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The many became the few as we slipped and sled ever onwards to our goal, we were now joined by 2 Austrians, 1 German and our ever talkative Scotsman friend. We settled in for lunch when the onslaught began, wave after wave hit us relentlessly as the parents rested the children were sent in. The intentions of our trekking companions were now clear as they had reached their destination - sell sell sell!!!! Scarfs followed bags, followed bracelets, followed hats, the attack continued! Flustered the German sat exhausted, $40 worse off, a war he had not expected had got the better of him!
Our pockets only a few dollars lighter we continued on through rice fields and bamboo forests, a landscape entirely tamed by thousands of years of human occupation but never the less beautiful as a result. Our stop for the night a small home stay in a village about 12km from Sapa. Our luck was in a wonderful guide and host sat us down and treated us to a selection of local cuisine and regaled us with stories of the people and their lives. The tales of matrimony, land management and survival were soaked up eagerly like desert dry sponges thrown into the Indian Ocean. Our hearts sunk a little when after some considerable persuasion they told of the exploitation they suffered at the hands of the tourism trade. Having paid $100 each for the 2 day experience were learned that only $3/person was received by our host and worse still only €5/day was received by our guide. Ever the gracious guest Martin took it upon himself to persuade and influence the group to indulge healthily in the available drinks cupboard and together with the ever generous hosts addition of rice wine (50%+ proof) we drank heartily and played cards into the night.
Heavy headed and with a good nights sleep we awoke to the sounds of crickets and birds. With new friends made and bellies full of delicious pancakes we carried on the the next 6km, joined by the ever present product pedlars we traversed the steep mountains, the mud grew thicker but our spirits grew higher. Our destination in sight we paused at a 200 meter waterfall and took stock of the beauty surrounding us. They may have been poor by our monetary standards but they were rich in life, what a magical place they called home!
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