Lunch in a Village

Fifteen kilometers from Sapa town proper, there’s a village where the Hmong tribe is settled. Most people from these villages walk daily from three to thirty kilometers to the town to sell scarves, earrings, and other locally made souvenirs in the streets. Su, the receptionist of the hotel where we stayed belongs to Hmong tribe. She invited us to have lunch with her husband’s family in their village. To our surprise, she did not charge a single centavo for her hospitality. I actually felt guilty for thinking she was conning us. Su and her husband just got married three months ago and they have a couple of adopted children from the same tribe despite the fact that they’re only earning meager wages. Their generosity is quite touching to be honest. Her husband works as a cook in a restaurant and she also works as a part-time tour guide.