Article

 Text and Photos by Pauline Bottrill

This was no ordinary holiday. Our son Leo had taken his first job in Vietnam two years ago after finishing university and now I had an opportunity to see where he was living and working. In late March, I was met by Leo at Hanoi airport. Out in the street the roads were even more hazardous than Dhaka. Everyone who could muster a motor cycle or ride one was on two wheels, sans helmet carrying passengers including small children and luggage, weaving and whirling around the streets. Bicycles and motor bikes have been particularly liberating for women. Apart from tight pants the girls often drove their vehicles in the highest heels, a jaunty hat on their head with mobile and fashion bag in hand. My heart sank as I realized our son was one of the young people riding around without the helmet that my husband and I had insisted he wore at all times. As well as dicing with death on the road there was a good deal of smoking to death in public places, in contrast to the draconian anti smoking laws I had become accustomed to in our home state of Maryland.

Leo had booked couchettes on an overnight train to the mountain areas of Vietnam near the southern border of China. The 8 hour trip was quite comfortable as Leo had made sure his mother was in the better grade carriage. We arrived refreshed in Lao Cai at 6 a.m. and then set out for a 2-hour journey by road to Sa Pa, a hill station and market town. Our guest house, Cat Cat in the centre of town had more than 100 steps to climb from the street. Once in our rooms the view was staggering as we were in and above the clouds as they rolled by revealing a view of the whole valley. The food was good in a modest restaurant overlooking this valley. The Victoria Hotel, where we dined more splendidly one evening is a comfortable hotel in Sa Pa where there was plenty of choice of guest houses, small cafes, restaurants and even an English pub. The French had done a great service before leaving Indochina by teaching everyone to make very good French bread.

One of my major interests in this area was the possibility of taking small treks, gaining some fresh air and meeting some of the tribal peoples in that region who continue to struggle and resisted many changes under the communist regime. Until recently they had very little contact with outsiders, but life is changing with development and visitors. Leo took me to the Ethnographical Museum in Hanoi before traveling to the highlands so that I could get tuned to the culture of the Vietnamese people, particularly their dyeing, weaving and stitch work. Sa Pa is a major market place for the Hmong people and the streets were full of men and women wearing the traditional dress with the predominant colour a deep indigo blue. Women wear a lot of silver jewelery: heavy loop earrings, necklaces and bangles, and earn cash selling their stitch and dyed work which they make into bags, blankets and cushion covers. Other communities, notably the Yao wear clothes stitched with many interesting signs and symbols. Both groups use wicker basket backpacks to hold their wares, their baby and sometimes both (see photo with a Hmong woman). I last saw this style of basket in the Adirondacks, New York State. Bac Ha, another frontier town in the region is the best place to see a variety of ethnic groups including the colourfully dressed Flower Hmong people.

On one day trip we walked into a valley and passed by the homes and rice paddies of the villagers and saw little groups getting on with their work either tilling fields or working around their homes. Children trailed along eager to sell the family textiles. Later we had an opportunity to visit some homes. The houses of the Hmong and the Tso in the region are traditionally wood with simple interiors. A wood fire burning inside explained why the air (and the textiles) smelled so pungently of charred wood.

The reason for visiting Leo in Vietnam was to see the island of Bai Tu Long Bay where Leo had been responsible for building an Environment Centre for an NGO (Frontier). For a long time the family had been chiding me that I would not enjoy the journey to the island. It is ten hours travel from Hanoi by local bus, ferries and motor bike (yikes!) We rented a van and driver and I was spared the dreaded local bus. The first part of the journey took us through a flat delta filled with industry along the way. We stopped one night in Cai Rong on Van Dam island which has spectacular views but little else. In the only open restaurant we thought we had ordered beef but were served with dog meat! Leo spotted it and fortunately we did not have to eat it. I was thankful that in this region Leo’s Vietnamese came in useful. After a fair bit of negotiation we hired a boat for the 3 hour journey to Quan Don island where the National Park and the Environment Centre were located.

Bai tu Long Bay has similar lime stone islands as Ha Long Bay but with very little sea traffic and almost no tourism. The romantic sight of fishing junks with sails are now rare. The many tiny coves and bays on the journey did not tempt us as this was not swimming weather. We arrived at Quan Don island by a motorized fishing boat and deposited on some barnacled rocks because of low tide. A couple of local lads were summoned and we finished the trip on the back of motorcycles. On the way we passed stunning, white empty sandy beaches and then at last, at a fork in the road stood Leo’s famous Centre. Leo’s task was to develop awareness of the precious natural resources in the area and communicate this to the National Park Service and the local community before development inevitably takes over the region.

I had expected a tropical cabana style building, but no, this was a substantial brick building with a tiled roof with pillars and an imposing entrance, iron gates and fenced garden. I knew of all the sleepless nights and agony Leo had gone through to achieve this and I was proud that he had accomplished his goal. I looked forward to see the exhibits and never doubted that Leo would pull it off. I should mention that this exhibit was incredibly ambitious considering that basics like electricity are dependent on the generator in the nearby small town. Also, all the materials for the project had to be brought out from Hanoi. The exhibits were comprehensive, explaining the history of the natural environment, the flora and fauna of the island and advice on protecting the area. The professional layout designers in Hanoi computerized the main layout. I particularly liked the photographs of local people who were invited to talk about how the area was when they were young and how it had changed. A strong message was stated by the exhibit of the many endangered species in the region. As in so many parts of the world, animals are killed for cultural and medicinal reasons. There was also a section not yet completed where children would learn through hands-on experience. The Centre was officially opened two weeks prior to my visit by representatives of the donors, including the British Embassy, the National Park Service and the local community.

From the Centre, we walked on the beach and then hopped onto more motorbikes (if my friends could see me now I thought!) and stayed at a cabana style resort at the other end of the island half an hour’s ride away. This “resort” was only recently developed and is very simple with lovely beaches. Next day we started the long journey back with a walk at 6 am and a ride in a baby taxi to the public ferry. There were more adventures before we were back in Hanoi ten hours later.