A message from your host

We feel honoured by your visit and hope that it will be an opportunity for you to better understand our way of life, habits and culture. Hopefully, if the language barrier and lack of time are not too much of an obstacle, we will be happy to answer your questions, welcome you to our modest homes and exchange cultural information with you. You wish to get to know us, but we too have a lot to learn about your way of life and habits, that sometimes seems just as strange to us as some of ours to you. However, the sudden influx of tourists may have negative effects on our villages because many of our foreign guests are not aware of our sometimes complex customs. Certain attitudes or behaviours considered normal by you, may be considered shocking here and create problems and misunderstandings on both sides. This is why we would like to let you know a few basic rules. You sometimes talk about “ethic tourism”, we prefer to talk about mutual respect. - Drug consumption is forbidden here, we want to protect our youth from this terrible habit. - Touching sacred objects, walking through sacred places is forbidden and offends us. Please, seek information. - Being badly dressed, dirty or partly undressed is considered aggressive and disrespectful. - Drinking in excess, speaking in a loud voice or shouting is considered aggressive. - Public display of affection and kissing are considered immodest and offending behaviour. - Ask permission before taking pictures of people, we will be happy to grant it. Do not give money if money is not asked. - Do not buy antiques or ancient jewellery from local families: you would rob them of their heritage and history. - Do not give to children, this would encourage begging. Prefer presents to parents or elders and thank them for their hospitality. - The best way to thank us is to buy recently made handicrafts: although cheap for you they represent a lot of money for us. - Always offer to pay if a villager provides a meal or accommodation. - Always announce yourself before entering a house or a property, we will be happy to let you in. - Do not encourage prostitution. We thank you in anticipation and wish you a most pleasant stay.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Handicrafts in Sapa

Handicrafts in Sapa Until the 1980s, most of the mountain populations in Vietnam used to produce nearly all their everyday life objects. Clothes, basketwork, metal and wooden objects, jewellery, pottery, etc. were made locally according to techniques that were often specific to an area or an ethnic group. These objects are still made today for family use and occasionally offered for sale. Fibres: hemp, cotton and silk dyed with natural dyes : The Tày grow cotton, spin it, weave it, and dye it to make the traditional blankets for the wedding dowries. The Hmong grow hemp and use its strong fibres to make their clothes, which they dye with indigo. In certain villages, people raise silkworms to make the beautiful silk thread they use to embroider their clothes. The Dao (Mien) women and the Hmong make veritable pictures with their incredibly precise embroideries. Lots of traditional fabrics can be found in the Sa Pa and Bac Hà ethnic markets. Most of the patterns embroidered by the Hmong and the Dao or woven by the Tay and the Thai carry a meaning. They often symbolise a baby, a tree, a bird, a snail, the moon, etc. Basketwork: from forest to kitchen : Rattan and bamboo are the raw materials used for basketwork. Each ethnic group and each area has its own techniques and own patterns. The Tays’ are square-shaped, often decorated with floral patterns, while the Dao’s (Mien) and the Lao’s are raised designs with colour strokes. For their domestic use, the Nung and the Tay make very fine baskets for sorting rice or legumes. In order to protect them, they store them over the wood fire where the smoke makes them more resistant. The Vietnamese shoulder piece is the most popular carrying device in the lowlands, while the back-basket is found everywhere in the mountains. Wood, steel and silver: traditional skills, still unrecognized : Thanks to the wide diversity of wood species and to the carpenters and joiners’ know-how, the houses, furniture and all the wooden objects are still made locally. One of the most famous wood species in the Lao Cai area is peumou (Fokienia Hodginsii), a species of slow-growing cypress whose wood is rot-proof. Chinese buyers have been paying a heavy price for it for over a century. Using reclaimed materials, blacksmiths used to make ploughshares, knives and trivets. Despite the competition of industrial products, the high-quality knives and pruning knives made by the Hmong are still much sought-after by farmers from all ethnic groups. Silver jewelery is still made by numerous ethnic groups. The Hmong from Sa Pa and the Dao are renowned for their necklaces consisting of several silver circles put together – the weight of the jewel is also a wealth and status symbol as silver metal used to be one of the main ways of hoarding wealth. The Tày from Van Bàn make beautiful silver bangles. Depending on the area and on the subgroups they belong to, the Hmong and the Dao are distinguished by the shape of their earrings. Incense : Virtually all ethnic groups produce their own particular sort of incense. The Tày from Van Ban (Van Bàn), use powdered cinnamon bark to make a brown incense with a warm, sweet fragrance. The Pa Zi from Muong Khuong make pale green incense out of powdered wild leaves, whose fragrance is greener and a little sharp. The Hmong from Bac Hà gather tree bark to make ochre-coloured incense with a powerful scent.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com