Sapa Hmong Homestay
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- čas přidán 2. 10. 2016
- With its rolling hills of rice terraces, Sapa looks like something out of a painting. Thanks to Ocean Tours, I recently got to visit this insanely beautiful region of northwestern Vietnam, learn about the Hmong hill tribe, trek through mountains and waterfalls, and enjoy a secluded home stay.
If you plan to visit Sapa, Vietnam, I highly suggest you book your trip through Ocean Tours. It was an incredible experience and they take care of EVERYTHING (food, transportation, accommodation, guides, and trekking). Plus, they have a couple of options available to fit your budget.
[Ocean Tours sponsored the trip for me, but all opinions expressed in this video are my own.]
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** GET A DISCOUNT ON YOUR SAPA TRIP **
Book here: www.oceantours.com.vn/en/north...
Promo code: monkeyabroad
Ocean Tours
82 Ma May, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam ( Right in the heart of the Old Quarter)
T. +84(0) 917 82 50 01
www.oceantours.com.vn
Email: info@oceantours.com.vn
If you're in Hanoi, you can stop by the office and book this trip in-person as well.
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About Me:
My name is Kevin Cook. I'm originally from Dallas, TX, but I've been living and traveling in Asia since 2013.
After graduating from university in 2011 and working a few unfulfilling jobs, I saved enough money to move to Asia and work as a teacher for a few years. That opportunity allowed me to travel around and experience new foods and cultures, and ignited a passion for blogging and making videos.
Now I travel full-time and make videos with the goal that I can encourage YOU to pursue your own dream of overseas traveling and living.
If you enjoy watching my videos, you can help me grow my channel by giving my videos a 'thumbs up', leaving a comment, sharing them, and subscribing!
Thank you :)
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Follow me on all my adventures:
Blog - monkeyabroad.com
Facebook - / monkeyabroad
Instagram - / monkeyabroad
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Music: incompetech.com
Hi from Minnesota. I'm Hmong too, Hmong Americans ofc.
Sapa is a beautiful place. Wow.
hmong general vang bao kicked hard the vietanmese's ass in vietnam war, sapa is also big battle field in 1979 china -vietnam war, chinese army slaughtered 50 thousands vitnamese soliders and militants here, china supports hmong in vietnam to be independent
These people are amazing, the flour mill, hand weaved fabrics and organic dies et al sounds like time travel
Hello hi viral patel
I’m enjoying watching this scene
Your videos are amazing! Thank u for sharing your adventures.
Spectacular views !
I am a firm believer in getting the full cultural experience of wherever I go. You are doing exactly that. Great video!
+musicisadrian I agree, and thank you
Thank you for sharing the video. Much love from Canada.
Awesome short clip on Hmong people in Vietnam. 😊 safe travels.
Nice video of wonderful area. Thanks to you for remember me my visit one year ago
Bro I've been watching your videos since you started this channel and i must say you're videos is enjoyable, I love it.
thanks mate, excellent work!
I love it
Great videos!
Thanks for sharing.
This was an awesome video..love how they make there own material..and the wreath was so cool..these people are amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing this.
+Tina McKinney thanks for watching, Tina :)
Awesome Kevin!
i love it when he takes shot of the cute animals specially the wittle puppies 😄
Beautiful. video too short. Love how natural and pure the land is. So peaceful.
Once again great video Kevin! Keep it coming .
Jill
+caiden ngo thanks Jill!
Great job Kevin, im happy you went to see our hmong people in viet. there.
+Mmamicx thanks for watching
wow that's awesome!
nice.thank
Great video. I live in Vietnam and go to Sa Pa often. In fact, I will be moving there soon to live with the Hmong. I think you gave a good introduction to Hmong culture for a 4 minute video.
I like this local girl, she's cool! Thanks for the new video
Yeah she was so friendly and her English was outstanding. thanks for watching!
wait, you didn't finish all the English subtitle on this video, I need to take your crown~
this is a very nice video
So cool cheers bro
Thanks so much :)
nice trip, i would also like to visit vietnam once
Wow nice video
Tuyệt quá đi!
her english is better than me !! Sapa is so amazing!!
"Her English is better than mine."
We need longer videos
My country!
Que bonito documental sobre Vietnam muy importante. difundir la cultura del suroeste asiático.felicitaciones . los saludo atentamente desde Medellín Colombia José Medina Valencia
cool
great video and camera quality.
Thank you
like the new hair cut bro!!!
thank you for another excellent video, Kevin. H'mong mamis, lol still looking forward to phillippines mami videos LOL
+Christov Bro next Sunday I'm gonna post the Traveling for 20 Dollars a Day in Boracay video, dedicated to you man haha
fire
Lol when he said H'mong, it made me giggle.
beautiful sapa hmong--breath-taking view--and simple peaceful life!
..jz like our "banauwe rice terraces" in CORDILLERA PHILIPPINES--had u been there?!
iTHANKGOD for u!
I want everyone to know more about Vietnam outside the war, thanks
Sapa is frequently foggy - it’s water vapour, it’s not smog!
For those wanting to visit themselves, here are eight bits of advice when travelling to Sapa:
1 - Look for local expertise, preferably an experienced guide from the Hmong or Dao ethnic groups. This will open up greater cultural opportunities and make your time in Sapa more rewarding.
Please also bear in mind that all tour guides dealing with international travellers are required have a licence or work with a company who have an Inbound Tour Operator certificate. Without this, your trek will be illegal and almost certainly uninsured. Unfortunately, at this time, most freelancers are working illegally, and this comes with risks to you and your group. Avoid this by asking your guide their licence number.
2 - Choose your trek carefully. While villages like Lao Chai, Ta Van and Giang Ta Chai have developed to cater for tourists, they have lost their traditional charm. If you need WiFi, a hot shower and access to bars and a pool table, then these are the villages for you. They have a backpacker feel and are good places to meet other travellers. That said, they do experience a large volume of tour groups every day. These are the villages people are talking about whenever they mention that Sapa is too touristic. They are not representative of the wider area.
Likewise, Cat Cat Village is owned by a tour company and is an ideal option if you like the thought of dressing up in tribal clothes and seeing organised dances and routines with hundreds of other paying spectators. Think of this village as a an attraction. It has a theme park feel and is very busy, especially with Vietnamese day trippers. Because it features in many poorly written guidebooks, the village receives many unsuspecting guests hoping for authenticity. Cat Cat has been landscaped to include many sites for taking selfies with designated view points throughout. If you’re interested in nature, culture or authenticity, this place will not suit you.
Do some research and find a trek that suits your own needs. Because almost everyone goes to these few locations, it does mean that the all of the other villages are wonderfully authentic. If you want an off the beaten track adventure, away from tourists, look at organisations such as ETHOS who offer award winning private treks with experienced local guides to more remote areas. All treks and experiences are tailored to the needs of the traveller. They are heavily involved in the community and have been rated as number one on TripAdvisor for over five years.
3 - Ask your chosen guide / company where your money goes. In an area where 50% of the population are registered as poor, it is essential that any income from tourism spreads to more than one individual. Have a look at their literature or down their news feed on social media to gauge what they are like as individuals or as an organisation. Are they in tourism purely for profit or are they involved in community development projects like village clean ups or education for instance?
4 - Skip the well recommended but not particularly interesting Silver Waterfall. The Love Waterfall is a far more beautiful option with the added benefit of now having canyoning and abseiling as an activity. The walk to the Love Waterfall is very picturesque and the plunge pool makes a great place for a swim on a warmer day.
5 - Be prepared for a decent hike. Sturdy walking shoes are essential. That being said, you don’t need hiking boots. Depending on recent weather conditions, paths will be slippery regardless of what you have on your feet. If required, shoe hire is available in the Sapa area. Choose a hike and difficulty level that suit your personal fitness and adventure levels. Walking in a big group will mean your guide will choose a route that the least well prepared can manage. Alternatively, you’ll end up with an unpaid entourage of local ladies hoping to help you over the slippery sections in exchange for you buying their textiles. This can be eliminated by assuring a fair distribution of wages and choosing a private trek.
6 - Do the overnight experience. You can opt for a day trek, and I’m sure you’d love it, but staying with a local family, in their village, in their home, is incredible. See how they live day to day, meet additional family members and feel like part of the village. Check out the reviews for the top outdoor activities in Sapa and the homestays are very highly regarded by travellers, with good reason.
7 - Time your visit well. While Sunday plays hosts to the busiest market day, weekends see many more travellers, particularly Vietnamese from the lowlands. A typical weekend sees Sapa’s visitor numbers swell to almost ten times that of a typical week day. Hotel rooms become more expensive and the town feels much more hectic and noisy. Monday to Thursday is far quieter, more relaxed and altogether more pleasant.
8 - Consider an alternative to Mt.
Fansipan. Although the highest mountain in Vietnam, the cable car construction train at the summit takes away from the climb to some degree. Ascending only to find 50 others at the top taking selfies certainly spoils the ambience. Look at climbing other mountains instead. There are plenty that offer challenge, natural beauty, forests and are very rarely climbed. Examples include Bach Moc and Pu Ta Leng.
Finally, it is important to know that Sapa is a huge district with a central town and 94 villages and hamlets. All tour companies offering packages from Hanoi, booked from hotels in Sapa or organised in tourism information office in Sapa offer pretty much the same trek. This sometimes gives the illusion of over-tourism. They sell these tours to make a profit. Their objective is to minimise costs and maximise profits.
The great news is that you can trek almost anywhere else, stay in local homestays or walk in the 30,000 hectares of protected forest and you’ll really see the other side of Sapa. It is a place rich in wildlife and culture and it is very easy to do walks well away from places visited by tourists.
Those who have been to Sapa and say it’s too touristy either visited on a package tour and only spent time in the busy villages or travelled independently and stuck to the few villages recommended in the guide books.
Food wise - don’t miss the freshly made hotpot with local vegetables. Many places also sell rainbow trout spring rolls.
When tourists book those trips with agencies, Hmong people get paid very less. It is much better and preferred by Hmong when booking directly with the family which approaches all the tourists when they arrive to Sapa. This review written based on personal experience and direct communication with few Hmong families. Beside that, thank you for sharing.
can u make more videos abt Sapa, thanks in advance!
Awesome video, did the ocean tour include pick up and drop off from Hanoi?
Yes, they arranged a bus both ways
Hey, are you trekking in medium difficult path ?thank you
Book direct with Hmong when arrive to Sapa. It will cost you less and it will leave more money to your hosting family. We were 3 and we paid 30$ each for 2 days, 1 night. It included sleeping in traditional house and the most amazing meals I tried in Vietnam.
It's actually just Hmong, no apostrophe... but great video. Good to see all the asian areas you're exploring
+2007supersunny yup, missed that one there. Thanks for watching
I don' t know if i would get along with those people but nice to see and good video. I would like that livestyle but near a beach. Not in the middle of mountains days away from the sea.
Do they have electricity?
+Mathieu Tallard they do have electricity, but in limited amounts. And I'm with you on the beach comment... That's why my next video is by the beach ;)
Electricity.....No TV is fine, girls can entertain but no refregerator is bad. If living there, mountains for fresh nights and beach for day time and a secluded one because allover tan is nice and fun to get. Don' t try it because you won' t want to go back to textile and it might be a little problem sometime......
Anyway, i don' t know if you beat Gabriel Traveler but you travel quite a lot. I wounder what is your motivation. For me, if i find near perfect spot, i would stay there. People don' t leave paradise. I quess you haven found it yet. Me my motivation is finding near perfect spot and my needs are simple. Basic room, access to seclude beach , coco, mangos and fish and a couple of hot girls to take good care of me. Venezuela was almost paradise until i got attack and rob. Scare to go back now. Planing for Thailand-Cambodia instead. Hope i won' t regret because its quite far to only find deception. Montréal.
SaifeE
Great vid! What's your next destination?
+syncmaster915n thanks! Next video is 20 Dollar Traveling in Boracay, Philippines
Cool! Have fun.
Did you book your Sapa tour and halong bay tour through your hostel or specifically through Ocean Tours?
+tupac230 through Chien hostel. They are affiliated
thanks! Im actually headed to Hanoi in march and your videos have been super helpful!
They are same look as northern Laos.
🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️
Hey Kevin! Do you take malaria pills or any special vaccines against rabies or japanese encephalitis when going to such rural areas? Any precautions, like mosquito spray?
Malaria pills are recommended, Tdap ( tatenus shot)
We migrated from china to vietnam and other places such as Laos around 1850s...not thousands of year.
5 PayseE
Just Hmong, one syllable, no apostrophe; silent on the H :)
3:48 omg. Mouse
I think the H is silent in Hmong. Here in the USA at least, the Hmong community of about 300,000 people keep the H silent.
@Life Yang most Hmong in America are from Laos, you guys speak different dialect from Vietnamese Hmong. So stop correcting people.
0:34 isn't it just "mung" without the h?
you are correct Nicholas. it is pronounced Mung as the H is silent. :)
The H is a nasal sound. Not a throat sound. Yes Hmong is one syllable.
Smog or fog? are you sure? there is no polluting industrial sitse in Sapa, and why smog?
Maybe his English isn't so good lol
Fog or partly cloudy
it's pronounce "mong" with a silent h.
It's 'Hmong' with H-silent. Not 'Ha-mong' :)
You American Hmong are always correcting other people’s pronunciation. Just remember most American Hmong are from Laos, you guys speak different dialect from Vietnamese Hmong. Even the Hmong in Vietnam pronounce it H’mong (2 syllables).
PtreE
its not H'mong its Hmong
18
171615.30.31.77.76.4
The H is silent buddy
black and I know that
Don't go on group tours. Make your own way. Or hire a private guide and map out your own itinerary.
Why not? good way to meet people travelling and getting things explain in English.....Lots of other occasions to have hard time alone
If you do any video about Hmong people this is the example of what happening were like a flop of birds.
I swear to Cillam Cua some Asians look EXACTLY like people on my Cup'ik side.
🍟🍟🍟🍟🍟🍕🍕🍕🍕
Someone needs to fix the CC. Mariana should be marijuana. She was showing how they make hemp fabric. 😎
Dude you pronounce Hmong wrong. The “H” is silent.
Its NOT H'mong! Its just hmong...
I am Hmong and it is pronounced Hmong "Mung", not Ha Mong. Please and thank you
I have been there. Your video depicts an almost idyllic life style of this ethnic group. Far from true: extreme poverty, lack of basic hygiene, short life span, extreme begging...have you seen any of this?
Geez..all these debate of ppl saying what and how to pronounce it:
Some;
- “H” is silent so don’t pronounce it
Others;
- pronouncing just “mong” means ASS in Vietnamese.
Solution: Just say the word in its original language, in Hmong. Problem solved.
-> Hmoob :)
(H and b are silent. So pronounce it like [mong] but articulate the o as if you would in the word “bone” )
nice.thank