This is... my favourite travel memory

Wow! This was another hard theme, but this time, to choose just one. I'm so proud of myself, not only did I choose only one, but actually only part of one!

I'd have to say, one of my favourite travel memories was my trip to Sapa in the northern mountains of Vietnam last year.

I've kind of cheated and taken excepts from my other blog, from when I wrote about it then.

This was the view from our breakfast spot on the first two mornings there.

"Day 3 Vietnam - Mee and See, my new H'Mong friends

The landscape in Sapa gives off such an amazing old energy. I could have just
watched the mountains for hours with it continual dancing behind mist and
clouds. Met many H'mong girls, a tribe that live in extreme poverty and continue to wear their traditional indigo dyed and embroidered costumes. We were adopted by a couple of the girls who told us a bit about their lives and showed us around the town."

Wayne being mobbed by Black Hmong girls selling their wares.

Our boots after the first day's hike.

Day 4 Vietnam - It's a good thing my husband is not a jealous man...

I spent much of the day holding the hand of a man who wasn't my
husband. We trekked from the township of Sapa into a couple of the villages.
What is usually a good walk in the dry season was very hard in the wet, sliding
down slippery clay slopes. Due to the difficultly of the terrain in many areas, the guide held my hand for much of the way. We visited a Black H'Mong village and saw the poverty that these happy friendly people live in. We stayed overnight in a Day (pronounced Zay) village in a farmhouse.

About to start the second day of trekking.

Day 5 - Heaven, Hell and my Vietnamese Angel

The trek was harder than the day before due to more heavy rain and the fact that I had twisted my knee. The view was breathtaking but the hike was hell. My
fabulous guide literally carved out mountains for me so that I could make it down the steep slippery clay slopes without getting covered from head to toe in mud.
By the end, I was only covered on one side. We visited a Dao (pronounced Zao)
village.

I don't want to overload this post with text, but if you'd like to read more about the trip, I've written more about it here and more about the textiles here.

Thank you to Hila of Your Cover’s Blown for a great This is… theme this week.

Indigo Textiles of Northern Vietnam

Traditional Dress of the Black Hmong people, Sapa, Vietnam

Well, this post has nothing to do with kimono fabrics, but I have just returned from my three week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Our trip began with what turned out to be the hardest but one of the most rewarding parts of our travels, Sapa in the northern mountains of Vietnam.

With an interest in traditional costumes, textiles and indigo, I was really hoping to see some of the Black Hmong people native to the region. On the trip up the winding, wet mountain road, I desperately wanted to get our driver to stop each time I saw someone in the traditional wear, fearing that they may be the last I saw. I shouldn't have concerned myself at all. The moment I hopped out of the minivan in the Sapa township, I was adopted by two teenage Hmong girls who took it upon themselves to be my guides for the duration of our stay.

The Black Hmong are famous for their very dark indigo fabrics embellished by hand embroidery. The indigo plant is native to the Sapa region. During my two day trek, my guide picked some indigo plant leaves for me. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I'm sure it involved something blue. What I was handed however was a large, very green looking leaf. I added the leaf to the other wildflowers children had put into the top of my bamboo walking pole. By the next day, the leaf had begun to wilt and give away a few of its blue secrets.

Many of the women in the villages are involved in the long dyeing process. I found this information on the technique;

Indigo plants are cultivated in neat plots on the hillsides near the houses. The
plant grows to about 60 cm high and can yield 2 crops each year. The dye is
contained in the leaves which when allowed to ferment and then oxidise produce a blue powder that is insoluble in water. This can be stored as a paste or powder. There are various ways of preparing the Indigo vat with substances that make the Indigo soluble. The urine of children, particularly boys is a common additive as well as lye, lime and rice wine. When the dye bath is bubbling strongly it is ready to use. The fabric is emersed in the dye vat and worked for about half an hour then hung up to oxidise into the distinct blue colour. Subsequent dippings and oxidations will darken the colour and the black of the Hmong fabrics is achieved by repeating the process twice a day, each day for a month.

The page I sourced this information from has detailed information about the textiles and costumes and is an interesting read here.

Hemp spinning, the only light was supplied by a gap in the thatched roof above

Our trek took us through one of the Hmong villages and while I wasn't lucky enough to see any of the dyeing in action, I was taken into the home of a hemp spinner. The room was very dark and the floor was uneven, hard packed dirt. There was no electricity or running water to the house and cooking was done over a fire in the middle of the floor in the kitchen. The spinner was working on with a large wooden frame with the only lighted supplied by a hole in the thatched roof above.

The hands of a Black Hmong girl

The hands of many of the Hmong girls and women are permanently stained from the dyeing process.

Wayne having fun buying from the girls

Over the course of the three days in Sapa, I bought many Hmong textiles, mostly in the form of pillowcases and bags. I will treasure them forever remembering the hands that made them, hands that live in poverty but yet in such a rich culture.