam but not by any means the least well known. Established in 1841 to prevent raids on the Red River delta by bandits, Dien Bien Phu is more familiar to people as a military battlefield.
On the 6th May 1954, the day before the Geneva Conference on Indochina was set to begin half a world away, Viet Minh forces overran the beleaguered French garrison at Dien Bien Phu after a 57 day siege. French morale was shattered and the government was forced to abandon its attempts to re-establish colonial control of Indochina.
A recent monument stands overlooking the town as an impervious reminder and tribute to the Dien Bien Phu victory with an inscription reading, ‘determined to fight, determined to win,’ a motto which speaks volumes about the Vietnamese resolve to win the battle in the face of adversity.
Although history is the major attraction at this location with a local military museum on site, the real jewel in the crown was a small Black Thai village.
One of the highlights of a Thai village is its suspension footbridge and our encounter began with the village children crossing hurriedly over the bridge to greet us with a few polite words of Vietnamese and English, mainly ‘sin chow’ meaning hello. Having been introduced diplomatically by our local guide we entered the stilt house of a local family within which a loom stood, not dissimilar to those dedicated to the textile industry in Lancashire.
Having noticed our interest, our hostess sat and worked for a few minutes offering a vision of what can only be described as a slow and painful process. A mockery of modern methods the cloth, containing a multitude of colours, had been created using the leaves from the surrounding forests as a form of dye.
A fitting conversation for our destination started with the French/Viet war where the father and head of the family had fought on the side of the French, apparently a familiar occurrence where the Thai people of Vietnam were concerned. The local people would be enrolled in the French Army, but had often changed sides since they believed in fighting for freedom and escaped, as our host did, through the forest to join the Vietnamese.
Numbering over one million, the Thai themselves originated in Southern China before settling in Vietnam and the villages themselves usually consist of around 40 to 50 houses. Their close geographical proximity and agricultural similarity with the Viet has created a cultural assimilation with the Kinh (Viet), most notably through marriage and language with most Thai’s speaking Vietnamese, however, their cultural identity is definitely prominent in the women’s dress. This comprises of a long black skirt, a coloured waist sash and blouse adorned with a row of silver buttons down the front. The head dress is intricately embroidered with predominantly red and yellow designs underneath which a silver coin symbolizing marriage is worn.
Lai Chau - Tourism in its Infancy
Lai Chau, is a small town nestled in the heart of a beautiful valley carved from spectacular mountains by the Da River. The town not more than half a mile in length, had initially little to offer, but the area itself is a trekking goldmine.
The weather can be pretty hot here so you need plenty of water for trekking, but the views as you rise up through the valley are well worth it. In June and July temperatures can rise as high as 40 degrees C making this the hottest place in Vietnam; the rise in temperature being related to the southeast summer monsoon blasting in from the Indian Ocean with the surrounding mountains enclosing the heat.
This was the base for our six hour trek to meet the Blue H’mong. A local Vietnamese school teacher who had a strong relationship with the villagers based in Pu Dau led our walkers on an undulating dirt path that reached high into the forested mountains.
Originally the majority of Vietnam was practically covered in greenery from vast mangrove forests on the coast to dense rainforest in the mountainous regions. Gradually over the millennia these forests have been pushed back due to; the clearing of land for rice farming; an increasing population; slash and burn activity practised by some of the hill tribes; and the ravages of war for which Vietnam is so well known. However, there are now reforestation programmes in place and tribal communities which practice slash and burn cultivation are being encouraged to use other methods and create more permanent homes.
The tribe made special efforts that afternoon sharing their own noodles and rice wine, and some of the girls had even dressed in their white skirts which are kept for special family occasions. The animist approach of this H’mong community also brought a certain shyness to the situation as some of the tribe believed their spirit might be taken away by modern day cameras – living proof that we were new travellers here.
Since migrating from China in the mid 19 century the H’mong have become the most excluded from mainstream Viet society. Each of the subgroups, Black, White, Blue, Green and Flower H'mong are often distinguished by dress, but typically they adorn themselves with large silver necklaces and clusters of silver bracelets and earrings. They represent the poorest of all the tribes in Vietnam and live at the highest altitudes so organised tours still lead the way in capturing untouristy havens such as this, paving the way for the backpackers.
Sapa - Still Holds Real Treasures for Tourists
Sapa speaks the language of tourism and is no longer a secret, but one cannot escape its exquisite views. In colonial days the mountains surrounding Sapa were known as the Tonkinese Alps for the quasi European climate, with the town functioning as a former hill station, built by the French as a retreat from the heat for vacationing military officers. It is also home to Vietnam’s highest peak, Mount Fransipan which towers above the town at a height of over 3,000 metres.
The Black H’mong and the Red Dao are two of the main tribes which inhabit this area. The Dao shave their eyebrows and hair around their faces to highlight their beauty and are very distinctive with their cherry head coverings, jingling with silver coins. The Black H’mong in contrast, knot their long dark hair inside tall headdresses, and wear indigo dyed clothes that shimmer in the light. Dressed in their traditional finery these tribal women cheerfully intermingle on the streets of Sapa, often inspecting each others handiwork, while packing sleeping babies on their backs in beautifully embroidered cloth carriers - giving the town its real colour.
However, outside of Sapa is where the real treasures can be found and we were to find further examples of tribal hospitality after our six hour trek at our homestay for that evening. The family belonged to the Tay tribe which after colourful Sapa offered a complete contrast due to their simple attire, the men dressing largely Viet style, and the women wearing colourful head scarves and blouses with black trousers.
The Tay themselves have an estimated population of 1.2 million, and their closeness to the Viet culture means that they share common rituals and practices in terms of Confucianism with many adopting Viet architecture and dress. The houses at the top of mountain were the most decorated and stylish buildings - engraved with leaves on the railed outer balconies, typical of the Tay style, while the houses further down the valley were more simple homes with children and animals freely running inside and out on the dried earth.
The Unspoilt Destinations
The beauty of Northwest Vietnam and its unspoilt nature could be thought of as a paradox, since its continuing existence depends on how we handle the future of tourism in this country. However, the advent of responsible tourism might go some way to ensuring respect for the people and protection of these well-established cultures.
Mass tourism, in contrast, has no concern for minorities - seeking to make short term profits by popularising certain areas without any thought as to the impact of tourism on indigenous peoples. Thus, trinketising cultures and creating forms of dancing bear tourism where people become exhibits. Responsible tourism could be a more positive option here, however, this is very much dependent on travellers, who need to consider their options and operators carefully, read the responsible tourism policies devised by travel companies, and above all respect the choices of the tribes, ensuring that our children and our children’s children have similar opportunities to understand the indigenous communities that comprise the nation of Vietnam.
Siobhan McGeady travelled with Gecko Travel on the 16-day Mountains and Hill Tribes tour.
