Killing Time

Sa Pa, Vietnam

 

OK, I've been here for 7 days and counting and am finally out on the night train this evening.  I have had literally nothing to do except consume cheap beer and cheap internet access while exchanging the same "where you from/where you going/etc."conversation with fellow travelers that I've had about a thousand times - so I'm just kind of writing this to fill space that would otherwise be filled with bowls of pho and cheap bia.  I've become a fixture at the local bar here and much beloved by the staff as I hand out thousands and thousands of vietnamese dong as tips (which are generally unheard of here, and not forthcoming from shoestring Aussie and Israeli backpackers that populate this place).  On the Aussies there was a brief light in the Oz darkness when, for the first time, I talked to Oz traveler who was ashamed at both 1. the number of Aussies there were everywhere, and 2. how incredibly annoying and obnoxious most of them were.  So, wallabies, there is hope for you after all - recognizing there is a problem is the first step.  In their defense, I will say that of the few Americans out on the trail, a lot of them are complete idiots as well, that I would never hang out with in a million years except for the fact that I had to a few times, though the US-expats I've met aren't so bad, and generally aren't as in to finding opium or getting free drinks from you. The locals I have no problem with though, the hmongs and I are tight, my private montegnard army outlook is positive so far.

 

Since the premature end of my motocross career, I've exhausted the local cultural opportunities.  Last Sunday I went to Bac Ha market (home of the flower hmong, a little different tribe from my sort of- hometown Sa Pa hmong as far as costumes at least).  Mildly interesting, and a great place to get chicken flu.  Also we visited a flower-Hmong village, complete with a patriarch inebriated with traditional 100 proof corn wine, who danced, sang, and gleefully poured shots of jet fuel in gleeful anticipation of his cut from the tour company.  The countryside is beautiful, though the vistas are frequently ruined by the haze from fires due to the swidden/slash & burn agriculture that is prevalent here. 

 

A lot of the agriculture is of cannabis plants, which they use for hemp and for smoking as well.  While it's technically illegal, the cops don''t seem to care very much at all even though it's a police state, and are even less inclined to arrest tourists for dabbling (there's a strict "hands off" policy from Hanoi regarding that golden goose).  The only problem for the tourists is that the mj product here is not exactly knock out strength.  The other night at the Tau Bar, my home away from home, there were two french backpackers, with a huge bag of marijuana, an ashtray full of joints, and just rolling joint after joint in a Le Cheech et Chong-ish display, trying desperately to get high but not succeeding.  I'll miss you Sa Pa.