Northern Vietnam hiking (with Hong Kong stopover)

[ermen]

very nice TR

did you manage to try the home brew Bier Hoi?

 

[v1nce007]

very nice TR

did you manage to try the home brew Bier Hoi?

Sure did; very easy to find in Hanoi but can't say I was a huge fan

 

[v1nce007]

Day 9

Today we had a long hike up into the mountains outside Dong Van, and this turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Our guide hired local man Mr Kat to accompany us on the hike as we needed someone who knew the terrain and could speak the language of the local Hmong hill tribe people that we would encounter. It was a bit convoluted chatting to the locals as we would ask questions in English, our guide would translate to Vietnamese for Mr Kat, and Mr Kat would translate to Hmong for the locals, then the answers would have to come back in reverse, but it was great fun. We met Mr Kat outside the hotel, and after a stop-off for Mr Kat to buy cigarettes, and then a stop-off for Mr Kat to buy bags of sweets, and then a stop-off for Mr Kat to talk to a friend, we were soon heading out of town and up into the hills.

This was a really brilliant hike. A lot of it was on dirt track that motor scooters use, and parts were quite hard going climbing up steep slopes and over rocks. The scenery was stunning.

 

[v1nce007]

One of the highlights of this hike was all the interaction we had with the local Hmong people. It became evident that the reason Mr Kat had purchased sweets was to hand them out to children we met along the way, many of whom could speak some basic English. The cigarettes he purchased were for the local men. As it was a Sunday, all of the men we encountered were very drunk as they had all been at the weekly market that morning. Evidently the women go to shop and trade, whilst the men go to drink rice wine.





Walking past a house we encountered a man and his wife returning from the market on their scooter. They stopped to talk to us and the man was very insistent that we come up to the house to meet his family. This was a very simple house with a dirt floor and very little light, but we were made to feel very welcome and he quickly produced a jug of homemade corn wine and started pouring us glasses. This stuff really packed a punch, and in the end Mr Kat had to be quite firm with him that we'd had enough after he poured the 4th round - I think he was enjoying having people to drink with despite the language barrier, and they were a very generous family.





Returning to Dong Van late in the afternoon after a long and rewarding day of hiking, we had definitely earned a few cans of Saigon beer and another delicious hotpot dinner.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

. It became evident that the reason Mr Kat had purchased sweets was to hand them out to children we met along the way, many of whom could speak some basic English. The cigarettes he purchased were for the local men.

While I have enjoyed your TR, as someone that enoromously enjoys like travel on a regular basis I am somewhat alarmed that a company as well known as Intrepid, and one that I have myself used once in Vietnam, have allowed such a poor and damaging practice.

Handing out of sweets, other goods and/or money, to children in third world countries temps them away from where they should be..ie school, performing family chores etc. Normally in trip-notes and briefings most reputable adventure companies will caution and brief their customers against giving out sweets etc because of the damage it causes. That Intrepid's employees (or agents) were the instigators is quite appalling.

 

[v1nce007]

While I have enjoyed your TR, as someone that enoromously enjoys like travel on a regular basis I am somewhat alarmed that a company as well known as Intrepid, and one that I have myself used once in Vietnam, have allowed such a poor and damaging practice.

Handing out of sweets, other goods and/or money, to children in third world countries temps them away from where they should be..ie school, performing family chores etc. Normally in trip-notes and briefings most reputable adventure companies will caution and brief their customers against giving out sweets etc because of the damage it causes. That Intrepid's employees (or agents) were the instigators is quite appalling.

You raise a very valid point, but to clarify these were not kids who were out begging. This was a very remote area on a Sunday afternoon and the children we encountered were with their families, playing or doing chores. They certainly were not begging. In this case we are talking about a very different situation to kids in the towns and cities who are sent out to beg by their parents.

To be fair to Intrpeid they are very clear both in the documentation issued and in advice from the guide that money and gifts should never be given to children.

I've also travelled with Intrepid in Cambodia where child begging is a huge problem, and their position on this couldn't be clearer; if you want to help the kids then support local charities rather than giving to children on the street directly.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

You raise a very valid point, but to clarify these were not kids who were out begging. This was a very remote area on a Sunday afternoon and the children we encountered were with their families, playing or doing chores. They certainly were not begging. In this case we are talking about a very different situation to kids in the towns and cities who are sent out to beg by their parents.

With respect Vince, it is a bad practice irrespective of whether it is in cities or in very remote areas. Indeed in very remote areas you also have the problem of lack of dental care.

And just the fact that you were on an Intrepid trip means that it is a route that will have tourists on it again. That your guides were buying sweets for this purpose I find appalling. You mention Cambodia etc. What your guides were doing was sowing the seeds for this.

Cigarettes were also being given out and so perhaps the adults have already learnt that by having their children with them gains sweets and cigarettes??

Mr Google will find much discussion and advice on this topic:

To Give or Not to Give When Travelling Abroad: the Issue of Begging - Kashgar Tribal Artifacts - Life for the Modern Nomad | Handmade Jewellery, ethnic handicrafts, antique furniture

I regularly travel well off the beaten track and in my youth I transgressed. However now having travelled even more widely and listened to many locals, as well as guides, charity workers etc my view has changed and I now realise what I did over 3 decades ago was wrong.

To be fair to Intrpeid they are very clear both in the documentation issued and in advice from the guide that money and gifts should never be given to children.

I agree with this advice.

I've also travelled with Intrepid in Cambodia where child begging is a huge problem, and their position on this couldn't be clearer; if you want to help the kids then support local charities rather than giving to children on the street directly.

I agree with this advice, but I see no difference in wheth the kids are based in cities or rurally.

I will not post again in this thread as I do not want to ruin a good TR. However it is an issue I feel strongly about and so I wished to alert people that the advice is not give out sweets etc. Readers can trawl Mr Google and make up their own minds what they wish to do.

Happy Travels.