Cat Cat Village in Sapa, Vietnam

Ker and Lan, my 14 year-old H'mong guides, took me trekking to Cat Cat Village near Sapa. A 2 km walk just south of Sapa town took us to a ticket booth where I paid 5000 Dong to enter (the government paperwork required to visit the hill-tribe villages without ticket booths has to be obtained through an over-charging hotel). They showed me the indigo plant (looks a lot like basil to me) and explained the process: cut the whole plant and boil it for 2-3 days, allow the pigment to settle, then stir in a rock powder (baked limestone, perhaps? I could not figure this part out and they did not know how to explain it) and mix for a few hours. The rock powder will settle out with the indigo pigment in it. This is then remixed with water as necessary to dye cloth.

We hiked on through the village, past familiar bamboo houses, some with cob-plaster covering for weather proofing and insulation, some without. Terraced rice fields sprinkled with wildflowers, children, and water buffalo stopped me in my tracks, jaw agape. Mist shrouded mountains on the near horizon complete the scene. The girls and I skip and run and "fly" down the path. We sing songs in English, French, and German; they sing me one in Japanese and some in Hmong. Down several concrete steps, I am secretly wondering if we have to walk back this way, and hoping not.

We come to a creek and I want to stop and play in the water. We skip rocks and I tell them the story of my Utah juniper berry ghost bead necklace. According to Native American tradition, there are 100 guards at the gates of heaven, and you must have a gift for each of them to pass through. Coyote, always the trickster, might try to intervene, though, so you must have 101 beads to be safe. The berries also provide protection and help keep away nightmares. Lan asks to see it and asks me to close my eyes. I don't like where this is going, but comply anyway. I peeked and saw her slip my necklace into a fold in her shirt, then throw a rock in the pond we are playing near. I open my eyes in false shock and make to dive in after it. We all giggle and Ker slyly pulls me aside to show me where Lan hid it. I wink back knowingly and continue with the search.

I teach the girls an observation game I learned on Wilderness Orientation at UCSC, and Ker shows me a magic rock trick. Eventually, I tire of playing, tickle Lan to get my necklace back, and pick up some stones to make wire-wrap jewelery gifts for these girls--new-found jewels of my heart.